Chasing Giants Episode 121 - Residual Herbicide Discussion & Don is Buying a Farm

Published: 2022-06-12
Episode page
Duration: 84 min

In this episode

alfalfa

• Terry credits alfalfa as one of the biggest assets to his early-season Kentucky bow hunting over the years. 60:44
• Logan Schmidt asks Don’s thoughts on alfalfa as a food plot crop and whether he uses a green forage/legume in his rotations. 56:52

buck-behavior

• Don notices unfamiliar bucks appearing on his property after the rut during rough late-season weather, theorizing they were born there and remember the food. 72:31
• Don’s early buck-hunting experience taught him a mature buck doesn’t need much cover, just a small thicket where it’s left alone. 76:26

buck-dispersal

• Don cites buck fawn dispersal research conducted by Dr. Carl Miller at the University of Georgia, also replicated in the Midwest. 69:18

buck-fawn-dispersal

• Ryan Turner asks whether nutrition and habitat work he does for buck fawns mainly ends up benefiting neighboring properties once bucks disperse. 68:31

buyafarm

• Terry announces the podcast finally landed a BuyAFarm segment with Todd Hewing, filling in for Don Bailey to discuss two upcoming property auctions. 8:22

charity-raffle

• Don announces the Lester’s Feet raffle drawing will take place July 4. 33:52
• Terry explains all raffle proceeds go to help families with sick children. 30:01

clover

• Don maintains twelve to fifteen-foot clover fire breaks around his switchgrass fields as his low-maintenance green forage source. 62:06

crimping

• Don clarifies the crimping critique wasn’t total dismissal, restating that the method just isn’t right for everyone. 10:37
• Terry jokes the crimping backlash was harsher than if he’d insulted someone’s mother, given how upset listeners got. 11:25 (light moment)

crop-rotation

• Terry notices that on one Illinois property, bean-crop years bring fewer deer late in the year because the available food disappears. 36:38

deer-hunting-strategy

• Don says the most successful deer hunters are the ones who adapt to every individual tree stand and property rather than applying one formula everywhere. 41:15

fawn-safety

• Todd Hewing warns land managers doing summer habitat work to be very careful of fawns after encountering five in one day. 54:14

fawns

• Terry found a fawn tucked tight in his own backyard last night, easy enough to nearly step on. 55:07
• Don says he has not yet seen a single fawn this year despite being out and about every day. 55:20

inbreeding

• Terry argues the odds of a buck fawn breeding a full sister are extremely low, like winning the lottery, so inbreeding isn’t a real concern. 70:50

land-auction

• Todd Hewing describes the Crawford County auction property as sitting in some of the best deer hunting habitat anywhere in the region. 42:44
• The Crawford County property is 20.49 acres with bidding closing Friday, July 22. 47:17
• Todd Hewing describes the second auction property, 230.56 acres in Marion County, as a good area with strong deer habitat potential. 49:02
• The Marion County auction closes Thursday, July 21, one day before the Crawford County auction. 52:33

land-buying

• Don has knocked on three doors this week asking landowners near his home if they would sell their property, getting turned down each time but continuing to search. 2:05
• Wes Delks found his Indiana farm, an outstanding property, by knocking on doors rather than buying something listed for sale. 4:04
• Don is working through a prioritized list of 11 candidate properties compiled over the winter as he tries to buy hunting ground. 81:20

land-investment

• Brian Kraft advised Don that buying an off-market property usually means paying a premium above appraised value. 4:46
• Terry states land is always a great investment, with very few things paying back the way land does. 6:04

land-management

• Don plans to buy a property and develop it into a ‘big buck factory,’ later selling it for profit if he stops hunting. 7:54

land-stewardship

• Terry says as a land steward he will always do what’s best for the herd overall, even if it doesn’t personally benefit him. 73:11

personal-finance

• Don says he currently carries no debt, which lets him take financial risks when pursuing a new hunting property. 6:47
• Turning 59 this summer, Don feels he can’t afford to wait years for the right property and needs to make things happen now. 6:58

