Episode #239 - EHD Is Closing in on Don’s Farm!

Published: 2024-09-16
Episode page
Duration: 76 min

In this episode

apple-breeding

• Don explained that the apple breeder he saw present has grown hundreds of thousands of apple trees and does DNA testing for disease-resistance genes. 62:36

apple-trees

• Terry recommended Jay Gingerich’s newer disease-resistant apple tree varieties, which don’t require the spraying older apple varieties needed. 61:16

buck-protection

• Don advised protecting bucks with 10 or more points as two-year-olds the same way hunters protect button bucks, letting them mature. 30:51

captive-deer

• Don recalled that from his time in the captive deer industry, southern breeders often brought northern deer down for breeding programs. 11:56

cell-cameras

• Don shared his observation that he gets fewer mature buck pictures from cell cameras than from non-cellular trail cameras. 19:05
• Don reported that after listener feedback on cell cameras deterring mature bucks, roughly 75% agreed with his observation and 25% disagreed. 19:46

charity

• Terry announced hunters are rallying to take deer to processing plants to make shelf-stable protein sticks for backpack food programs feeding kids. 22:11

content-plan

• Terry planned daily short reels for YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook under the name Chasing Giants TV, alongside weekly strategy videos and full hunt productions. 4:35

culling

• Don shared he’s revised his view on culling, now believing that in some situations, aggressively culling lower-end bucks can meaningfully influence a herd’s genetics. 29:54

ehd

• Terry stated their worst fear was that EHD-favoring drought conditions were spreading further. 7:55
• Don reported EHD outbreaks recurring across Illinois with new reports daily, including one recently in his own home county. 8:06
• Tim Heath found several dead deer in Logan County, Illinois, including one captured on trail camera video looking visibly sick from EHD. 8:29
• Don explained the outbreak needs a heavy rain of several inches and a hard frost to subside, but the ten-day forecast showed no rain. 9:11
• A friend doing food plot work on Terry’s Illinois property texted him about a strong smell that could indicate a dead deer from EHD. 9:56
• Don explained that deer surviving EHD develop resistance for life and pass some of that resistance on to their fawns. 11:08
• Don stated the EHD survival rate in the Midwest and northern states is under ten percent, often under five percent, so most infected deer die. 12:52
• Don recalled that the 2012 EHD outbreak killed 75-80% of deer on his property, taking four to five years to recover. 14:09
• Does EHD kill fawns as much as it kills older deer, or do people just not photograph dead fawns? 31:56

ehd-recovery

• Is there anything that can be done to expedite a deer herd’s recovery to a healthy level after a severe EHD outbreak? 28:21

fae-classic

• Terry invited listeners to the FAE Midwestern Sportsman’s Classic to meet Don, Joe Miles, Bobby Worthington, and other team members. 26:57

food-plot

• Terry recommended securing foolproof stand access first, then designing food plots and habitat around that access rather than starting from plot placement. 43:33
• Don advised that a good food plot should improve not just stands on its edge but also stands up to 100 yards away. 44:07

food-plot-size

• Is there an ideal food plot size for making mature bucks feel safe feeding in it? 40:14

future-plans

• Don teased that he is developing a new story and possible opportunity to partner with a group he’s not yet ready to reveal. 23:11

hunter-frustrations

• Can Don and Terry reflect on frustrating people-related situations that come with their notoriety and how they’ve dealt with them? 48:37

hunting-community

• Don recounted a stranger doing soil testing near his farm who always texts first to confirm it’s safe before entering, out of respect after listening to the podcast. 53:24

hunting-permission

• Don shared that landowners often assume he only targets properties with big bucks, so he sometimes gets denied permission on land nobody else is hunting. 50:16

hunting-privacy

• Don described using reverse psychology, parking his truck in one spot while actually riding a QuietKat e-bike three miles away, to keep other hunters off his real location. 52:05

kentucky-buck

• Brandon Epperson killed a large velvet buck on opening evening in Kentucky, the third straight year he’s killed a velvet buck opening weekend there. 6:55

mens-retreat

• Don announced his church’s men’s retreat on September 27-28 in Sullivan, Illinois, with sign-up by calling the given phone number. 24:57
• Don announced Brent Henderson, founder of the Unleashed Man ministry, will speak at the men’s retreat campfire and the next morning. 25:20

neighbor-relations

• How do Don and Terry deal with neighbor issues like hunting too close to property lines or jealousy over a shot buck? 34:39

new-series-launch

• Terry announced the first episode of the new Chasing Giants: A Mission Whitetail web series released that day on their YouTube channel. 1:38

nutrition

• Terry recommended building a year-round nutrition program well before an EHD outbreak occurs, since it’s too late to help deer once an outbreak starts. 14:44
• Don compared deer nutrition supplementation to daily vitamin C use, saying consistent year-round supplementation, not a one-time dose, builds real resilience. 15:43

