Property & Habitat Management

Category: land-management
Topic keys: property-management, land-management, habitat-management, habitat, habitat-work, habitat-improvement, farm-management, crp, browse-pressure, farming, ohio-property, conservation, invasive-species, land-management-guide, terrain

Current guidance

As of 2026-06-28, the most recent claim on this subject.

In episodes from late 2025 into mid-2026 they advise an aggressive TSI, cutting or girdling low-value species like beech, maples, hackberry, locust, box elder and elms to let oaks and walnuts flourish, with Don recommending staggering mulching across roughly a fifth of a property’s acreage each year. For resetting thick pasture regrowth, Don favors mowing with an FAE mulcher over burning, since burning can kill beneficial cool-season grasses, though he also runs controlled burns. He calls human intrusion the most common mistake among his consulting clients. For food plots he suggests spraying narrow herbicide paths through weeds in early spring rather than mowing, to funnel deer past a stand. Terry says dragging tree tops into switchgrass sounds good in theory but isn’t worth the trade-off.

How the guidance evolved (most recent 120 of 430)

2024-12-15 Wes Delks told Don years ago that a repeat consulting client’s second property is always noticeably better than their first. 10:23 — Episode #252 - Don says, “THERE IS NO SECOND RUT!”
2024-12-15 Don confirmed he has never seen a repeat client’s second property turn out worse than their first property. 10:46 — Episode #252 - Don says, “THERE IS NO SECOND RUT!”
2024-12-15 Don recommends hiding obstacles like an overturned field harrow inside switchgrass or Miscanthus screening to stop poachers from driving through it. 64:02 — Episode #252 - Don says, “THERE IS NO SECOND RUT!”
2024-12-22 Terry argues the biggest takeaway from last week’s episode was that land managers need to focus on deer herd health from now through February. 18:51 — Episode #253 - Do Not Overcomplicate Habitat Projects!
2024-12-22 Real World compiled a five-year customer mailing list to directly mail its new land management guide to past buyers. 34:54 — Episode #253 - Do Not Overcomplicate Habitat Projects!
2024-12-22 Don asserts that minimizing human intrusion matters more to a property’s deer success than any habitat improvement project. 55:59 — Episode #253 - Do Not Overcomplicate Habitat Projects!
2024-12-29 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 — Episode #254 - Don Improving Cell Cameral Locations, No-Till Food Plots, and Winter Habitat Projects
2024-12-29 Eric of Larson Farms reportedly said some of their fields can be no-tilled while others with sticky gumbo soil cannot. 18:55 — Episode #254 - Don Improving Cell Cameral Locations, No-Till Food Plots, and Winter Habitat Projects
2025-01-05 Terry plans to farm his entire property this year now that the tenant farmer is gone, with Austin and Razor helping completely rework and move bedding around the farm. 71:25 — Episode #255 - Deer Movement and Weather Fronts
2025-01-12 Mike Gruber reports that after following Don’s logging advice, his property went from having no deer tracks to holding over a dozen bucks and 150-inch-plus bucks yearly. 24:33 — Episode #256 - Hard Winter and Early Buck Shed? Illinois CWD Announcement
2025-01-12 After heavy TSI cutting opened up a five-acre woodlot, Don found eight shed antlers there the following ice-storm winter, more than one per acre. 31:11 — Episode #256 - Hard Winter and Early Buck Shed? Illinois CWD Announcement
2025-01-12 Don told a logger to take every tree from a five-acre woodlot, then followed up cutting or girdling remaining trees to open it up for growth. 30:32 — Episode #256 - Hard Winter and Early Buck Shed? Illinois CWD Announcement
2025-01-19 Don says hunters who bloodthirstily push stressed deer off their land chasing early sheds show no compassion, urging people instead to be conservationists. 6:34 — Episode #257 - Too Early to Shed Hunt - Show some compassion!
2025-01-26 Chasing Giants TV plans to release a bunch of habitat videos this spring. 7:20 — Episode #258 - Live Podcast from Mt. Hope Ohio
2025-02-16 Don advises that what surrounds a hunting property matters more than what is on the property itself. 59:10 — Episode #260 - Live From the Legends Roundtable - Midwest Sportsmans Classic
2025-03-02 Don explains burning switchgrass does three things mowing cannot: it stimulates regrowth, removes weeds and weed seed, and kills young tree saplings. 5:11 — Episode #262 - The Controlled Burn on Switchgrass GONE BAD!
2025-03-02 Terry clarifies that if a logger already leaves small oaks and walnuts standing, a separate TSI cut for valueless trees may not be necessary. 35:10 — Episode #262 - The Controlled Burn on Switchgrass GONE BAD!
2025-03-02 Terry notes every choice a landowner makes on their property, like allowing coon hunting or fishing ponds, comes with some cost. 40:22 — Episode #262 - The Controlled Burn on Switchgrass GONE BAD!
