Episode #271 - Cool Wet Spring Concerns for Antler Growth and Nutrition

Published: 2025-05-04
Episode page
Duration: 72 min

In this episode

aaron-gaines

Terry explains Dr. Aaron Gaines previously worked with Real World, then Analogix (later sold to Prad Co), and now works independently as a consultant for them. 13:45
Don says Aaron Gaines has been an asset to Real World since the beginning, introducing them to Expect Healthy Deer technology, and is a man of great integrity. 14:39

age-structure

Don says age is the key reason Iowa produces so many big bucks while Michigan and Pennsylvania don’t, since those states lack enough older bucks. 42:46

antler-growth

Don worries the many cold, damp spring days could slightly hurt antler growth, though he’d feel better if the moisture had come with temperatures about 10 degrees warmer. 2:10

buck-lifespan

Terry asks Don what he thinks the average lifespan of a buck is. 41:50

business-policy

Don states Real World still offers a 100% money-back refund for unhappy customers. 11:53

chasing-assurance

Terry announces the new Chasing Assurance podcast, featuring his dad, will launch around Father’s Day this year. 57:42

clover

Dwayne gave Don new clover varieties to test, which Don planted in the new fruit orchard plot featured on a Chasing Giants TV video. 7:20

consultants

Don announces all seven consultants will hold their own meeting the following Saturday, the 28th, after the dealer event. 22:50

consulting

Terry describes finishing a consulting project on swampland in Western Kentucky that had been underwater, calling the flood water levels from recent storms insane. 17:57
Don asks any client who didn’t receive a digital copy of their written property plan to contact him since he sometimes forgets to send it. 19:45
Don apologizes to clients he didn’t call back during the busy consulting season and asks them to reach out again. 19:59
Don and Terry plan to discuss their top two or three favorite consulted properties next week, describing what they liked about each. 19:08

consulting-philosophy

Don says their consulting goal for every property is twofold: grow the biggest bucks possible and set the property up so the client can actually kill them. 23:28

cover-crops

Don plans 50 acres of a custom cover crop mix through Green Prairie Seed Company and a single 50-acre green food plot instead of several smaller plots. 4:17
Terry and Don plan to test and video-document many cover crop, no-till, and regenerative farming solutions this year, now that Green Prairie is a new resource. 4:48

events

Don announces a makeup appearance at JB’s Feet in Millersburg, Ohio on Tuesday, June 3. 15:31

food-plots

Don reports less than 5% of ag fields near him are planted, and for the first time ever he hasn’t planted a single food plot seed by May. 1:24
Don’s clover, winter wheat, and deadly dozen plots have greened up nicely this spring, giving his deer good nutrition despite the wet weather. 1:55
Don plans to put all his food plots in grain crops this year, either corn or soybeans. 4:06
Gerald Raymer asks whether there are good food and cover recommendations for a wet property, or if nothing works well in wet locations. 43:33

genetics

Chase Nicely asks whether focusing on genetics, nutrition, and age mostly benefits neighboring properties rather than one’s own, since buck fawns typically disperse away from their birth property. 29:45
Steve Myers challenges Don: if most bucks never reach 170 inches, what are the odds both captured buck fawns Don cited actually reached 180-190 inches? 39:53

herbicides

Terry plans to circle back in the coming weeks to discuss post-emergent herbicide options once planting conditions stabilize. 27:08

human-intrusion

Terry says he and Don both come from small, 20-30 acre permission-only hunting properties, and that minimizing human intrusion has always been their core message. 51:46
Don warns that habitat projects like food plots require human intrusion, so there’s a balance — push too far and hunting odds crash regardless of improvements made. 52:18

humor

Terry jokes that he and Don rotate truck colors while hunting so people can’t track who they are or where they’re parked. 17:14 (light moment)

hunting-history

Don shares that he started hunting with absolutely nothing, owning no land and hunting only public land or land he had permission to use. 49:40

hunting-pressure

Terry attributes Iowa’s abundance of mature bucks partly to how strictly it limits non-resident hunters compared to other states. 42:16

podcast-analytics

Don reports that less than 10% of podcast consumption actually happens on YouTube, with most listeners using other platforms like podcast apps while driving or working. 9:49

podcast-community

Terry jokingly notes some listeners tune in mainly to criticize everything the hosts do wrong. 11:03 (light moment)

podcast-content

Terry postpones revealing a 1987 newspaper article he teased last week because the photo of it wasn’t clear enough to display on screen yet. 27:40

podcast-production

Terry admits the podcast had a bad audio technical difficulty with Aaron on last week’s episode. 12:01
Terry jokes that he and Don are ‘two rednecks’ not very good at technology, but they’re trying to get better every week. 12:29 (light moment)

podcast-schedule

Terry announces the podcast will keep releasing Sundays around 8am eastern, with occasional late flyers, while extra videos post through the week on the YouTube channel. 8:41

product-testing

Nutritional products are set to be tested on Don’s Ohio properties this year. 5:13
Terry explains new product testing starts with a very small, confidential control group before it’s ever expanded into a broader pilot program. 6:13
Don notes that new products often start with just one bag of seed, so he and Terry sometimes split a single bag to test between their two farms. 7:13

real-world

Don explains Real World’s top priority is perfecting their own properties first, setting them apart from other companies before marketing anything through their brands. 5:41
Don announces Real World’s second dealer event will be held June 26-27 in Arthur, Illinois. 21:59
Terry reminds Real World dealers to mark calendars for the summer dealer event, which will include training on new Green Prairie products for their local communities. 57:47
Terry explains Real World’s biggest business challenge is shipping costs, so empowering local dealers to grow their own communities benefits everyone. 58:01

