Episode #65 Spring Plot Herbicide Discussion and Fawns dropping

Published: 2021-05-17
Episode page
Duration: 63 min

In this episode

amish-listeners

Don announced a new phone number, +1 (978) 599-7610, that lets Amish listeners hear the full podcast without the thirty-minute cutoff. 26:29

bald-cypress

Don noted that deer especially love to rub bald cypress trees, stripping single trees while leaving neighboring rows untouched. 51:39
Kenneth from Anamosa, Iowa asked which trees do well in a wet, nonfarmable CRP spot to help deer. 50:10

corn-prices

Larson Farms, a Minnesota family farm Terry follows on YouTube, is planting corn on corn instead of rotating to beans because of high corn prices. 37:42

coyote-hunting

Terry is building a suppressed 6.5 Creedmoor rifle with a thermal scope specifically for shooting coyotes. 49:08
Terry joked that once coyotes started drinking from Don’s new water hole, Don could just shoot them off his back deck. 62:13 (light moment)

coyote-trapping

Ray South from Oakwood, Illinois asked Don to explain the benefits of trapping coyotes for protecting fawns. 45:46

deer-breeding

From 25 years of captive deer research, Don found only one doe that was bred in October, making October breeding very rare. 20:22
Don found that does artificially bred on the same morning still gave birth spread across about four days rather than all at once. 22:21

deer-nutrition

Nate Brummer, running a 700-acre dairy farm, asked whether local bucks get adequate nutrition or if he should plant Real World soybeans. 54:09

duane-hopkins

Terry calls Duane one of his closest friends and the most knowledgeable seedsman he has ever met. 2:31

food-plots

Don finished planting all his spring food plots, aside from a switchgrass field still to drill. 1:45
Because of a back injury keeping him off the tractor, Terry’s friend Todd Covey and a buddy plowed Terry’s food plot for him. 3:49
Following Duane’s lesson to do it right the first time, Terry is planting his food plots a couple weeks later than planned to get a proper weed-free seed bed. 4:29
What all does Don have planted in the ground right now for spring food plots? 5:24

genesis-drill

By mounting a sprayer on the front of his tractor and the Genesis drill on the back, Don can spray and plant food plots in a single pass. 7:24
How does Don like using the Genesis drill for the first time this spring? 6:17

herbicide-questions

Don estimates that he, Terry, and Wes together answer around 100 herbicide questions a day from listeners. 8:21

herbicides

Don warns not to tank-mix Liberty and Roundup herbicides together since they don’t combine well. 17:28
Don explained that residual (pre-emergent) herbicides are sprayed on soil to prevent weeds from ever sprouting, unlike contact herbicides. 11:05
Don confirmed that residual herbicides for corn and soybeans are not interchangeable. 12:04
Don stressed that conventional or non-GMO corn absolutely requires a residual herbicide application. 13:40
Terry and Don plan to build a herbicide FAQ page for their website, possibly in next year’s land management guide. 8:43
Can Don explain what Roundup Ready or glyphosate-tolerant means for different plants? 9:11
What is 24D herbicide used to kill? 12:34
Can Don explain the three herbicide options usable on Enlist three soybeans? 15:56

house-construction

Don plans to pick out brick for his new house and mow his overgrown cattle pasture over the coming week. 57:57

lesters-feet-foundation

Terry announced the Lester’s Feet Foundation raffle has surpassed $30,000 raised for families of sick children. 27:38
Terry thanked Busy Beaver, Deer and Deer Hunting, and Iowa Sportsman’s magazines for running ads to help spread word of the raffle. 29:46
Terry announced that Wes’s Fall Line Ridge YouTube channel, reaching 200,000-250,000 viewers weekly, will help promote the raffle. 30:11
Don set a goal for the raffle to raise at least $50,000, with 100% going to the families. 31:28
Prizes donated for the raffle include a guided hunt on Terry’s farm and another on Don’s farm. 31:37

nikki-larson-farms

Terry shared that Nikki, wife and video editor for the Larson Farms YouTube channel, is a young woman in her early twenties battling serious cancer. 38:52

real-world-wildlife-products

Don recalls approaching Duane’s office about fifteen years ago with the idea of starting a new food plot seed company. 2:58

rut-behavior

Don notes that because few does are in estrus that early, a doe coming into heat in late October can draw a half dozen bucks. 24:22

