Episode #165 - Farmers Planting Early Creates New Opportunities - EARLY SPRING

Published: 2023-04-16
Episode page
Duration: 65 min

In this episode

big-buck

• Don has killed a couple of 200-inch bucks on his late grandfather’s farm, something his grandfather never witnessed there. 15:28

charity

• Terry has agreed to donate a free land consulting visit to a Kentucky ministry’s raffle fundraiser supporting mission work in Haiti. 24:53
• About six years ago Terry, Don, and Duane ran a Hunters Helping Haiti event that raised enough money to build four or five houses. 25:25

community-support

• Terry asks listeners to keep a young man named Cameron, who is battling cancer and undergoing treatment, in their prayers. 59:31

contest

• Don announces a Whitetail Master Academy contest where members can win a weekend with him next March at his home farm. 23:10
• The first contest winner will be whoever submits the winning name for the buck Don ultimately chooses to chase this season. 23:27

corn-maturity

• Can you explain how corn maturity days and soybean group numbers work, and how that applies to early planting? 7:15

coyote-coon-contests

• Russell Hilliard asks whether Don and Terry really think coyote and coon roundups are bad, since they help struggling turkey populations. 52:38

deer-bridges

• Jerry Miller asks what Don and Terry have seen deer do with bridges crossing a river separating food and bedding, and what bridge type works best. 27:11

episode-schedule

• Terry announces this is episode 165 and confirms it is scheduled to air around April 16. 0:55

food-plot

• Don explains sunlight, not just moisture, is critical for a planted seed to germinate and know which way to grow. 6:00
• Terry explains a thick crop canopy traps humidity like a greenhouse, causing overseeded seed to crack and swell but then die from lack of sunlight. 5:44
• Don says he ran out of grain on his farm this year due to heavy deer pressure and never wants that to happen again. 43:10

food-plot-planning

• Terry recommends scoping out what your leased or permission farmer is doing this spring to plan fall food plot strategy. 10:56

food-plot-timing

• Duane Hopkins is credited with the advice to plant by the weather, not by the calendar. 13:06
• Don recommends food plotters plant about two weeks after the farmer plants soybeans, which will come earlier this year. 12:28
• If crops go in a month early, what tips or things should a hunter or land manager watch for when fall comes around? 2:32

grain-sorghum

• John asks whether milo is viewed as a lesser-preferred deer crop compared to modern corn and beans, given the shift away from it. 41:12

habitat-management

• Terry says good habitat stewardship for whitetail also benefits all other wildlife on the property. 15:50

hunting-history

• Don has carried a video camera on every hunt since 2004, after he was accused of wrongdoing when he shot his first 214-inch buck. 31:29

japan-trip

• Terry plans to bring Chasing Giants hats to Japan and have local kids wear them for photos to promote the show. 1:28

lesters-feet

• Terry plans for the Lester’s Feet event to be an end-of-year party held after hunting season. 26:25
• Don says Lester’s Feet has raised over a million dollars, with 100% of funds going directly to families. 61:45
• A podcast listener attorney from New York or New Jersey paid for Lester’s Feet’s first legal fees to set the foundation up as a Kentucky corporation. 62:51

listener-questions

• Don asks listeners to submit podcast questions through a form at chasinggiants.com rather than email, so they can be tracked. 33:01
• Listeners without internet can mail questions to the Real World Wildlife Products office at PO Box 55, Arthur, Illinois, 61911. 33:59

mature-buck-hunting

• David Armstrong asks whether Don ever feels harvesting target bucks, even with a vertical bow, is too easy given his 80% confidence claim. 45:30

miscanthus

• Don announces the Miscanthus shipping season ends May 1. 19:11
• Don urges listeners to order Miscanthus now since supply will run out shortly after the May 1 cutoff. 19:48
• Terry recommends contacting your local dealer to see if they carry Miscanthus, since not all dealers stock it. 20:03
• Don advises storing Miscanthus refrigerated at about 35 degrees, never below freezing, if it can’t be planted within a week, keeping it viable for months. 21:27

morel-mushrooms

• Don has never found morel mushrooms on his farm and hopes to find some this spring. 58:33

planting-plan

• Terry plans to plant corn as soon as he returns from his Japan trip. 13:58
• Terry plans to plant soybeans around when friends Joe Johnson and Al Foster turkey hunt his property at the end of April. 14:03

product

• Terry notes Real World’s Gen-two soybeans are a blend of four different group numbers, unlike a typical farmer’s single-group planting. 9:08

social-media

• Don suggests Terry run a daily social media campaign from Japan, sending back photos with a Chasing Giants hat. 1:39

soybeans

• Don notes soybean maturity is also affected by daylight, since beans growing near a security or pole light at a field edge stay green longer than the rest of the field. 8:16
• Don explains the soybean blend staggers drydown so some plants stay green longer, continuing to provide browse forage for deer. 9:55

target-buck

• Jesse Vandenberg asks whether Don’s goal this year is to document and harvest his up-and-coming buck with potential to score 200 inches. 29:39

travel

• Terry says as soon as recording wraps he heads to the airport to fly to Japan. 1:15

tree-stand-placement

• Terry says most stands he’s visited this year sit where there’s good buck sign, but sign alone doesn’t make it a good hunting location. 39:50
• John Hyestand asks whether an old tree stand should be treated as a known deer concentration area for planning, or as an outdated spot deer have adapted away from. 37:00

turkeys

• Don has seen a flock including at least three hens and a gobbler on his farm daily for a week and believes the hens have nested there. 14:42