residual-herbicides

• Terry is running side-by-side residual herbicide trials with Don and Wes, testing a treated corn patch against one left fully organic. 16:35
• Carl Piro asks Don and Terry to clarify when to apply residual herbicides in spring food plots and how they affect seeding and clover. 20:23

seminar-tour

• Don announces his July seminar tour begins July 13 in Hamilton, Indiana, in the corner where Michigan and Ohio meet Indiana. 63:29

trail-camera

• Austin Williams asks whether the ‘same time, same place’ theory applies to bucks reappearing biannually as crops rotate on his farm. 34:53

tree-stand

• Don has just installed a very low, ground-level tree stand this spring, lower than his own head, in a gnarly thicket. 39:04

tree-stands

• Jay Thielen asks whether to cut one big shooting lane or several smaller ones, and how high Don’s stands typically are. 38:25

velvet-bucks

• Don also hasn’t seen the first velvet buck of the year yet. 55:32

work-life

• Terry has a busy work week hosting his company’s entire North American sales team, roughly 200 to 215 people. 82:22

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (harvest) 35:17
• unnamed buck (sighting) 54:17
• unnamed buck (harvest) 75:46
• unnamed buck (history) 80:28

Listener questions

Question: Carl Piro asks Don and Terry to clarify when to apply residual herbicides in spring food plots and how they affect seeding and clover. 20:23 — asked by Carl Piro

• Answer: Don explains residuals are pre-emergent herbicides that work in the soil to prevent weeds rather than needing contact with growing weeds. 21:41
• Answer: Terry advises Carl to consult a local chemical/ag dealer since residual products vary by region and crop. 28:30
• Answer: Don clarifies the correct term is ‘surfactant,’ a sticky additive that helps herbicide adhere to and work on the plant. 29:12

Question: Austin Williams asks whether the ‘same time, same place’ theory applies to bucks reappearing biannually as crops rotate on his farm. 34:53 — asked by Austin Williams

• Answer: Don advises tracking whichever crop type a buck was photographed in, then moving cameras to the nearest field with that same crop when rotation changes. 36:20

Question: Jay Thielen asks whether to cut one big shooting lane or several smaller ones, and how high Don’s stands typically are. 38:25 — asked by Jay Thielen

• Answer: Don says his stands average about 20 feet high, though it varies by tree and cover needs. 38:53
• Answer: Don prefers clearing at least two separate, generously wide shooting lanes in late winter and not touching them again until the hunt. 39:30

Question: Logan Schmidt asks Don’s thoughts on alfalfa as a food plot crop and whether he uses a green forage/legume in his rotations. 56:52 — asked by Logan Schmidt

• Answer: Don warns alfalfa is a high-maintenance crop most food plotters aren’t equipped to properly cut and bale every 28 days. 57:15
• Answer: Don adds that despite the maintenance burden, alfalfa is the single most nutrient-dense food plot option available. 60:10

Question: Ryan Turner asks whether nutrition and habitat work he does for buck fawns mainly ends up benefiting neighboring properties once bucks disperse. 68:31 — asked by Ryan Turner

• Answer: Don explains research shows that if the mother doe is harvested, her buck fawn stays near its birth area about 90% of the time instead of dispersing. 69:06

Don discussed his active search for a hunting property, having knocked on doors near his home with no success while Terry noted Wes Delks found his Indiana farm the same way, and Brian Kraft warned off-market deals often mean paying above appraised value. Turning 59 this summer, Don felt urgency to buy and develop a property into a productive deer haven, working through a prioritized list of 11 candidates while carrying no debt to enable risk-taking. Todd Hewing filled in to cover two upcoming BuyAFarm auctions, a Crawford County property and a larger Marion County tract. Fawn sightings and habitat caution came up, along with buck fawn dispersal research and a listener’s question on whether that benefits neighboring land. Listener questions also covered residual herbicides, shooting lane setup, and alfalfa’s demanding but nutrient-rich role as a food plot crop.

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