2025-03-10 Terry announces new Chasing Giants TV videos on food plot and habitat work are coming out the following week. 8:08 — Episode #263 - Live from the Iowa Deer Classic
2025-03-16 Don burned his biggest field at night with only his wife Robin helping. 1:47 — Episode #264 - Big Rope Scrapes and Big Bucks!
2025-03-16 Don posted a video showing him mowing his Miscanthus down with a bush hog to control flame height before burning. 5:08 — Episode #264 - Big Rope Scrapes and Big Bucks!
2025-03-16 Don dug up, hauled, and replanted fruit trees and cages from a farm he sold after a deal changed, to salvage them for habitat management. 9:08 — Episode #264 - Big Rope Scrapes and Big Bucks!
2025-03-16 Don saved roughly $1,500 by salvaging trees and cages instead of buying new ones. 9:59 — Episode #264 - Big Rope Scrapes and Big Bucks!
2025-03-16 Don plans never again to plant the same tree twice given how much extra work it caused. 10:09 — Episode #264 - Big Rope Scrapes and Big Bucks!
2025-03-16 Dry ground finally let Terry get his corn stalks bush hogged after standing corn had been eaten but remained upright. 10:24 — Episode #264 - Big Rope Scrapes and Big Bucks!
2025-03-16 Don believes old cattle pastures retaining a bit of grass make the best whitetail habitat he knows of. 12:49 — Episode #264 - Big Rope Scrapes and Big Bucks!
2025-03-23 Don spent the day doing habitat work, planting a batch of fruit trees including pears, persimmons, and apples. 2:26 — Episode #265 - How To Plant Fruit Trees - Wildlife Orchards
2025-03-30 Don plans to rebuild an old land bridge on a washed-out creek crossing on his farm. 7:25 — Episode #266 Making a Good Stand a Great Stand
2025-03-30 Don estimated the land bridge rebuild would take about four solid days of work but expects the resulting blind to be his farm’s best. 11:06 — Episode #266 Making a Good Stand a Great Stand
2025-03-30 Don spent most of a day clearing brush with a chainsaw and skid loader to open shooting lanes near the planned land bridge. 10:26 — Episode #266 Making a Good Stand a Great Stand
2025-03-30 Don says fine-tuning stands is a never-ending process that can make the difference between seeing and killing a good buck. 13:14 — Episode #266 Making a Good Stand a Great Stand
2025-03-30 Austin Raisor supplied Terry with old well pipe from a scrap yard to build the deer fence funnel. 14:21 — Episode #266 Making a Good Stand a Great Stand
2025-03-30 Don plans to use his slower April-May schedule after consulting season to work through his substantial habitat to-do list, including a rusted stand replacement. 27:47 — Episode #266 Making a Good Stand a Great Stand
2025-03-30 Terry planned to bush hog a third of his overgrown pasture before storms arrived, to keep cedars from taking over. 61:33 — Episode #266 Making a Good Stand a Great Stand
2025-04-06 Don says he pays far more in taxes than he ever gets back from government programs like CRP. 54:12 — Episode #267 - Spring Whitetail Habitat Projects - Is it Go Time?
2025-04-06 Don says he would gladly give up every dollar he gets from government programs to pay a third of his current taxes. 54:22 — Episode #267 - Spring Whitetail Habitat Projects - Is it Go Time?
2025-04-13 Don plans to plant a row of cedar trees along one border of his sanctuary and across a newly bought field to screen an entrance and exit. 2:18 — Episode #268 - Thermal Drone Tells the Truth on Don’s Farm
2025-04-13 Don plans to build a blind behind the stand where he shot a past buck, across the old property line, to intercept deer entering the field. 2:52 — Episode #268 - Thermal Drone Tells the Truth on Don’s Farm
2025-04-20 Don says he has come to love fruit orchards on his farm because they’re a great spot during the early rut. 6:59 — Episode #269 - Genetics, Nutrition, or Age (which is more important)
2025-04-27 Terry says the Missouri farm he consulted on with Brent is probably one of the top five properties he’s ever been on. 47:01 — Episode #270 - Deer Nutrition with Dr. Aaron Gaines
2025-05-04 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 — Episode #271 - Cool Wet Spring Concerns for Antler Growth and Nutrition
2025-06-22 Don says he has noticeably less soybean browse pressure this year than in the past and attributes it to shooting a lot of does last fall and winter. 4:54 — Episode #278 - Are Deer Getting Smaller?
2025-06-22 Don attended a Green Prairie corn meeting this week with an outside corn breeding expert in addition to their regular guy Mike. 5:47 — Episode #278 - Are Deer Getting Smaller?
2025-06-22 Don warns that deer destroy sunflower heads while still soft, so a large patch is needed to actually harvest sunflower seeds. 39:30 — Episode #278 - Are Deer Getting Smaller?