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (harvest) 15:28
• Smokey (harvest) 30:29
• Mel (harvest) 30:29
• unnamed buck (harvest) 31:29
• Joey Buck (harvest) 47:00
• Trump (harvest) 47:00

Listener questions

Question: If crops go in a month early, what tips or things should a hunter or land manager watch for when fall comes around? 2:32

• Answer: Don says with the earlier harvest, many ag fields will already be harvested by October 1 when hunting season starts. 3:33
• Answer: Don recommends overseeding standing soybean or corn fields with products like Plot Topper before the farmer harvests, since sunlight reaches dried-down crops. 4:07

Question: Can you explain how corn maturity days and soybean group numbers work, and how that applies to early planting? 7:15

• Answer: Don says corn maturity is measured in days needed to reach harvest. 7:25
• Answer: Don explains soybeans are measured by group number, where a lower number is a shorter season and a higher number is a longer growing season. 7:56

Question: Jerry Miller asks what Don and Terry have seen deer do with bridges crossing a river separating food and bedding, and what bridge type works best. 27:11 — asked by Jerry Miller

• Answer: Don says deer absolutely use bridges, citing a concrete bridge on his farm they cross regularly. 27:37
• Answer: Don warns against wooden bridges with cracks between boards, since deer strongly avoid crossing them. 27:57
• Answer: Don confirms deer will use a dug creek crossing like a land bridge and plans to build another on his own farm. 29:12

Question: Jesse Vandenberg asks whether Don’s goal this year is to document and harvest his up-and-coming buck with potential to score 200 inches. 29:39 — asked by Jesse Vandenberg

• Answer: Don says timing and other factors will determine whether he takes the shot, regardless of video documentation. 30:10
• Answer: Don says he’ll try to video document the kill as he did with Smokey and Mel, though it isn’t guaranteed. 30:29

Question: John Hyestand asks whether an old tree stand should be treated as a known deer concentration area for planning, or as an outdated spot deer have adapted away from. 37:00 — asked by John Hyestand

• Answer: Don says he assumes most old tree stands are not actually in good spots, based on years of seeing poorly placed stands. 37:54
• Answer: Don says a good stand location must have good access that doesn’t spook deer approaching it. 38:07
• Answer: Don says the second requirement is a wind direction that can be hunted without deer scenting the hunter. 38:19
• Answer: Terry adds that most stands he’s seen sit where there’s good buck sign, but sign alone doesn’t make a good hunting spot. 39:50

Question: John asks whether milo is viewed as a lesser-preferred deer crop compared to modern corn and beans, given the shift away from it. 41:12

• Answer: Don says grain sorghum’s advantage is being more drought tolerant with a shorter season, allowing later planting than corn or soybeans. 42:26
• Answer: Don says heavy deer pressure caused him to run out of grain this year, pushing him to try grain sorghum as another source. 43:10

Question: David Armstrong asks whether Don ever feels harvesting target bucks, even with a vertical bow, is too easy given his 80% confidence claim. 45:30 — asked by David Armstrong

• Answer: Don admits a mature buck on his home farm isn’t very difficult to kill over a full season. 46:25
• Answer: Don says killing bucks on tougher permission or public properties without food plots is more rewarding than killing on his own farm. 47:07
• Answer: Don recommends raising the challenge by targeting six-year-old bucks instead of four-year-olds, since few hunters have the willpower for that. 47:32
• Answer: Don blames the ATA Association’s lobbying for pushing crossbows into archery seasons as part of the industry making hunting easier. 49:40
• Answer: Don clarifies he isn’t against crossbows for handicapped hunters, but opposes healthy full-grown men using them during archery season. 50:03

Question: Russell Hilliard asks whether Don and Terry really think coyote and coon roundups are bad, since they help struggling turkey populations. 52:38 — asked by Russell Hilliard

• Answer: Don says he doesn’t think it’s good to put money or prizes on killing wildlife, even if it helps turkey populations. 52:54
• Answer: Terry says he has a big problem with contests that encourage or tolerate trespassing on his farm, where he invests significant money and time. 55:35
• Answer: Don recalls walleye anglers caught shoving lead weights down fish throats to inflate weigh-in results, illustrating how prize money corrupts wildlife contests. 56:50

Terry and Don covered spring food plot timing, noting crops were running early and recommending planting about two weeks after local farmers put in soybeans, per advice credited to Duane Hopkins to plant by weather rather than calendar. They discussed sunlight’s role in seed germination and soybean drydown, and Terry’s Real World blend of four soybean groups for staggered green forage. Terry was headed to Japan after recording, planning to promote the show there. Don covered Miscanthus orders ahead of the May 1 shipping cutoff and a Whitetail Master Academy contest tied to naming a buck he plans to chase. Listener questions addressed deer bridge crossings, evaluating old tree stands, grain sorghum as a drought-tolerant crop after Don ran short on grain, and criticism of crossbows in archery season and prize-money wildlife contests. Terry asked for prayers for Cameron, who was battling cancer, and both discussed the Lester’s Feet charity and a Kentucky ministry raffle supporting Haiti mission work.

Unofficial fan project. AI-synthesized from public episodes; may contain errors.