seed-blend

Dwayne Hopkins of Kitchen Seed developed a new spring-planted seed blend, which Don planted as a test plot this year. 1:53

suppressors

Don mentioned that a suppressor dealer offered to help him and Terry get a suppressor for coyote hunting. 62:31

switchgrass

Don explained that stratifying switchgrass seed lets it germinate the first spring instead of waiting until the second spring. 43:25
Nolan from Minnesota asked whether to drill or broadcast switchgrass seed after a spring burn, and whether stratifying helps. 40:26

trail-cameras

Don says he’s eager for July 1 so he can get trail cameras out and start finding velvet-antlered bucks. 1:18

water-hole

Don plans to bury a large stock tank fed by his house’s drain-tile runoff near his patio to create a self-filling watering hole. 61:24

wiseeye

Terry reported that Harold Monk and the WiseEye team are developing new trail camera analytics able to pick out vehicles or people. 58:55

Deer activity

unnamed buck (trail-camera) 19:52
unnamed buck (sighting) 60:55

Listener questions

Question: What all does Don have planted in the ground right now for spring food plots? 5:24

Answer: Don planted corn, soybeans, and Duane’s new test seed blend. 5:29
Answer: He also has clover on the farm plus a couple plots saved for Deadly Dozen. 5:47

Question: How does Don like using the Genesis drill for the first time this spring? 6:17

Answer: Don loves the Genesis drill—it dispenses almost exactly the amount of seed he expects for each plot. 6:42

Question: Can Don explain what Roundup Ready or glyphosate-tolerant means for different plants? 9:11

Answer: Glyphosate-tolerant soybeans can be sprayed with Roundup, which kills weeds without harming the tolerant soybeans. 9:32

Question: What is 24D herbicide used to kill? 12:34

Answer: 24D is a contact herbicide that only harms broadleaf weeds and will not damage grasses like corn. 12:40

Question: Can Don explain the three herbicide options usable on Enlist three soybeans? 15:56

Answer: Enlist soybeans tolerate three different herbicides—Roundup/glyphosate, Liberty, and 24D—giving multiple ways to kill resistant weeds. 16:26

Question: Ray South from Oakwood, Illinois asked Don to explain the benefits of trapping coyotes for protecting fawns. 45:46 — asked by Ray South

Answer: Don shared that hiring a trapper who caught 14 coyotes, plus 3 he shot by bow and more by rifle, dramatically improved fawn recruitment on his farm. 47:10

Question: Nolan from Minnesota asked whether to drill or broadcast switchgrass seed after a spring burn, and whether stratifying helps. 40:26 — asked by Nolan

Answer: Don recommends drilling switchgrass after a burn rather than broadcasting, keeping seed depth shallow—no more than a quarter inch, ideally about an eighth of an inch. 42:21

Question: Kenneth from Anamosa, Iowa asked which trees do well in a wet, nonfarmable CRP spot to help deer. 50:10 — asked by Kenneth

Answer: Don recommends bald cypress trees for wet CRP areas since they’re hardy and adaptable, thriving in both extremely dry sites and standing water. 50:53

Question: Nate Brummer, running a 700-acre dairy farm, asked whether local bucks get adequate nutrition or if he should plant Real World soybeans. 54:09 — asked by Nate Brummer

Answer: Don explained alfalfa already covers summer nutrition well, but adding Real World soybeans as a grain source would boost winter protein alongside the wheat, rye, and oats. 55:34

Don and Terry covered spring food plot progress, with Don finished planting except for a switchgrass field, having tested a new seed blend developed by Dwayne Hopkins of Kitchen Seed. Herbicide questions dominated: Don warned against tank-mixing Liberty and Roundup, distinguished residual from contact herbicides, and explained corn versus soybean herbicide options including Enlist beans’ three-herbicide tolerance. Listener questions covered switchgrass drilling depth, bald cypress trees for wet CRP ground, coyote trapping’s impact on fawn recruitment, and whether a dairy farmer’s alfalfa provided adequate deer nutrition without added soybeans. Don shared captive-deer research findings on rare October breeding and staggered fawning dates despite same-day artificial insemination. A large portion focused on the Lester’s Feet Foundation raffle, now past $30,000 with a $50,000 goal, prizes including guided hunts on both men’s farms, and Terry’s account of Larson Farms video editor Nikki’s cancer battle. Don also described plans for a tractor-mounted sprayer/drill combo and a new patio watering hole.

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