2025-06-22 Don says only two bucks on his farm in all his years of managing ever made it past 7.5 years old. 65:38 — Episode #278 - Are Deer Getting Smaller?
2025-07-06 Terry said Don recently posted a picture of a five-foot diameter pipe being installed for another crossing on his property. 9:14 — Episode 280 - Trail Cams, Big Cats, and Camo Drops | Special Guest Joe Miles
2025-07-06 Don said his approach differs from Bobby Worthington’s because Bobby hunts the mountains of East Tennessee while Don hunts Central Illinois farm country. 25:05 — Episode 280 - Trail Cams, Big Cats, and Camo Drops | Special Guest Joe Miles
2025-07-13 Don observed that after shooting more than double his usual number of does last season, browse pressure on his food plots this year is far lighter than in the past couple years. 56:34 — Episode #281 - How Don Tracks Giant Bucks Years in Advance
2025-07-20 Don relayed that a client of Wes Delks saw his property’s deer population grow from about a dozen to roughly 70 after implementing Wes’s habitat plan. 12:12 — Thermal Drones, Trail Cameras & Big Buck Strategies | Chasing Giants Podcast #282
2025-07-20 Don explained that a large part of their consulting work is manipulating deer movement to put deer where the hunter wants them. 64:14 — Thermal Drones, Trail Cameras & Big Buck Strategies | Chasing Giants Podcast #282
2025-07-27 Terry began excavating a small dam for a water hole near one of his orchards using runoff collected from three directions on his farm. 13:29 — Episode #283 “Best Corn Ever? Don & Terry Reveal 2025 Plot Results + Fall Food Plot Timing Tips”
2025-07-27 Don suggests mountain landowners boost buck-holding odds by clear-cutting a roughly 10-acre patch thicker than anything else in the buck’s range to concentrate bedding. 41:56 — Episode #283 “Best Corn Ever? Don & Terry Reveal 2025 Plot Results + Fall Food Plot Timing Tips”
2025-07-27 Don announces a ready-to-hunt 75-acre property in Scioto County, Ohio, offering Chasing Giants listeners first chance to buy before he lists it publicly. 63:14 — Episode #283 “Best Corn Ever? Don & Terry Reveal 2025 Plot Results + Fall Food Plot Timing Tips”
2025-08-17 Don thinks habitat or water-source modification could reduce EHD risk to some degree, but would have minimal impact in many situations. 37:26 — EP #286 - Preparing for Hunting Season: Plots, Cameras & CWD Truth
2025-08-24 Terry says there’s debate that switchgrass works better in open ag areas with little cover than in areas with lots of natural woods cover. 41:58 — #287 “Predators, Food Plots & Cracker Barrel Woke?
2025-08-31 Terry planned to wait until the rut and late season to hunt his farm because habitat remodeling reduced his bachelor groups this year. 3:37 — #288 2025 Buck Forecast: EHD Devastation, Trail Cam Insights & Hard Truths About Trophy Bucks
2025-09-14 Don recommends that owners of small, shaded properties plant soft mast trees like apple, pear, persimmon, or chestnut to provide a unique food source, instead of relying on clover plots. 85:56 — Faith, Hunting & Courage After Tragedy | Chasing Giants Podcast Ep. 290
2025-09-21 Terry states there’s a cost to every intrusion on a property, like a snowmobile trail, and it will hurt the deer hunting. 59:49 — Chasing Giants Ep. 291 | Don’s Public Land Quest & the “Turning Point” Buck Story
2025-10-12 Terry said logging, TSI, and switchgrass work are long-term plays that pay off for a property years beyond just this season’s shooter buck. 44:47 — #294 From Old School to High Tech: Don Higgins Reflects on 40 Years in the Deer Woods
2025-10-19 Terry noted Walker is seeing direct results of habitat projects and management decisions on the herd as he grows into a teenager. 3:22 — The Magic of Late October | Cold Fronts, Big Bucks & Character in the Woods | Chasing Giants #295
2025-10-26 Joe describes implementing Don’s plan by removing cattle and planting fruit trees, clover, and rye, after which Pancho continued using the property. 16:07 — “200-Inch Nebraska Giant: Joe Chambers’ Incredible Buck Story | Chasing Giants Ep. 296”
2025-10-26 Don advises hunters not to tell a hired consultant their pre-existing plans, so the consultant can develop an unbiased strategy. 21:41 — “200-Inch Nebraska Giant: Joe Chambers’ Incredible Buck Story | Chasing Giants Ep. 296”
2025-10-26 Don explains that every property has a ceiling on buck quality that no amount of management can exceed. 38:48 — “200-Inch Nebraska Giant: Joe Chambers’ Incredible Buck Story | Chasing Giants Ep. 296”
2025-10-26 Don says controlling the doe population is part of managing a property, so hunters should keep shooting does. 57:23 — “200-Inch Nebraska Giant: Joe Chambers’ Incredible Buck Story | Chasing Giants Ep. 296”
2025-11-02 Don considers Todd likely the biggest private spender in the country developing wildlife habitat, as distinct from deer-specific habitat work. 13:44 — Barometer Secrets & Rut Forecast for Early November! | Chasing Giants 297
2025-11-02 Terry said watching a managed property’s wildlife thrive from invested effort can feel even more special than the hunting itself. 46:03 — Barometer Secrets & Rut Forecast for Early November! | Chasing Giants 297
2025-11-23 Terry says how a property is hunted, especially minimizing intrusion, delivers the biggest short-term ROI for consulting clients. 55:09 — EPISODE 300! Don Changes His Mind on the Rut + Drone Debate Heats Up!