pawpaw-trees

• If deer are attracted to pawpaw fruit, could pawpaw trees be another good food source option? 59:20

personal-update

• Terry shared that he had just returned from a trip to Chicago and gotten sick, which affected the show’s normal schedule. 0:36

podcast-milestone

• Terry reflected that 239 episodes into the podcast, the blessings from doing it have far outweighed the burdens they focused on early on. 55:20

prayer-time

• Terry announced Daniel Pifer, a new Chasing Giants TV team member met through Wes Delks, will lead this week’s Sunday Night Prayer Time. 44:41

rut-funnel

• What does the term rut funnel mean, and how do you identify or create one? 45:10

shipshewana-show

• Terry urged hunting-industry vendors interested in the Shipshewana Show to call Derek immediately, since booth space is running out fast. 26:34

social-media

• Terry advised hunters not to oversell or fabricate stories about a harvested buck when posting on social media. 38:36
• Terry recommended that if hunters have nothing good to say about someone else’s buck, they should simply say congratulations or move on. 38:46

sponsorship

• Terry credited Real World and ASIO with funding the new Chasing Giants Mission Whitetail platform. 1:47

team-diversity

• Don noted new show contributors span the country, including Joe Miles from South Carolina and others from Georgia. 5:41

web-show

• Don announced Brandon Effingham, Wes Delks, and Ty Miller among the team members helping produce the new web show alongside Joe Miles and Terry. 2:44
• Don planned for the new web show to feature varied content including hunts, land management education, and hunting tactics from the team. 3:12
• Don pointed viewers to watch Brandon Epperson shoot his Kentucky buck in the Chasing Giants: A Mission Whitetail series web show. 7:31

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (harvest) 6:55
• unnamed buck (history) 7:15
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 8:29
• unnamed buck (sighting) 9:56

Listener questions

Question: Is there anything that can be done to expedite a deer herd’s recovery to a healthy level after a severe EHD outbreak? 28:21 — asked by Rob Vander Venen

• Answer: Don said after his 2012 outbreak he stopped shooting does entirely for nearly ten years, only resuming a couple does per year recently. 28:26

Question: Does EHD kill fawns as much as it kills older deer, or do people just not photograph dead fawns? 31:56 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Don explained that EHD kills fawns just as readily as it kills bigger, older deer, though bigger deer’s larger nostrils make it easier for the biting midge to transmit the virus. 32:13

Question: How do Don and Terry deal with neighbor issues like hunting too close to property lines or jealousy over a shot buck? 34:39 — asked by Michael Young

• Answer: Don said most neighbor conflicts stem from lack of communication and can be prevented by talking with neighbors before problems arise. 36:44

Question: Is there an ideal food plot size for making mature bucks feel safe feeding in it? 40:14 — asked by Chase

• Answer: Don said plot size matters less than hunting pressure around it; a well-hunted large plot can work fine if the property is hunted correctly. 40:36

Question: What does the term rut funnel mean, and how do you identify or create one? 45:10 — asked by Aaron Miller

• Answer: Don defined a rut funnel as a terrain feature that narrows and channels cruising bucks’ travel during the rut, though it sees little activity otherwise. 45:20

Question: Can Don and Terry reflect on frustrating people-related situations that come with their notoriety and how they’ve dealt with them? 48:37 — asked by Jeremy Van Kirk

• Answer: Don said notoriety brings both good and bad, from lost permission and rumors to opened doors, and he chooses to focus on the positives. 53:49

Question: If deer are attracted to pawpaw fruit, could pawpaw trees be another good food source option? 59:20 — asked by Tim Peachy

• Answer: Don confirmed deer do like pawpaw fruit, though the trees need rich soil and at least partial shade to thrive. 61:06

Prayer Time

Scripture: John, Luke, Acts
Theme: leaving-the-four-walls-to-serve
Daniel Pifer urged Christians to move beyond the comfort of the church’s four walls and actively serve their communities, citing multiple scriptures on discipleship and putting others first, after learning churches have low community volunteering rates. 71:41

Terry announced the launch of the Chasing Giants: A Mission Whitetail web series, funded by Real World and ASIO, with a growing production team spanning several states and plans for daily reels alongside weekly strategy and hunt videos. Brandon Epperson’s Kentucky velvet buck, his third straight opening-weekend velvet kill there, was highlighted as web series content. Much of the episode focused on a spreading EHD outbreak across Illinois, including a sick deer Tim Heath caught on trail camera in Logan County; Don detailed survival rates under ten percent in northern states, recovery lessons from his 2012 outbreak that killed 75-80% of his herd, and the value of year-round nutrition programs built ahead of outbreaks. Listener questions covered fawn mortality from EHD, neighbor relations, food plot sizing, rut funnels, and pawpaw as a food source. Don also revised his stance on culling lower-end bucks, and Daniel Pifer led a prayer segment on serving beyond the church walls.

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