Episode #19 - Finishing Timber Projects and Starting Food Plot Projects

Published: 2020-04-15
Episode page
Duration: 55 min

In this episode

antler-growth

• Terry said good winter body condition combined with early spring crops is really setting up to be a good year for antler growth. 53:36

brassica

• Phil asked whether deer in large ag areas take longer to adapt to a new food source, based on his slow brassica plot results. 33:30

brush-wall

• Don joked that he built a wall of brush and treetops on his property’s southern border that would make Donald Trump proud. 11:36 (light moment)

culling-bucks

• Terry announced they’ll cover culling bucks in an upcoming episode, including how he plans to manage deer on his property differently than before. 9:37

deer-funneling

• Terry said there’s no better way to direct deer traffic than dropping a tree or two, pushing them closer to your stand. 18:24
• Terry said if you create a path for deer with dropped trees, they will follow it. 19:13

drought-concern

• Terry noted two wet years in a row and worried the pattern might swing into a drought this summer, despite bucks being off to a good start. 53:44

farm-planning

• Don has a two-year plan: keep farming alfalfa unchanged this year, then rotate it out next year to expand a soybean field with diversity around it. 10:12

farming-advice

• Terry advised that if a farming method already works, don’t change it. 16:56

fence

• Terry built a roughly 100-yard fence to stop deer from slipping behind his blind and catching his wind. 13:19

food-plot

• Terry is converting his remaining cattle hay field into food plots as he exits the cattle business before hunting season. 8:00

food-plot-diversity

• Terry plans to diversify his food plots and put more acreage into food than ever before, and will also change how he manages the deer on his property. 9:15

food-plot-placement

• Terry recalled that when he first started clearing plots on his property years ago, the first plot he cleared was in the wrong spot and he had to replant it into trees. 26:59
• Terry advised evaluating access, wind direction, and terrain when choosing where to clear a new food plot. 27:17
• With a blank-canvas property, how do you decide the strategic location for food plots when clearing timber is unavoidable? 26:49

food-plot-planting

• Terry expects to have all his food plots planted by May 1, weather permitting, earlier than he’s ever managed before. 51:29

habitat-enhancement

• Terry confirmed he isn’t expanding his acreage, only enhancing existing habitat, and will manage his deer herd a bit differently than in the past. 6:54

habitat-improvement

• Terry’s goal is to make his home farm twice as good as it is now through habitat work over the next two years, without adding acreage. 3:18

hunting-discipline

• Terry said disciplined deer hunters, the ones willing to climb down and abandon a hunt over wind, are the ones who consistently kill big bucks. 44:58

land-consulting

• Don warned against paying land consultants who only assess aerials rather than physically walking the property. 28:34

mineral-feeding

• Don plans to resume his mineral feeding regimen with Maximizer mineral once turkey season ends. 50:53

next-episode

• Don announced they’ll be back with episode 20 in about a week, hoping to report on planted fields. 54:06

nitrogen

• Don recounted that on an Illinois food plot, deer devoured winter peas and cereal grains in a Deadly Dozen blend but never touched the brassicas, which he suspected was due to high nitrogen from hog-waste spraying. 40:55

planting-schedule

• Don’s high school softball coaching season was canceled, freeing up time so he expects to plant soybeans earlier than ever this year. 49:44

podcast-format

• Terry said listeners like that the show takes their questions and answers them in detail, unlike other podcasts’ format. 2:02

podcast-growth

• Don noted the podcast release was running about a week behind after Terry had to cancel his second master class, though downloads are exploding. 1:40

podcast-storyline

• Don announced that following Terry’s attempt to locate and hunt his target buck is one of several storylines planned for listeners in the 2020 season. 5:38

property-access

• Don compared their two farms: his is in Kentucky and Terry’s in Illinois, and the biggest difference is that Don only has access from one direction. 6:07

public-land

• One of Terry’s goals this year is to shoot a buck over 170 inches on public land. 4:29

quietkat

• Don used his QuietKat electric bike to quickly check storm damage on his ridge when it was too muddy to drive the truck back. 15:06

skid-loader

• Terry used his skid loader to push felled trees aside, creating a deer path past some of his edge stands. 18:59

