Episode #171 - Take What a Property Gives You!

Published: 2023-05-28
Episode page
Duration: 74 min

In this episode

age-structure

• Terry argues age structure can be grown on nearly any hunted property if it’s set up and managed correctly, separate from a property’s antler-size ceiling. 31:20

allergic-reaction

• Kyle Heuerman had a severe allergic reaction while spraying a property, with his throat swelling shut, as relayed by Terry. 33:43

allergies

• Terry recounts nearly being unable to drive home Tuesday night after his eyes swelled shut from an allergic reaction while riding through waist-high grass. 33:25

buyafarm

• Terry announces a new BuyAFarm property feature coming on the podcast next week. 3:15

cab-tractor

• Terry says he hasn’t been sick since getting his first cab tractor last year, after years of fighting illness from dust and pollen exposure. 35:08

clover-management

• Kyle Rentmeister asks how he’s supposed to plan clover plots when two respected experts give opposite mowing advice. 64:02

deer-management

• Don believes Iowa is about the only state that truly capitalizes on managing its deer herd well, unlike most others. 52:08

deer-population-management

• Dan Schultz asks what Don thinks state DNR agencies should manage for—age structure, population numbers, or trophy opportunities. 55:56

doe-management

• Brandon McDaniel asks whether Kentucky should offer an extra buck tag for tagging additional does, per a Fish and Wildlife survey on increasing doe harvest. 47:56

farm-purchase

• Patrick asks whether a great neighborhood of like-minded managing neighbors matters more than a farm with great access and layout despite surrounding hunting pressure. 58:51

fawn-drop-theory

• Don says the theory of using fawn-drop sightings to backdate a doe’s breeding date has too many holes, since the breeding buck typically runs her far from her usual range. 41:25

firearms

• Terry plans to sight in his new .300 Blackout rifle this weekend. 72:35
• Terry’s new build includes a light/laser setup and a Vortex AMG optic, and will serve as his new truck gun. 72:54

food-plot-planting

• Don strongly urges food plotters to plant on schedule despite a forecast with no rain, since delaying only increases the odds of hitting a long dry spell later. 15:57

herbicide

• Don explains contact herbicides typically kill plants by shutting down photosynthesis, a slow process taking weeks rather than causing immediate death. 12:18
• Terry advises food plotters to spray weeds and then wait ten days to two weeks before tilling, since surviving roots can get chopped up and redistributed. 12:52
• Don advises identifying a herbicide by its active ingredient rather than trade name, since many companies sell the same chemical under different brand names. 8:15
• Don explains many residual herbicides must be applied before the plant germinates, since spraying them on an already-sprouted plant can damage or kill it. 13:10
• Don notes residual herbicides only stay effective in the soil for a limited time, since rain dilutes and washes the chemical away, weakening its effect. 9:49

herbicide-advice

• Terry recommends calling an Ag Chem representative, noting he has personally used Ag Chem Solutions out of Indianapolis for herbicide advice and product. 13:49

herbicide-resistance

• Don recommends staying toward the maximum labeled herbicide rate, since under-dosing to save money is how many weeds became resistant to glyphosate over time. 10:39

herbicide-timing

• Terry waits until his soybeans reach about 10 inches tall before spraying, since spraying right after germination just means spraying again later. 72:11

kentucky-regulations

• Terry warns Kentucky can’t allow high-powered rifles, a rifle season during the rut, hunting over bait, and a two-buck limit all at once without harming the herd. 51:35

miscanthus

• Don explains Miscanthus dies back to the ground every year and regrows fresh from the base, rather than continuing to grow from its previous height. 20:39
• Don burns his switchgrass and Miscanthus plantings on a three-year rotation, and the patch burned that year always grows taller and thicker than in off years. 25:52

property-access

• Don recommends giving up on the portion of a property with poor access and letting deer have it, then focusing effort on pulling deer to the accessible part to kill them there. 30:23

property-ceiling

• Don says every hunting property has a natural ‘ceiling’—a maximum buck size potential that management can approach but never truly exceed. 28:56