2025-11-30 Don shot eight does and four bucks last year on his roughly 100-acre farm, more does than he’d ever taken there before. 14:32 — Late Season Starts NOW — Cold Fronts, Bucks on Food, and Thanksgiving Reflections | Episode #301
2025-11-30 Terry argued the real value of habitat improvement is teaching this year’s fawns where the safest, best food is so they return years later. 24:25 — Late Season Starts NOW — Cold Fronts, Bucks on Food, and Thanksgiving Reflections | Episode #301
2025-12-07 Terry recommends that consultants build wind breaks into bedding-cover layouts and funnel deer strategically from that cover into food sources where hunters can access them. 9:16 — Late Season EXPLOSION! Why Giants Are Falling Everywhere | Chasing Giants #302
2025-12-07 Don has spent about four months with Steve Shields working on a food plots and land management book that is finally nearing completion. 16:46 — Late Season EXPLOSION! Why Giants Are Falling Everywhere | Chasing Giants #302
2026-01-04 Don says he doesn’t create specific buck beds but rather ‘buck motels’—thick bedding cover where deer are left free to choose their own bedding spot. 49:01 — Kill More Deer. Feed Hungry Kids. | Boone Brothers | Chasing Giants 306
2026-01-11 Terry describes clearing an overgrown pasture near his farm access that was drawing too many deer, after letting another section grow up as habitat over three years. 14:26 — Most Hunters Get This Wrong | The Hard Truth About Killing Mature Bucks | Chasing Giants #307
2026-01-18 Don says he isn’t a fan of hinge cutting because if a tree is worthless enough to hinge cut, it’s better to cut it off and let something good grow up. 18:49 — LIVE at 360 Blinds: No Script, No Filters — Just Real Questions | Chasing Giants 308
2026-01-18 Don says the specific property matters far more for deer hunting success than the county or state it’s located in. 29:16 — LIVE at 360 Blinds: No Script, No Filters — Just Real Questions | Chasing Giants 308
2026-01-18 Don says land ownership lets him dictate how deer move on a property, sometimes to a great degree. 32:31 — LIVE at 360 Blinds: No Script, No Filters — Just Real Questions | Chasing Giants 308
2026-01-18 Don recalls planting white pine seedlings years ago when few deer were on his farm; today they would be eaten to the ground within a week. 50:18 — LIVE at 360 Blinds: No Script, No Filters — Just Real Questions | Chasing Giants 308
2026-01-25 Don plans to extend his sanctuary thicket by roughly seven to ten acres to the southwest with spruce and oak plantings to redirect deer travel and add thermal cover. 6:29 — Texas Hunt, Brutal Cold, Late Rut Behavior & Winter Habitat Decisions | Chasing Giants Podcast #309
2026-01-25 Don recommends combining thermal cover with low, out-of-the-wind terrain because deer, like the cattle he observed, use both to minimize wind exposure. 13:33 — Texas Hunt, Brutal Cold, Late Rut Behavior & Winter Habitat Decisions | Chasing Giants Podcast #309
2026-02-01 Don recommends anyone working on a habitat project for deer not miss the Shipshewana session showing behind-the-scenes footage of his and Terry’s habitat project. 18:45 — CULLING BUCKS: Why Shooting 3½-Year-Old 8-Points Actually Works | Chasing Giants #310
2026-02-08 Terry Hamby noted a common misconception that a TSI project only needs to be done once rather than maintained over time. 13:24 — Snow, Sheds & Sorghum: Late-Season Deer Survival | Chasing Giants #311
2026-02-08 Don Higgins recommended staggering TSI mulching on larger properties by treating about a fifth of the acreage each year to maintain varied regrowth stages. 13:08 — Snow, Sheds & Sorghum: Late-Season Deer Survival | Chasing Giants #311
2026-02-08 Don Higgins expressed confidence that his son-in-law and grandsons will continue his management program and keep producing 200-inch bucks on the farm after he’s gone. 57:04 — Snow, Sheds & Sorghum: Late-Season Deer Survival | Chasing Giants #311
2026-02-15 Don recommended mowing thick, impenetrable pasture regrowth with an FAE mulcher instead of burning it, to reset growth without killing beneficial cool-season grasses. 9:38 — CWD, One-Buck Limits & The Truth About NDA | Chasing Giants 312
2026-02-15 Don said they put 200 acres of food plots on a heavily wooded, agriculture-poor 1,400-acre Kentucky property, calling it a game changer for that farm. 11:18 — CWD, One-Buck Limits & The Truth About NDA | Chasing Giants 312
2026-02-22 Don advises land managers not to fixate only on south-facing slopes, since deer also need north-facing bedding cover to stay cool. 36:06 — Chasing Giants LIVE at the Midwest Sportsmen’s Classic | Shipshewana, IN | Presented by FAE