social-media

• Listeners were told to follow the show on social media and watch the Higgins Outdoors website for blog updates. 54:40

soybean-planting

• Don’s buddy Brandon Epperson bought a Genesis planter and offered to drill Don’s beans, but Don leans toward sticking with broadcasting since it’s worked well. 16:41

stand-placement

• Don said if a tree stand can be winded from any direction, that just tells you you’re in the wrong spot. 48:41

timber-work

• Terry said he’s pretty much done with timber work and finished his bedding enhancement work on Sunday, putting his chainsaw away. 51:07

tornado

• Don’s farm was near two tornadoes, one about seven miles north and another about a mile and a half south of his house. 13:41

trail-camera

• Terry plans to scout new trail camera locations this summer to find a good public-land buck in velvet, then slip in early before pressure builds. 5:10
• Terry said his last trail camera pulls showed bucks had already shed but were in the best body condition he’d ever seen for that time of year. 52:31

tree-stand

• Terry moved three or four tree stands short distances, mostly 20 yards or less, to improve his wind advantage on different bucks. 17:28

tree-stand-relocation

• Terry moved a stand he’d used for over twenty years just 12-15 yards to a now-mature oak, letting him play the wind better. 47:32
• Terry had to take down an old TV antenna from one big oak and move it, along with his stands, when he relocated to the better tree. 48:02

wind-management

• Don positioned his new elevated blinds and tree stands so there’s no way a deer can approach from the downwind side. 11:45
• Jordan asked whether it’s best to leave a stand and come back later, or sit it out, when the wind shifts mid-hunt. 41:52

wind-sock

• A wind sock is recommended as a good investment for checking wind direction before heading out to hunt. 49:00

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (sighting) 4:44
• unnamed buck (history) 4:47

Listener questions

Question: With a blank-canvas property, how do you decide the strategic location for food plots when clearing timber is unavoidable? 26:49 — asked by Tyson Schulte

• Answer: Terry related that his first cleared plot years ago was in the wrong spot and he ended up replanting it into trees. 26:59
• Answer: Terry said to evaluate access, wind direction, and terrain before locating a new food plot. 27:17
• Answer: Don said this question is exactly why paying a land consultant who only studies aerial photos is a waste of money. 28:34
• Answer: Terry said it takes boots on the ground because there are too many factors an aerial photo can’t show. 30:01

Question: Phil asked whether deer in large ag areas take longer to adapt to a new food source, based on his slow brassica plot results. 33:30 — asked by Phil Ostrowski

• Answer: Terry theorized deer initially bite bitter early-season brassica plants and write them off as food. 35:27
• Answer: Terry advised Phil to stick with brassica plots for a couple more years. 35:51
• Answer: Don agreed and advised keeping soybeans as the food plot foundation rather than relying on brassica alone. 37:01
• Answer: Don guessed Phil’s ag-ground plot likely still has residual high nitrogen suppressing deer use of the brassicas. 38:41

Question: Jordan asked whether it’s best to leave a stand and come back later, or sit it out, when the wind shifts mid-hunt. 41:52 — asked by Jordan Brandenburg

• Answer: Terry said Jordan has to leave whenever the wind shifts, since nothing is worse than a swirling wind. 42:19
• Answer: Terry warned that staying on a bad-wind stand burns the spot for future hunts, not just that day, so it’s better to leave and return later. 43:17
• Answer: Don said one wrong decision to stay could cost sightings for the rest of the year, not just that hunt. 43:46

Terry and Don discussed habitat and season-of-life plans for 2020. Terry set a goal of shooting a buck over 170 inches on public land, planning to scout new camera locations in summer and slip in early before pressure built. Both were reworking their farms without adding acreage: Terry was converting a former cattle hay field into food plots and diversifying plantings, aiming to have everything planted by May 1; Don had a two-year plan rotating alfalfa out for expanded soybeans. They covered wind management extensively, moving several stands short distances for better wind advantage and stressing that a stand winded from any direction is simply in the wrong spot. Dropping trees to funnel deer traffic and clearing plots based on access, wind, and terrain rather than aerial photos alone were also discussed. Listener questions covered slow-adapting brassica plots and whether to abandon a stand when wind shifts, which Terry said was necessary to avoid burning the spot.

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