Episode #254 - Don Improving Cell Cameral Locations, No-Till Food Plots, and Winter Habitat Projects

Published: 2024-12-29
Episode page
Duration: 70 min

In this episode

brassicas

• Ben Sweeney asks whether Don has seen turnip bulbs rot early and go untouched by deer during recent mild winters. 51:54

buck-aging

• Terry jokes that the only reliable way to age a live buck is by how far his ‘gibblies’ sag from his backside. 30:34 (light moment)

cell-cameras

• Don clarifies that mature bucks still show up on cell cameras, just less frequently than on non-cellular cameras at the same spot. 24:38

chasing-giants-tv

• Don announces he will video-document his new food plot rotation process as a short-video series on Chasing Giants TV throughout the growing season. 14:17

deer-browse

• Don observed that unusually warm fall and winter weather led deer to browse his cereal grain plots down to bare dirt. 5:08

double-cropping

• Andy Schwalbert asks whether a dedicated four-acre green plot beats soybeans on his mild-winter Southern Illinois farm. 55:58

family

• Terry recounts traveling to the West Virginia and Virginia border to attend his grandmother’s funeral services while dealing with slow mountain internet. 0:44
• Don shares that his father, a minister, is personally conducting the funeral service for his own mother, Don’s grandmother. 2:58

fescue

• Jacob Boston asks why deer are browsing plain fescue cow pastures more than his diverse fall food plots nearby. 46:08

food-plot-diversity

• Don recommends planting both greens and grains for diversity since no one can predict how mild or harsh the coming winter will be. 5:42
• Don recounts that his diversified corn, bean, and cereal grain plots withstood deer browse differently, with beans lasting later into the season than ever before. 15:53

food-plot-rotation

• Don plans to split his farm 50/50 between NutriCrave corn and Gen-two soybeans next year, overseeding both crops via drone with different cover mixes. 13:20

food-plot-tonnage

• Don recommends that hunters with limited acreage reduce food plot size while increasing plot tonnage to free up room for adding bedding cover. 17:55

food-plots

• Don and Duane Hopkins tested several cereal grain varieties popular in the dairy industry on Don’s farm this year. 4:10
• Don plans to stop dedicating separate plots to greens and instead provide all his greens through overseeding into his corn and soybean plots. 7:25

girdling

• Andy Hendrix asks whether Don prefers hack-and-squirt or girdling to clear timber and promote undergrowth, and when is the best time for either. 36:53

illness

• Don caught an illness from his son-in-law over Christmas and spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day entirely in bed or on the couch. 1:42

lesters-feet

• Terry announces that Lester’s Feet, the charity his daughter founded, will hold an on-site fundraiser at the Midwest Sportsman’s Classic similar to last year’s. 35:05

midwest-sportsmans-classic

• Terry announces that the Midwest Sportsman’s Classic expanded its show floor into another wing, with only a few exhibitor booths still available. 34:46

neighbor-disputes

• Jason Brasda asks how to handle a neighboring outfitter whose ladder stand and food plot sit right on his property line. 42:38

no-till

• Don plans to no-till drill soybeans into dying, sprayed cereal grain so the thatch hides vulnerable germinating soybeans from deer and reduces browse pressure. 9:03
• Eric of Larson Farms reportedly said some of their fields can be no-tilled while others with sticky gumbo soil cannot. 18:55

recording-setup

• Terry set up the recording in his cousin Josh QuietKat’s trophy room because it has the fastest internet among nearby family members. 1:09

sunday-night-prayer-time

• The hosts announce that this week’s closing Sunday Night Prayer Time features Darryl Monk of WiseEye Camera, Harold’s brother, in his second appearance. 59:27

trail-camera-placement

• Don recommends positioning trail cameras off to the side of deer travel routes and slightly elevated rather than facing deer head-on. 27:36
• Wes Delks reportedly said that good trail camera locations, like good stand locations, must be deliberately built rather than simply found. 29:28

trail-cameras

• Don runs 12 Reconyx cell cameras, and one particular location consistently produces more pictures than the other eleven combined. 25:21

youth-hunt

• The hosts announce that Patrick Simpson’s 14-year-old son Bryson Simpson’s out-of-state youth hunt video was released on their YouTube channel on Christmas Day. 59:39