2026-03-08 Don’s controlled burn got out of control when the wind shifted and jumped a fire break, burning up a couple of trees. 3:56 — Permission Properties, Scrape Magnet Explained, and Our Health Journeys | Chasing Giants Ep. 315
2026-03-08 Don had Corey and Andrea helping with a controlled burn, with Andrea using a powerful backpack leaf blower to keep the fire under control before the wind shifted. 4:09 — Permission Properties, Scrape Magnet Explained, and Our Health Journeys | Chasing Giants Ep. 315
2026-03-08 Don plans to plant trees this year in the half of the field bordering his wooded sanctuary that he left unburned. 4:38 — Permission Properties, Scrape Magnet Explained, and Our Health Journeys | Chasing Giants Ep. 315
2026-03-08 Don is shifting his food plot from beside the wooded sanctuary to the middle of the switchgrass field to also serve as a fire break. 5:27 — Permission Properties, Scrape Magnet Explained, and Our Health Journeys | Chasing Giants Ep. 315
2026-03-08 Terry recommends girdling instead of dropping certain trees when you’re not skilled with a chainsaw. 45:00 — Permission Properties, Scrape Magnet Explained, and Our Health Journeys | Chasing Giants Ep. 315
2026-03-08 Terry warns that girdling creates widow-maker hazards, so hunters should stay cautious in those woods in the years afterward. 45:27 — Permission Properties, Scrape Magnet Explained, and Our Health Journeys | Chasing Giants Ep. 315
2026-03-08 Terry advises not letting a small food plot be the first thing to sprout, since deer will swarm it as the only browse available. 52:02 — Permission Properties, Scrape Magnet Explained, and Our Health Journeys | Chasing Giants Ep. 315
2026-03-15 In his consulting plans Don calls for a very aggressive TSI, cutting or girdling any tree standing that will never have timber or wildlife value. 2:08 — Cut More Trees! How Aggressive TSI Creates Better Deer Habitat
2026-03-15 Don recommends killing low-value species like beech, maples, hackberry, locust, box elder, and elms to let oaks and walnuts flourish. 3:09 — Cut More Trees! How Aggressive TSI Creates Better Deer Habitat
2026-03-15 Terry says his team always identifies a sanctuary on a property, aiming to make it as thick as possible to hold the maximum number of deer. 7:50 — Cut More Trees! How Aggressive TSI Creates Better Deer Habitat
2026-03-15 Don recommends landowners manipulate deer movement by dropping a tree across an existing exit trail and cutting a new one with a saw to create an easy, huntable access point. 13:45 — Cut More Trees! How Aggressive TSI Creates Better Deer Habitat
2026-03-15 Don describes a 500-acre reclaimed strip-mine property in Indiana that’s grown up thick with brush and volunteer trees. 20:27 — Cut More Trees! How Aggressive TSI Creates Better Deer Habitat
2026-03-15 Don says that on revisiting his cut property, the only invasive coming on was some multiflora rose, with most regrowth being grasses, weeds, and blackberry briars. 29:05 — Cut More Trees! How Aggressive TSI Creates Better Deer Habitat
2026-03-29 A tornado leveled a Northwoods Wisconsin property in 2019, after which loggers salvaged the downed timber. 3:56 — INSANE Bedding Cover + 22 Bears on Camera?! | Chasing Giants #318
2026-03-29 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 — INSANE Bedding Cover + 22 Bears on Camera?! | Chasing Giants #318
2026-03-29 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 — INSANE Bedding Cover + 22 Bears on Camera?! | Chasing Giants #318
2026-03-29 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 — INSANE Bedding Cover + 22 Bears on Camera?! | Chasing Giants #318
2026-03-29 The two brothers’ properties were dramatically different terrain—one in big hill country and the other in very flat land, hours apart. 6:11 — INSANE Bedding Cover + 22 Bears on Camera?! | Chasing Giants #318
2026-03-29 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 — INSANE Bedding Cover + 22 Bears on Camera?! | Chasing Giants #318
2026-03-29 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 — INSANE Bedding Cover + 22 Bears on Camera?! | Chasing Giants #318
2026-04-12 Don and Robin planted about 75 trees — 25 persimmon, 25 chestnut, and 25 red cedars — at the Gingerich project. 2:12 — Don Higgins Breaks Down His Favorite Properties of 2026 - Chasing Giants #320
2026-04-12 Big farmers typically hedge their bets by planting multiple corn and soybean varieties rather than a single variety. 15:46 — Don Higgins Breaks Down His Favorite Properties of 2026 - Chasing Giants #320
