INSANE Bedding Cover + 22 Bears on Camera?! | Chasing Giants #318

Published: 2026-03-29
Episode page
Duration: 48 min

In this episode

boone-brothers

• Terry announces Boone Brothers navigated USDA hurdles to add a beef version alongside venison, letting them scale to feed more children year-round. 24:46

bucks

• Terry recalls Don previously noted on the podcast that bucks seem to bunch into bachelor groups earlier in the year than originally thought. 37:52
• Keaton Mitchell of Mount Vernon, Illinois asked why bucks form bachelor groups of two to three on his trail cameras during late season. 36:17

college-basketball

• Don predicts his heart pick Illinois could win March Madness, though he thinks Duke can be beaten too. 27:19

consulting

• Terry says the team is transitioning out of its heavy consulting tour schedule, planning to wrap it up within the next couple of weeks. 1:31
• Don is over halfway through a 10-property Wisconsin consulting swing and expects to be finished by the time the episode releases. 2:12
• On one property visit, the landowner sent a friend who knew his wishes instead of attending himself—the first time that has happened to Don across hundreds of properties, and he liked the approach. 2:27
• Terry says he always discusses with clients up front whether they’ll timber the property for income, balancing financial needs against the habitat plan. 5:16
• Don consulted for two brothers, nicknamed the Yates brothers, one of whom he met at the Shipshewana show. 5:55
• Don’s consulting work has taken him from Southern Georgia to Maryland to Kansas this winter, and he’s struck by how plant species differ across regions. 9:19
• Terry says the team is blessed to push hard for three months of consulting travel and then hunt full time the rest of the year. 29:30
• Don explains he gets over 100 emails a day plus texts and calls, making it impossible to respond promptly, which has upset some people. 29:39

crp

• Don announces they can custom-blend any CRP seed mix a customer wants, from cheap to showy wildflowers, once the USDA approves the plan. 39:29

customer-service

• Listener Luke Shelton praised Real World and Green Prairie Seed’s customer service after ordering a custom pollinator mix. 38:32

donation

• Terry shares that listeners can donate to the Yoder family via a GoFundMe link or a check to Lester’s Feet. 21:34
• Terry notes donors can get a tax deduction by sending their Yoder family donation through Lester’s Feet instead of GoFundMe. 48:17

drones

• Terry teases that details on a landowner solution to drones over hunting properties will be revealed soon. 43:35
• Mike Carey of Evans Mills, New York asked what Don would do if a drone started following him and disturbing deer while hunting his ag-country farm. 42:08

easter

• Don’s Easter plans are simply going to church and spending time with family, since his wife Robin is ready for him to be home. 28:55

elk-hunting

• Don jokes that he’s applied for a Kentucky elk tag every year without success, so if he ever draws one he’ll know who to call. 11:13 (light moment)

elk-reintroduction

• Terry announces the team’s first special elk-and-whitetail habitat project: a Real World dealer acquired a large reclaimed strip-mine tract in Southeastern Kentucky that was one of the original elk reintroduction release sites. 9:48
• The Kentucky project will designate separate zones for elk and whitetail deer, since elk need very different habitat—big canopies, shade and pastures—than deer. 10:26

equipment

• Real World works with WildlifeFarming, which distributes the pH drill implements and accessories. 16:27

food-plots

• Don recommends the landowner put all the farm’s ample ag fields into food plots to support the deer herd, since food is the property’s weakest link. 4:37
• Terry announces his new PHM7 no-till drill has arrived—a lighter, more economical version of the G-series drill designed by Paul, aimed at deer hunters and food plotters. 15:11
• Scott has roughly 1,500 acres of food plots lined up to plant this spring, all with Real World seed. 23:39

green-prairie-seed

• Terry explains the acquisition of Kitchen Seed, which became Green Prairie, gave customers and dealers access to lawn, CRP and pasture seed. 40:31