reed-canary-grass

• Don believes Kyle’s reaction came from driving through a nasty patch of reed canary grass to reach a plot, which coats everything in pollen. 34:39

safety-recommendation

• Terry recommends keeping Benadryl in the truck or tractor while doing spring fieldwork, given severe allergic reactions like his and Kyle’s. 36:18

seed-coverage

• Terry says when broadcasting seed with no rain expected for over a week, the key concern is getting the seed covered rather than waiting on rain. 17:11

technical-error

• Terry apologizes that an Adobe Premiere file-naming error caused last week’s episode to upload with a duplicate segment instead of the planned BuyAFarm feature with guest Wayne Keller. 2:39

trail-camera

• Lyle Bontrager asks whether previous years’ trail camera history or current in-season data matters most for patterning and killing mature bucks. 37:10

tree-planting

• Don plans to plant about 160 large burlapped oak trees this fall on a newly acquired 40-acre parcel, working with Jay Gingerich. 71:19

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (history) 40:38

Listener questions

Question: Lyle Bontrager asks whether previous years’ trail camera history or current in-season data matters most for patterning and killing mature bucks. 37:10 — asked by Lyle Bontrager

• Answer: Don says previous years’ trail camera history is more valuable than current-season data, since current photos are already outdated by the time hunters see them. 37:32

Question: Brandon McDaniel asks whether Kentucky should offer an extra buck tag for tagging additional does, per a Fish and Wildlife survey on increasing doe harvest. 47:56 — asked by Brandon McDaniel

• Answer: Don personally dislikes the bonus-tag-for-does idea, fearing dishonest hunters would falsely claim doe harvests to earn an extra buck tag. 48:39
• Answer: Don says such a system punishes honest hunters while others game it, though he’d support it if the bonus tag were late-season archery only. 49:36

Question: Dan Schultz asks what Don thinks state DNR agencies should manage for—age structure, population numbers, or trophy opportunities. 55:56 — asked by Dan Schultz

• Answer: Don’s goal for any state is a deer population level acceptable to most of the human population, not maximized purely for farmers or hunters. 56:36
• Answer: Don also wants states to manage for better age structure and more balanced buck-to-doe sex ratios rather than letting buck harvest dominate. 57:26

Question: Patrick asks whether a great neighborhood of like-minded managing neighbors matters more than a farm with great access and layout despite surrounding hunting pressure. 58:51 — asked by Patrick

• Answer: Don says a property with great layout and access matters more than being surrounded by like-minded, well-managing neighbors. 59:13

Question: Kyle Rentmeister asks how he’s supposed to plan clover plots when two respected experts give opposite mowing advice. 64:02 — asked by Kyle Rentmeister

• Answer: Don says clover plots mowed only once a year, as the alternative advice suggests, turn into a weedy mess deer avoid, based on his firsthand observation. 65:16
• Answer: Don maintains regular mowing promotes the tender new clover growth deer prefer, which is why he keeps mowing about once a month. 66:23

Sponsors this episode

• Cranford Manufacturing

Terry opened by apologizing for an Adobe Premiere file-naming error that caused a duplicate segment to upload instead of the planned BuyAFarm feature, promising the property feature the following week. The episode covered herbicide use for food plots, with Don explaining how contact and residual herbicides work, urging near-maximum labeled rates to avoid resistance, and identifying products by active ingredient. Terry and Don discussed planting on schedule despite dry forecasts and prioritizing seed coverage over waiting for rain. They also swapped stories about severe allergic reactions to pollen and grass while spraying, including Terry’s own swollen eyes and Kyle Heuerman’s throat swelling shut, recommending Benadryl for fieldwork. Listener questions addressed trail camera history versus in-season data for patterning bucks, a proposed Kentucky bonus doe tag, what state agencies should manage for, whether neighborhood or access matters more, and conflicting clover-mowing advice, with Don favoring regular mowing and property access over ceiling potential.

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