2026-04-12 Don says trapping teaches you to read sign and terrain features to predict where animals will travel across the countryside. 40:08 — Don Higgins Breaks Down His Favorite Properties of 2026 - Chasing Giants #320
2026-04-26 Don said the most common mistake his consulting clients make is putting too much pressure on their hunting property through human intrusion. 29:07 — Don Shares Personal News + The #1 Mistake Hunters Make | Chasing Giants Podcast 322
2026-05-03 Terry observed that after building a small waterhole with an excavator, nearly every turkey coming off the roost went straight to it. 31:38 — Prayers, Peace & Planting Strategy | Spring Food Plot Advice | Chasing Giants 323
2026-05-17 Bryhn Craft says he didn’t start cutting timber and burning until about five years ago, and it has proven an incredible habitat tool. 11:56 — Why Most Hunters NEVER Kill Big Bucks (Bryhn Craft Tells the Truth) | Chasing Giants #325
2026-05-31 Don argues that a property with an ideal layout in an area without a big-buck reputation will produce better deer over time than a farm in a well-known trophy area. 42:55 — Why BIG BUCK Areas Often FAIL Deer Hunters | Chasing Giants 327
2026-05-31 Terry observes that while it takes many years to build a quality deer herd on a property, that quality can be lost much faster through negative change. 44:15 — Why BIG BUCK Areas Often FAIL Deer Hunters | Chasing Giants 327
2026-06-07 Don believes more fawns are lost to farm equipment than to predators like coyotes and bobcats in the Midwest. 6:59 — The Biggest Mistake Food Plotters Make in June | Chasing Giants #328
2026-06-07 Terry felt dragging tree tops into switchgrass is a good idea in theory but not worth the trade-off, and said he personally wouldn’t do it. 22:15 — The Biggest Mistake Food Plotters Make in June | Chasing Giants #328
2026-06-21 Terry found that placing a utilization cage in his alfalfa this year showed deer browsing had reduced growth by roughly 10 inches. 9:02 — #330 - Can Supplemental Feeding Add 15”+ to a Buck? Don Higgins Answers
2026-06-21 Don announced Real World Wildlife Products is developing a new soybean-related product to cut browse pressure, planned for heavy testing next year. 9:41 — #330 - Can Supplemental Feeding Add 15”+ to a Buck? Don Higgins Answers
2026-06-28 Don recommends spraying narrow herbicide paths through weeds in early spring rather than mowing, to funnel deer right past the stand. 24:03 — Making Good Tree Stands GREAT | Don Higgins’ Best Habitat Tricks + Doubting Thomas Premiere
2026-06-28 Don says his 300-acre farm today includes about 100 acres of deer habitat, built up gradually from an original 40 acres. 27:57 — Making Good Tree Stands GREAT | Don Higgins’ Best Habitat Tricks + Doubting Thomas Premiere

Contradictions & open questions

Places where the show’s advice on this subject appears to disagree with itself, either between speakers or over time. Both claims are shown as they were said, with dates. Nothing here is resolved — which one applies is the reader’s call, and the owners’.

Guidance may have changed: Don names minimizing human intrusion as more important to a property’s deer success than any habitat improvement project, then later names what surrounds a property as the bigger factor.
- 2024-12-22 Don asserts that minimizing human intrusion matters more to a property’s deer success than any habitat improvement project. 55:59 — Episode #253 - Do Not Overcomplicate Habitat Projects!
- 2025-02-16 Don advises that what surrounds a hunting property matters more than what is on the property itself. 59:10 — Episode #260 - Live From the Legends Roundtable - Midwest Sportsmans Classic

Questions on this topic (60 of 186)

A listener beginning land management asks what priorities to focus on this summer and fall to set up next year’s success. 38:21 — Episode #182 - Don’s Buck Management Plan for 2023
Dean Wessels from Fairbury, Illinois asks how to establish good bedding cover in timber, including whether to use TSI, hinge cutting, or girdling. 45:12 — Episode #13 - 2020 ATA SHOW From Indy - Part 2 of 2
Tim Brown from Carrollton, Illinois asks why deer prefer browsing in an open harvested ag bean field over his food plot planted with the same soybean variety. 46:40 — Episode #248 - Big Buck Down! Wes Delks Joins Us to Discuss UHAUL
Jay Brandenberger asked whether a smaller parcel in Ohio or Illinois beats a larger, cheaper parcel in Minnesota or Wisconsin for growing mature bucks. 19:55 — Episode #187 - Do Trail Camera’s Spook Mature Bucks?