habitat

• A tornado leveled a Northwoods Wisconsin property in 2019, after which loggers salvaged the downed timber. 3:56
• Years after the tornado, the property has regrown into some of the best bedding cover Don has ever seen, full of weeds, briars, saplings and woody vegetation. 4:12
• Don recalls being put on the spot in a debate with Tony LePratt about the merits of kiddie pools as deer water sources. 7:22

herbicide

• Josh Myers of Wellington, Ohio asked whether pre-emergent herbicide sprayed on a Miscanthus planting would spread into his adjacent clover plot. 34:33
• Terry follows up asking whether the pre-emergent will actually leach through the ground beyond the sprayed area. 35:31

humor

• Don jokes that if he came home from the road trip with bedbugs, his wife would end his consulting career. 0:47 (light moment)
• Don jokes that if he made any Easter plans excluding his wife and family, she might take a frying pan to his head. 29:03 (light moment)

master-class

• Brian Isler of Granville, Ohio asked whether Don plans to hold another master class or has other ideas, since he hasn’t seen one scheduled. 31:40

mikes-mighty-micros

• Brian, the original inventor of Mike’s Mighty Micros and Mike Mitchell’s agronomist, has passed away. 17:23

orchards

• Terry suggests giving Don’s newly expanded orchards and Miscanthus plantings a couple more years to mature before resuming property tour classes. 33:33

pasture-mix

• Don reports they’ve already sold more pasture mix this season than ever before, despite not yet reaching April and poor planting windows. 41:37

prayer-request

• Terry shares that Kyle and Kendra Yoder, missionaries in Kenya for over two years, are the family behind a sad situation he’s asking listeners about. 19:56
• Kendra Yoder passed away in March after getting up to feed her newborn baby, just weeks after giving birth. 20:25
• Terry asks listeners to pause and pray for Kyle Yoder’s family and his five children as they return home to bury Kendra. 21:16
• Don says the tragic Yoder situation is definitely sad, and he’ll keep the family in his prayers. 22:50

real-world

• Scott Booth of Extreme Custom Food Plots was Real World Wildlife Products’ very first distributor back in the early days. 23:20

red-osier-dogwood

• Don advises that red osier dogwood only thrives in specific environments like marshy areas, and shouldn’t be planted indiscriminately expecting success everywhere. 8:30
• Don jokingly dismisses a USDA red osier dogwood range map as inaccurate because it shows the plant thriving in both Alaska and Arizona. 46:46 (light moment)
• Terry then finds a second map suggesting red osier dogwood only grows in the Pacific Northwest, further muddying the debate. 47:16
• Don insists the range maps are wrong because red osier dogwood is all over Wisconsin, contradicting both maps. 47:28
• Mark Mathews of Weaverville, North Carolina asked what TSI/timber improvements Don makes to sanctuaries and whether red osier dogwood is a good hinge-cutting companion plant. 43:54

sanctuary

• Don found a kiddie pool placed on a ridgetop deep in a property’s sanctuary, making it impractical for anyone to ever refill it. 7:34

seed-orders

• Don announces local customers can skip shipping by contacting him to pick up their seed order at his house near the Arthur office. 18:15

taxidermy

• Terry visited an Eastern Kentucky property with unique taxidermy, including a mount of two bobcats climbing a tree toward a raccoon. 12:41
• Don recalls a memorable taxidermy display just west of Cincinnati, in a cabin’s tall open room. 13:22
• The display featured a huge dead cedar tree so large a tree stand could be placed inside it, covered in mounts and antique items. 13:43

team-shoutout

• Don gives a shout out to Corey, Dwayne and Janice for handling the Green Prairie transition well. 41:56

technology

• Terry notes that without voice-to-text in their new trucks, they wouldn’t be able to keep up with messages while driving. 30:25
• Don jokes he’d probably crash trying to type texts by hand instead of driving, so he’s grateful for voice-to-text trucks. 30:35 (light moment)

terrain

• The two brothers’ properties were dramatically different terrain—one in big hill country and the other in very flat land, hours apart. 6:11

trail-camera

• A client on Don’s northern-most property this trip had captured 22 different bears on a single trail camera. 3:45
• Don keeps a handful of trail cameras running year-round on his farm mainly to watch for trespassers and monitor dogs. 38:09

wildlife

• Don saw ruffed grouse on two different properties this week, his first grouse sightings in roughly twenty years. 6:58

youtube

• In a YouTube video, Mike Mitchell demonstrated taking living timber soil from the forest floor and using it to back-fill fruit trees for beneficial microorganisms. 17:38
• Terry asks Don whether he’s watched Mike Mitchell’s debut video on the Chasing Giants YouTube channel yet. 16:45

