Episode #253 - Do Not Overcomplicate Habitat Projects!

Published: 2024-12-22
Episode page
Duration: 88 min

In this episode

98-acres

• Riley Welch asks if Don still owns his 98 acres, how the season went, and what he sees as its biggest strength, weakness, and ceiling. 64:13

apple-trees

• Don says Andy Andreas’ apple breeding program is likely the best in the world, even surpassing Cornell University’s program. 9:48
• Jay Brandenberger asks how many years Don leaves protective cages on apple trees and whether he prunes the trees. 48:33

buck-behavior

• Jay Brandenberger asks whether Don has ever had a buck learn his entrance route and bed down out of the way to watch him approach a stand. 48:23

business-philosophy

• Don compares Real World’s approach to Chick fil A, which though closed Sundays still outperforms competitors through superior service. 38:23

christmas

• Terry relays Harold Monk’s message that Christmas was a rescue mission, since people kept failing the chances God gave them, so He sent His Son to save them. 71:43

consulting

• Don is back on the road consulting on properties, having completed four site visits in one week, including one that morning. 3:37
• Don says listening to critics fuels him to take on more consulting work and do it better, despite planning only about 20 properties this winter. 37:03

consulting-clients

• Terry says he can’t put into words how good Real World’s consulting clients are to them. 13:54

consulting-ethics

• Don states he’s had many chances to hunt on consulting clients’ properties but never does, on principle. 15:53

cwd

• Don argues Oklahoma’s program releasing deer carrying a CWD-resistant gene shows the outside-the-box thinking needed to combat the disease. 46:36
• Jeff Gibson asks whether Real World would help fund a study letting contributors buy Real World mineral at cost to test CWD effects in a Missouri zone. 41:27

ehd

• An Iowa consulting client told Don he’s still finding fresh dead deer dying now, in poor body condition, as lingering carryover from EHD. 19:20
• Don explains EHD doesn’t kill deer outright but compromises their health so many die later, often over winter. 19:38

faith

• Terry affirms Real World will never stop using its platform to share Jesus in everything it does. 36:06
• Terry says Real World took criticism this year for including a devotional on the last page of its land management guide, accused of exploiting faith for business. 36:14

farm-exempt

• Terry says farmers needing 2024 tax-year purchases can contact Real World directly to arrange orders even though online sales are officially closed. 39:52

food-plots

• Marvin Beachy asks how important soft edges are on food plots, the best way to create them, and how mature bucks use them. 52:39
• Steve from Minnesota asks whether to plant corn around a plot’s perimeter and beans inside for screening, and whether cornrows should break up bean monocultures. 59:26

health

• Don’s brain scan came back normal with no blockage found, despite earlier fears that mini-strokes could signal a coming major stroke. 0:52
• Don says he’s felt much better and headache-free for nearly two weeks since starting blood pressure medicine and a blood thinner. 1:17

herd-health

• Terry argues the biggest takeaway from last week’s episode was that land managers need to focus on deer herd health from now through February. 18:51

hidden-access

• Real World is launching a new annual screen product called Hidden Access. 31:15
• The Hidden Access mix was developed by Duane Hopkins, whose formula other dealers had been reselling informally for years before Real World adopted it. 31:37

holiday-plans

• Don plans to celebrate Christmas early on the Saturday before, then spend Christmas Eve and Day hunting instead of scheduling client consultations. 5:00

human-intrusion

• Don asserts that minimizing human intrusion matters more to a property’s deer success than any habitat improvement project. 55:59

land-management-guide

• Real World compiled a five-year customer mailing list to directly mail its new land management guide to past buyers. 34:54

lasik

• Don has an appointment scheduled for LASIK eye surgery, mainly wanting to stop wearing glasses because they interfere with shooting his bow. 1:59

listener-relationship

• Don recalls that after mentioning on the podcast that he loves cherry pie, listeners sent him so much cherry pie one winter that some brought it to his home. 14:58

miscanthus

• Real World announces that Miscanthus sales are officially open for the season. 22:13
• Miscanthus shipments run from around late February through May, with rhizomes shipped fresh every other cycle to avoid warehouse sitting. 22:55

nutricrave-corn

• Don highlights that NutriCrave corn has more than double—about 2.2 times—the calories of regular ag corn, helping deer through winter. 20:59

personal-life

• Terry and his wife celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary while working remotely from South Florida over the holidays. 4:14

podcast-schedule

• Terry announces the podcast will return after Christmas with another episode. 71:18

podcast-structure

• Terry outlines that this Christmas week episode covers a Shipshewana Show promo, new Real World product announcements, and six listener-submitted questions. 6:38

product-availability

• Terry clarifies that items marked back order on the website, like switchgrass and soybeans, aren’t sold out—they just haven’t been turned on yet for the 2025 season. 39:42