A Missouri big-woods hunter asks for advice patterning big bucks and picking apart big woods to find where to hunt and where not to. 26:34 — Episode #139 - Plans Can Change… Goals Stay The Same!
Kyle Wenger asked what to plant in leftover waterway and terrace acreage excluded from his family’s new monarch-butterfly CRP program. 38:38 — Episode #219 - The Most Important Aspect of Hunting Whitetails
Chase Nicely asks whether a well-managed farm can consistently produce 200-inch bucks every few years, or whether such deer are simply genetic anomalies regardless of management. 50:12 — Episode #156 - Looking for a Buck Bed…
John McCoy asked whether an electric fence around soybean plots would permanently scare mature bucks off the property. 20:31 — Episode #166 - Spring Herbicides
Adam Smith asked what Don and Terry think about selling hunting rights separately from land, and whether the trend will grow. 28:24 — Episode #166 - Spring Herbicides
Rich Eddington asks what impact it would have if someone with a lot of money bought adjoining land and used Don’s management practices. 41:43 — Don Higgins Breaks Down His Favorite Properties of 2026 - Chasing Giants #320
Terry asks Joe, on the Higgins Hot Seat, the most surprising or off-the-wall thing Don Higgins ever told him to do on two properties. 42:35 — “200-Inch Nebraska Giant: Joe Chambers’ Incredible Buck Story | Chasing Giants Ep. 296”
Eli Doyle asks whether wind direction matters as much as thermals, after hearing another podcast claim thermals matter more than wind. 48:56 — “200-Inch Nebraska Giant: Joe Chambers’ Incredible Buck Story | Chasing Giants Ep. 296”
Should land managers worry about down antler years as long as buck age structure stays intact, or push for change when circumstances shift? 19:49 — Episode #83 Don’s Buck Inventory shows 32 bucks over 150”
Why do land managers overcomplicate or abandon their habitat plans over short-term results instead of trusting a long-term strategy? 23:42 — Episode #83 Don’s Buck Inventory shows 32 bucks over 150”
Alex Dunker asks how to know when you’ve maximized a parcel’s potential, after years of extensive habitat work on two 60-acre Pike County farms with little big-buck success. 49:53 — Episode #83 Don’s Buck Inventory shows 32 bucks over 150”
Before buying land, how can a hunter identify farms with true big-buck potential rather than risking wasted effort? 55:03 — Episode #83 Don’s Buck Inventory shows 32 bucks over 150”
Wayne Gays asks what typically prompts Don to return to a property for a second consulting visit and whether it’s just to tweak the original plan. 56:30 — Ep. 204 - Hinge Cutting - Don Critiques Specific Projects
Jeremy Zimmerman asks whether it’s harmful to allow coyote hunters to run dogs through his property, including deer sanctuaries. 35:33 — Episode #154 - Dogs Running Loose on Don’s Farm. HE IS NOT HAPPY!
Terry asks Don to describe how he does allow coyote hunters onto his property with minimal intrusion. 37:10 — Episode #154 - Dogs Running Loose on Don’s Farm. HE IS NOT HAPPY!
Do Don and Terry use prescribed fire to clear cedar thickets and enhance native growth? 40:18 — Episode #42 - Christmas Gift Ideas, Hanging Tree Stands in February, and Last Giveaway for 2020
Once Hayden buys a farm, what should be the first things he does with it, including possibly planting valuable timber? 46:25 — Episode #42 - Christmas Gift Ideas, Hanging Tree Stands in February, and Last Giveaway for 2020
Why isn’t Don’s annual switchgrass burn intrusive to his property, especially with a known target buck possibly living there? 47:35 — Episode #169 - Don is Testing More Corn Seed. WHY?
How much talking is too much during off-season habitat or stand work—should hunters whisper or use sign language? 70:22 — Episode #169 - Don is Testing More Corn Seed. WHY?
Terry asks whether a property’s fixed reputation as an early- or late-season-only spot can really be changed through management. 24:35 — Episode #148 - Are Bucks Shedding Antlers Early This Year?