small-properties

Zach Anderson asks what someone with 20 acres or less and only one access point should do without room for a large sanctuary. 46:48

spring-weather

Don describes a stark local weather divide: areas south of him are very wet while areas north, like near Peoria, are dry and being actively planted. 0:59

switchgrass

Terry recommends using switchgrass to fill unhuntable back portions of ridge-and-holler farms with bedding diversity, keeping food up front where hunters can access deer. 56:31
Don announces new switchgrass techniques he’s developed will be discussed at length during the June consultants meeting. 57:10
Brett Petty asks whether Don’s stance on switchgrass bedding would change if his isolated farm were instead surrounded by timber that had received TSI work. 52:55

ticks

Terry says he got covered in ticks and bitten repeatedly on that consulting trip, forcing him back onto antibiotics. 18:27

truck

Terry mentions he needs to travel to Kansas City because something just arrived at Chris Yates’ place. 17:03
Terry plans to trade out his truck for a new one from Victory GMC this week when he sees Chris. 17:33

Deer activity

Mel (harvest) 33:05
unnamed buck (management) 39:29
Smokey (history) 54:10

Listener questions

Question: Chase Nicely asks whether focusing on genetics, nutrition, and age mostly benefits neighboring properties rather than one’s own, since buck fawns typically disperse away from their birth property. 29:45 — asked by Chase Nicely

Answer: Don explains research shows a buck fawn is very likely to disperse away from where it was born if its mother doe survives, so culling does with buck fawns matters as much as culling bucks. 31:51
Answer: Don argues genetics is the one non-negotiable factor — every record-book buck in history had superior genes, even lacking ideal age or nutrition. 34:41
Answer: Terry counters that even without ideal conditions, every managed property can still be improved, benefiting the deer herd for generations. 36:05
Answer: Don believes bucks that wintered on his farm as button bucks remember reliable food sources and often return there years later after a tough winter. 37:26

Question: Steve Myers challenges Don: if most bucks never reach 170 inches, what are the odds both captured buck fawns Don cited actually reached 180-190 inches? 39:53 — asked by Steve Myers

Answer: Don admits he can’t fully explain why both buck fawns beat the odds; they had age and strong genetics working for them despite subpar nutrition. 41:23

Question: Terry asks Don what he thinks the average lifespan of a buck is. 41:50

Answer: Don guesses the average buck lifespan is about two and a half years. 42:01

Question: Gerald Raymer asks whether there are good food and cover recommendations for a wet property, or if nothing works well in wet locations. 43:33 — asked by Gerald Raymer

Answer: Don says wet properties are much more limited for food than cover, though many trees tolerate wet ground, even bald cypress in super wet locations. 43:50
Answer: Don recommends persimmons as the fruit tree that tolerates wet, flood-prone ground best, unlike apples and chestnuts which need drier sites. 44:45
Answer: Terry adds that for bedding grasses in wet ground, switchgrass performs better than Indian grass or big bluestem. 46:11
Answer: Don confirms Real World Switchgrass thrives even in river bottoms, having seen a planting survive being submerged in six feet of floodwater. 46:16

Question: Zach Anderson asks what someone with 20 acres or less and only one access point should do without room for a large sanctuary. 46:48 — asked by Zach Anderson

Answer: Don advises that killing the best bucks on a small property requires timing hunts strategically for when odds favor you, not hunting every available weekend. 48:23
Answer: Don recommends hanging a rope scrape with a trail camera in a good spot with solid stand access, and only hunting once a target buck is confirmed present. 48:49

Question: Brett Petty asks whether Don’s stance on switchgrass bedding would change if his isolated farm were instead surrounded by timber that had received TSI work. 52:55 — asked by Brett Petty

Answer: Don says bedding preference is highly individual — many mature bucks avoid switchgrass for wooded cover, so it comes down more to the specific buck than the surrounding habitat. 54:19
Answer: Don cites the buck Smokey, who bedded in switchgrass day after day even with great wooded cover right beside it, as proof individual preference varies. 54:10

Prayer Time

Scripture: Isaiah
Theme: pure-heart worship versus empty ritual
Devin teaches from Mark 7, where Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for honoring God with their lips while their hearts are far from Him, quoting Isaiah 29:13. True worship is a lifestyle flowing from a pure, loving heart rather than empty ritual, and he prays listeners’ hearts stay sincerely devoted to Christ in all they say and do. 62:27

Don discussed the historically wet, cold spring across his area, noting under 5% of local ag fields were planted and that he hadn’t yet planted a single food plot seed, though established clover, winter wheat, and deadly dozen plots looked good. He planned to convert plots to corn or soybeans, plus 50 acres of a custom cover crop blend sourced from Green Prairie Seed Company and one large 50-acre plot rather than several small ones. He and Terry described testing new products cautiously, starting small before wider rollout. Business updates covered a June 26-27 dealer event in Arthur, Illinois, a consultants meeting the 28th, and the upcoming Chasing Assurance podcast. Listener questions addressed buck dispersal and genetics, average buck lifespan, food and cover options for wet ground, small-acreage strategy, and switchgrass bedding, with Don citing the buck Smokey as an example of individual bedding preference. Devin led a prayer on sincere worship from Mark 7.

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