shed-antlers

• Ellis Ober asks whether most bucks will shed their antlers early this year, having heard reports of early shedding but not seeing it himself. 68:27

shipshewana-show

• Don praises Derek for running a fantastic Shipshewana Show, crediting him with a past legends debate between Don and Tony LaPratt and bringing fresh ideas. 12:05

sorghum

• Don explains the new grain sorghum blend resists deer browsing better than corn or soybeans, letting it mature to produce grain for winter. 26:17

tree-protection

• Don relays that Jay Gingerich suggested using screen wire wrapped around trunks as an alternative tree-protection method. 51:58
• Terry plans to use the screen-wire trunk-wrap method on trees he currently has on order, calling it a fabulous idea. 52:02

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (hunt) 64:49
• King David (hunt) 68:00
• unnamed buck (harvest) 69:02

Listener questions

Question: Jeff Gibson asks whether Real World would help fund a study letting contributors buy Real World mineral at cost to test CWD effects in a Missouri zone. 41:27 — asked by Jeff Gibson

• Answer: Don doubts Jeff will get traction but encourages him to pursue the idea, promising Real World will help if he secures a state agency’s backing. 42:50
• Answer: Don challenges Jeff to pursue the CWD study proposal in his home state of Illinois first rather than Missouri. 43:03

Question: Jay Brandenberger asks whether Don has ever had a buck learn his entrance route and bed down out of the way to watch him approach a stand. 48:23 — asked by Jay Brandenberger

• Answer: Don says a buck patterning a hunter’s entrance and exit that closely means the stand is being hunted way too much. 48:59
• Answer: Don states that scenario has never actually happened to him. 49:07

Question: Jay Brandenberger asks how many years Don leaves protective cages on apple trees and whether he prunes the trees. 48:33 — asked by Jay Brandenberger

• Answer: Don prunes young apple trees only to establish good branch structure, not on mature trees except for storm damage. 50:08
• Answer: Don typically leaves protective cages on apple trees for about ten years. 50:34

Question: Marvin Beachy asks how important soft edges are on food plots, the best way to create them, and how mature bucks use them. 52:39 — asked by Marvin Beachy

• Answer: Don defines a hard edge as mature woods butting straight up against a field with no transition. 53:31
• Answer: Don recommends cutting worthless trees along the field edge and dropping them outward to create a natural soft transition. 54:05

Question: Steve from Minnesota asks whether to plant corn around a plot’s perimeter and beans inside for screening, and whether cornrows should break up bean monocultures. 59:26 — asked by Steve

• Answer: Don says most food plots he sees are simply too small, offering little pulling power or food, rather than lacking clever layout. 60:12
• Answer: Don advises growing enough food to keep deer on the property year-round instead of obsessing over interior plot layout. 60:24

Question: Riley Welch asks if Don still owns his 98 acres, how the season went, and what he sees as its biggest strength, weakness, and ceiling. 64:13 — asked by Riley Welch

• Answer: Don confirms he still owns the 98 acres, noting only Terry has ever hunted it there. 64:34
• Answer: Don estimates the property’s realistic yearly ceiling at around 150 inches, with occasional bigger bucks possible. 65:56
• Answer: Don identifies the surrounding neighborhood as the farm’s biggest weakness. 66:37

Question: Ellis Ober asks whether most bucks will shed their antlers early this year, having heard reports of early shedding but not seeing it himself. 68:27 — asked by Ellis Ober

• Answer: Don doesn’t expect widespread early shedding this year, though he’s seen pictures of injured bucks shedding early already. 68:49
• Answer: Don explains one pictured buck had been shot and injured earlier in the season, and that stress caused it to shed early. 69:19

Prayer Time

Scripture: Luke
Theme: Christmas as God’s personal gift and rescue mission
Ty Miller reads Luke 2’s account of the angel telling shepherds the good news was for them personally, then prays for listeners to feel God’s presence, shed fear, and personally receive Christ this Christmas wherever they find themselves. 73:37

Don shared that his brain scan came back normal after earlier mini-stroke fears, and that he’d felt headache-free for nearly two weeks on blood pressure medicine and a blood thinner. He was back consulting, having done four site visits in one week, and planned to hunt Christmas Eve and Day rather than schedule clients. Terry noted a covered promo, new product announcements, and six listener questions. Announcements included Miscanthus sales opening, a new grain sorghum blend resistant to deer browsing, and a new annual screen product called Hidden Access developed by Duane Hopkins. Don addressed criticism over a devotional in the land management guide, saying it fuels him to consult more. Listener questions covered soft food-plot edges, protective cages on apple trees, Don’s 98-acre property’s roughly 150-inch ceiling, and doubts about widespread early antler shedding. Ty Miller closed with a Luke 2 prayer reading.

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