Episode #164 - CRP Programs - Know Facts!

Published: 2023-04-09
Episode page
Duration: 76 min

In this episode

ag-extension-office

• Terry advises that the best resource for land program options is sitting down with your local ag extension office, not the internet or a podcast host. 51:47

backpack-sprayer

• Terry describes buying a new Milwaukee battery-powered backpack sprayer with interchangeable tanks for herbicide application. 12:09

buck-management

• Don reveals he has not shot a buck in two years while sticking to his personal goals. 66:39
• Taylor Woods asks what factors Don weighs when deciding whether a buck goes on the shooter or pass list. 61:11

buck-rub-protection

• Don wraps newly planted oak trees on his property with plastic tubes to protect the trunks from buck rubbing damage this fall. 8:55

business-opportunity

• Don is being approached about a long-dreamed-of hunting industry opportunity but is unsure he has time to pursue it. 15:13

captive-deer

• Don argues his real objection isn’t hunting captive deer in a pen, but the dishonesty of not showing the fence in harvest photos. 58:51
• Don states he raised captive deer for years and is fully open about that, while also being open that he personally does not shoot captive deer. 60:04
• Duane Miller asks whether celebrity hunters actually shoot preserve deer and pose them as wild kills, after a preserve owner hinted this happens. 54:07

chemical-resources

• Terry recommends Ag Chem Solutions of Indianapolis as a good resource for food plotters seeking chemicals in smaller online-purchasable quantities. 19:38

crp-background

• Don recounts his early career as a conservation tree-planting and native grass contractor, planting trees on CRP projects across the country. 30:48

crp-eligibility

• Don explains that land must have a documented cropping history reported to the USDA to qualify for CRP enrollment; land without cropping history won’t qualify. 32:31
• Don notes a new USDA rule requires owning a property for a full year before it can be signed up for CRP. 52:28
• Don advises that a buyer wanting immediate CRP enrollment can have the seller sign up before closing, since the enrollment transfers to the new owner. 52:45

crp-pasture

• Terry asks whether CRP enrollment can apply to pasture land or only row-crop ground. 33:00

crp-penalty

• Don explains that clearing CRP-enrolled acreage before the contract ends requires repaying every dollar the program ever paid for that portion. 48:32

crp-seed-mix

• Don advises landowners to confirm their intended CRP seed mix is USDA-approved before planting, because unapproved plantings won’t be paid. 44:19

decision-making

• Terry advises that the only thing to do with a big decision is go listen to the pitch, then pray about whether it aligns with your needs. 15:41

dedicated-sprayer

• Terry suggests buying a cheap dedicated garden sprayer from Home Depot to keep for a single chemical only. 13:33

easter

• Don states that Easter faith centers on Jesus dying on the cross, rising three days later, and rolling away the tomb stone, proving he is alive. 1:13
• Don says the most important event of Christ’s life was his death on the cross and resurrection three days later, done for humanity’s shortcomings. 2:15

episode-structure

• Terry announces the episode plan: answering a couple of listener questions first, then a middle segment discussing whether to enroll property in CRP. 6:22

faith

• Terry reflects that unlike human relationships, nothing can ever turn Christ’s opinion, love, or forgiveness away from a person. 4:07
• Terry closes stating that the gift of salvation through Christ’s love is unconditional no matter what place in life a person is at. 75:51

food-plot-herbicide

• Trey Hutchinson asks what chemicals can be sprayed on food plots to kill grass and weeds without harming his newly planted fruit and chestnut trees. 16:55

herbicide-path

• Don recommends using glyphosate or Roundup combined with the residual herbicide Oust to create and maintain sprayed deer travel paths. 9:43

hunting-goals

• Terry encourages listeners to set a personal hunting goal and stick to it, calling that the only real path to improvement. 63:35

hunting-industry-ethics

• Terry references an unnamed recent story where video exposed a hunter who killed two deer but only publicly claimed one. 58:00

hunting-skills

• Don relays a lesson from his friend Alan Foster: choosing to be a good hunter rather than just a good shooter lets you get deer close without needing extra equipment. 71:20

iowa-hunting

• Don recounts traveling to Iowa with a friend to hang three treestands on a farm he has permission to hunt this fall. 7:27

japan-trip

• Terry describes this Japan trip as lower-stress with only a couple days of meetings, focused on sightseeing and Japanese culture for first-time travelers with him. 74:46
• Don jokingly assigns Terry a mission to come back from Japan able to say “Chasing Giants” in Japanese. 75:11 (light moment)

land-investment

• Don states that farmland and recreational property typically appreciates around 7% per year on average. 28:09

land-leasing

• Terry says he personally has a hard time investing money into habitat work on someone else’s leased property. 26:26
• Ty Sullivan asks whether it’s worth spending money on land improvements under a year-to-year hunting lease, or if it’s throwing good money after bad. 22:05