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (sighting) 32:10
• unnamed buck (sighting) 37:23
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 38:06

Listener questions

Question: Brian Isler of Granville, Ohio asked whether Don plans to hold another master class or has other ideas, since he hasn’t seen one scheduled. 31:40 — asked by Brian Isler

• Answer: Don suspended the master class because the property tours put too much pressure on his farm and weren’t worth the strain. 32:04
• Answer: Don says he’d still like to get people on the farm again someday, partly just to clear up rumors that have spread about it. 33:26

Question: Josh Myers of Wellington, Ohio asked whether pre-emergent herbicide sprayed on a Miscanthus planting would spread into his adjacent clover plot. 34:33 — asked by Josh Myers

• Answer: Don says the pre-emergent won’t affect the fruit trees and likely won’t harm the clover unless applied at a very high rate. 35:09

Question: Terry follows up asking whether the pre-emergent will actually leach through the ground beyond the sprayed area. 35:31

• Answer: Don explains most pre-emergents don’t kill established plants, they just prevent new seeds from germinating, so leaching risk is minimal. 35:38

Question: Keaton Mitchell of Mount Vernon, Illinois asked why bucks form bachelor groups of two to three on his trail cameras during late season. 36:17 — asked by Keaton Mitchell

• Answer: Don explains that after the rut, the whole deer herd concentrates on prime food sources through winter, which brings bucks back together in groups. 36:41
• Answer: Don adds that he once bumped a group of bucks already back on their summer range while doing tree stand work in March, suggesting the shift happens early. 37:23

Question: Mark Mathews of Weaverville, North Carolina asked what TSI/timber improvements Don makes to sanctuaries and whether red osier dogwood is a good hinge-cutting companion plant. 43:54 — asked by Mark Mathews

• Answer: Don’s core advice is to check the USDA website for a plant’s native range before deciding whether it belongs on a particular farm. 44:41
• Answer: Don says he isn’t comfortable prescribing specific species for North Carolina and recommends Mark consult someone local instead. 45:08

Question: Terry asks Don whether he’s watched Mike Mitchell’s debut video on the Chasing Giants YouTube channel yet. 16:45

• Answer: Don says he’s been too busy on the road to watch it, though he saw it mentioned on social media. 16:55

Question: Mike Carey of Evans Mills, New York asked what Don would do if a drone started following him and disturbing deer while hunting his ag-country farm. 42:08 — asked by Mike Carey

• Answer: Don says he has a plan to address drone intrusions that he’ll reveal in coming weeks. 42:50
• Answer: Don promises that if a drone flies over his own property, he’ll know about it and take action. 43:28

Don, mid-way through a 10-property Wisconsin consulting swing, described a Northwoods property flattened by a 2019 tornado that loggers salvaged and that later regrew into some of the best bedding cover he’d seen. He recommended converting a client’s ample ag fields into food plots since food was the property’s weak link, and noted a client’s trail camera had captured 22 different bears. He also debated red osier dogwood’s range, dismissing USDA maps as inaccurate since the plant grows all over Wisconsin. Terry announced a new Kentucky project designating separate elk and whitetail habitat zones on a reclaimed strip-mine tract, plus the arrival of the new PHM7 no-till drill. Terry also shared the death of missionary Kendra Yoder and asked listeners to pray for her husband Kyle and their five children, with donation options given. Listener questions covered a paused master class, pre-emergent herbicide risk near clover, bachelor-group buck behavior, and a promised future plan for handling drones over hunting land.

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