Listener questions

Question: Andy Hendrix asks whether Don prefers hack-and-squirt or girdling to clear timber and promote undergrowth, and when is the best time for either. 36:53 — asked by Andy Hendrix

• Answer: Don prefers girdling for the species he typically cuts, saying it works far better than hack-and-squirt for killing those trees. 37:17
• Answer: Don explains that winter, when trees pull energy into their roots, is the right time to girdle or hack-and-squirt trees. 42:23

Question: Jason Brasda asks how to handle a neighboring outfitter whose ladder stand and food plot sit right on his property line. 42:38

• Answer: Don says that if landowners’ management goals conflict enough with a neighbor’s, deer must be protected from being taken across the line. 44:53
• Answer: Don states the only real options are selling the property or building a fence, since fences will become increasingly common. 45:21

Question: Jacob Boston asks why deer are browsing plain fescue cow pastures more than his diverse fall food plots nearby. 46:08

• Answer: Don explains fescue is one of the least palatable, non-native grasses, mainly used for erosion control rather than deer forage. 46:34
• Answer: Don says deer aren’t grazers like cattle, so some other unseen plant growing among the fescue is likely what’s attracting them. 47:16

Question: Ben Sweeney asks whether Don has seen turnip bulbs rot early and go untouched by deer during recent mild winters. 51:54

• Answer: Don says turnip and radish bulbs provide far more than food, since their long roots draw deep soil nutrients upward. 52:13
• Answer: Don advises not worrying when deer leave turnips uneaten, since the rotting bulbs still enrich the soil for next year’s crop. 54:35

Question: Andy Schwalbert asks whether a dedicated four-acre green plot beats soybeans on his mild-winter Southern Illinois farm. 55:58

• Answer: Don recommends double-cropping greens and grains together in the same plot so hunters always have a fallback food source if one crop fails. 56:41

Prayer Time

Scripture: Revelation 3:15-16
Theme: hot, cold, or lukewarm faith
Daryl reads Revelation 3:15-16, where Jesus tells the lukewarm church of Laodicea that he wishes they were fully hot or cold, warning he will spit out the lukewarm. 63:01

Theme: staying close to the source for refreshment and healing
Daryl explains that Laodicea’s piped-in water lost its cold refreshment or healing heat over distance, teaching that Jesus wants believers to stay close to him, the source, for refreshment and healing. 67:32

Theme: closing prayer to stay close to God
Daryl closes in prayer thanking God for the Christmas season and asking for help to be fully hot or cold rather than lukewarm by staying close to God, the source, in Jesus’ name. 70:01

Sponsors this episode

• Victory GMC of Saint Joe

Terry recorded from his cousin Josh QuietKat’s trophy room, which had the fastest internet available while he was near the West Virginia and Virginia border for his grandmother’s funeral, conducted by Don’s father. Don, recovering from an illness caught over Christmas, discussed testing cereal grain varieties with Duane Hopkins, noting warm weather let deer browse plots to bare dirt, and outlined plans to overseed greens into corn and soybeans, no-till drill soybeans into sprayed grain thatch, and split acreage between NutriCrave corn and Gen-two soybeans while documenting the process on Chasing Giants TV. He also discussed his 12 Reconyx cameras and camera placement advice, citing Wes Delks on building good locations. Listener questions covered girdling versus hack-and-squirt timing, handling a neighboring outfitter’s stand on a property line, fescue pasture browsing, turnip bulb rot, and green plots versus soybeans. Daryl closed with a prayer on Revelation 3:15-16 about staying close to God rather than being lukewarm.

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