land-purchase

• Don suggests buying a small starter property, paying it off, then using a 1031 exchange to upgrade to bigger hunting land over time. 26:53

listener-feedback

• Don shares that many podcast listeners have privately messaged him pointing out his faults, and admits they’re usually right to do so. 5:05

mature-bucks

• Don observes that mature bucks will often refuse to follow a wide mowed path but will readily travel a narrow sprayed path. 11:01

ohio-trip

• Don plans to travel to Ohio to evaluate a newly purchased property for Mark Fisher, owner of 360 Hunting Blinds. 14:40

outdoor-industry

• Terry recalls becoming disillusioned early in his outdoor-industry career, about sixteen or seventeen years ago, and pulling back from it. 56:19

podcast-schedule

• Terry announces he’s leaving for Japan on Friday, so the show will record the following Friday night for a Sunday release to avoid missing an episode. 73:12

product-labels

• Don advises listeners to read product packaging and websites first, since most answers to common questions are already printed there. 20:33

shot-distance

• Don asserts the percentage of deer hit poorly at 20 yards is far smaller than at 40 yards, leading to more wounded and lost deer at long range. 72:44

sprayer-cleaning

• Don advises thoroughly cleaning sprayer equipment before switching chemicals, since Oust herbicide residue sticks to tank surfaces. 13:11

stand-placement

• Terry explains their whole approach is picking an accessible stand location and manipulating habitat to funnel deer within 25 yards of it. 70:07

string-jumping

• Carl Compton asks whether Don has ever had a deer string-jump a shot and what he did about it. 68:43

tillage

• Terry plans to work wet ground before leaving for his Japan trip despite anticipated criticism from listeners opposed to tillage. 73:55

tree-protection

• Don recommends putting plastic spiral wraps around newly planted fruit tree trunks as soon as possible to protect them. 18:16

usda-satellite-monitoring

• Don recalls a USDA office showing him real-time satellite footage of an actual tractor planting a field, illustrating how closely CRP compliance is monitored. 46:10

Deer activity

• Mel (harvest) 62:13
• unnamed buck (hunt) 67:45

Listener questions

Question: Trey Hutchinson asks what chemicals can be sprayed on food plots to kill grass and weeds without harming his newly planted fruit and chestnut trees. 16:55 — asked by Trey Hutchinson

• Answer: Don answers that drift onto young fruit trees is rarely a concern unless spraying on an extremely windy day, since most herbicides need to contact green growing tissue to cause damage. 17:25

Question: Ty Sullivan asks whether it’s worth spending money on land improvements under a year-to-year hunting lease, or if it’s throwing good money after bad. 22:05 — asked by Ty Sullivan

• Answer: Don advises Ty to avoid leasing and instead purchase property when possible, since improvements on leased land ultimately benefit only the landowner. 25:08

Question: Terry asks whether CRP enrollment can apply to pasture land or only row-crop ground. 33:00

• Answer: Don explains that pasture land can qualify for CRP, primarily pastures with erosion issues such as cattle-worn creek banks. 33:04

Question: Duane Miller asks whether celebrity hunters actually shoot preserve deer and pose them as wild kills, after a preserve owner hinted this happens. 54:07 — asked by Duane Miller

• Answer: Don confirms he personally knows specific hunting-industry figures who shoot captive deer and falsely tag and present them as wild-harvested animals. 55:16

Question: Taylor Woods asks what factors Don weighs when deciding whether a buck goes on the shooter or pass list. 61:11 — asked by Taylor Woods

• Answer: Don says his shooting criteria change depending on which property he’s hunting, since deer movement and risk differ by farm. 61:55

Question: Carl Compton asks whether Don has ever had a deer string-jump a shot and what he did about it. 68:43 — asked by Carl Compton

• Answer: Don says he rarely has deer jump the string because he keeps shots inside about twenty to twenty-five yards, rarely shooting past thirty. 69:04

Sponsors this episode

• QuietKat

The episode opened with an Easter reflection, with Don tying the holiday to Christ’s death and resurrection and Terry noting Christ’s love and forgiveness never turn away from a person. Listener questions covered spraying herbicide near young fruit trees, whether to improve leased hunting ground, CRP eligibility for pasture, and shooter-buck criteria. The core segment weighed enrolling property in CRP, with Don explaining documented cropping history requirements, USDA-approved seed mixes, satellite monitoring, repayment if cleared early, and a new one-year ownership rule, while Terry pointed listeners toward local ag extension offices. Don also described sprayed travel paths using glyphosate and Oust, protecting new oak and fruit trees, and an industry opportunity he’s weighing. Terry raised a story about a hunter misrepresenting a kill, prompting Don to distinguish captive-deer dishonesty from the practice itself. Both discussed keeping shots close, Don’s two-year buck drought, and an upcoming Japan trip.

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