Do you have a preference on when logging is done on a property? 45:18 — Episode #191 - Babe Out In Daylight - Giant Corn Yields for Food Plotters
Dustin Kiesler asks why three-and-a-half-year-old bucks he lets go on his Kentucky lease vanish rather than returning as mature four-and-a-half-year-olds. 47:44 — Episode #10 - December Tips - Scouting for 2020 - Big Announcement from Real World
Kyle from Oakland City, Indiana asks Terry what horsepower tractor is good for land management tasks like brush hogging, planting, and general farm work. 40:51 — Episode 199 - Dewormer in Deer Feed, Tractors, Screens, and Windmills
How do thermal deer surveys help a land manager assess their property? 41:52 — Episode #256 - Hard Winter and Early Buck Shed? Illinois CWD Announcement
What’s the best process to terminate switchgrass on CRP ground for row crop or a food plot? 52:24 — Episode #256 - Hard Winter and Early Buck Shed? Illinois CWD Announcement
Parker asks the best time of year to do woods work like food plots or bedding areas. 31:33 — Episode #61 - Live from the Midwest Sportsman Show - TOUGH QUESTIONS FROM LIVE CROWD
Jacob asks whether Don does habitat or timber work inside his wooded property or leaves it untouched. 40:42 — Episode #61 - Live from the Midwest Sportsman Show - TOUGH QUESTIONS FROM LIVE CROWD
A listener asks how Don distinguishes necessary woods work from harmful human intrusion. 61:02 — Episode #61 - Live from the Midwest Sportsman Show - TOUGH QUESTIONS FROM LIVE CROWD
Raymond asks whether to leave his overgrown ag field as a weedy mess or spray it and plant switchgrass instead. 49:49 — Episode 230 - Don says Switchgrass is not the best bedding.
After hunting with Don for several days, what’s one takeaway you can bring back to your own property in Southern Illinois? 16:20 — Episode #87 - BUCK DOWN! Lester’s Feet Raffle Winner Got it Done!
Evan asks how a typical whitetail hunter can adapt a rut-funnel approach across different terrain, and whether one or two factors like wind, access, or bedding matter most. 34:40 — Episode #283 “Best Corn Ever? Don & Terry Reveal 2025 Plot Results + Fall Food Plot Timing Tips”
Chad asks whether one farm can satisfy both a deer hunting and cattle-raising passion, and if so how it should be divided. 55:50 — Episode #283 “Best Corn Ever? Don & Terry Reveal 2025 Plot Results + Fall Food Plot Timing Tips”
Justin Garber from Lebanon, Missouri asked how to get deer to cross a creek at a chosen spot where he can’t cut trees or alter banks. 55:55 — Episode #176 - Don’s Advice for Battery High Prices
Tony Lambrecht asked what advice Don has for dealing with reed canary grass on his 120-acre Northern Missouri property to improve deer habitat. 34:28 — Episode #231 - Timing is Key: When to Plant Fall Plots
Why do mature bucks summer elsewhere and only show up on a property after the fall shift, and what differs between good summer and fall properties? 48:56 — Episode #100 - Chasing Giants Episode 100 - Predator Control, Doe Factory, Moving Scrapes
Is there a point where extensive micro-habitat projects on a small property become too much, or can experimenting continue indefinitely with minimal pressure? 60:35 — Episode #100 - Chasing Giants Episode 100 - Predator Control, Doe Factory, Moving Scrapes
What should I plant along my road frontage to screen deer, since poachers shoot deer there and my screening keeps getting sprayed or driven over? 63:08 — Episode #252 - Don says, “THERE IS NO SECOND RUT!”
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 — INSANE Bedding Cover + 22 Bears on Camera?! | Chasing Giants #318
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 — INSANE Bedding Cover + 22 Bears on Camera?! | Chasing Giants #318
Bob asks what to plant before signing a CRP contract requiring periodic mowing, so bedding cover isn’t completely wiped out for deer. 40:00 — Episode #27 Season is closing in. Final prep work is being done along with addressing some hurt feelings.
Dennis asks what Don sees as the greatest threats to preserving whitetail hunting for future generations. 14:09 — Episode #263 - Live from the Iowa Deer Classic
If a three-year-old buck has claimed a bedding sanctuary you’d normally mow, should you still mow it? 60:34 — Episode #258 - Live Podcast from Mt. Hope Ohio
Brandon Wolf asked Don whether, in his early farming years, he ever imagined building his property into what it is today. 54:47 — Snow, Sheds & Sorghum: Late-Season Deer Survival | Chasing Giants #311
Terry asks Don to explain why bucks give up the best habitat to does and fawns during the off-season. 38:09 — Episode #264 - Big Rope Scrapes and Big Bucks!
Higgins Stackpole asked whether he should stop investing in his home farm and buy property better suited to growing big deer instead. 45:18 — Episode #264 - Big Rope Scrapes and Big Bucks!
Holden Gates of Paris, Illinois asked what single improvement besides food plots best benefits deer during the off season. 42:27 — Episode #11 - Merry Christmas and Late Season Insights
A hunter on a new lease unhunted for 25 years, seeing only 120-145 inch bucks, asks what his goals should be. 38:09 — Episode #193 - Babe is Down!
Dave Least asks whether it’s better to shoot does early before they’re bred or if timing doesn’t matter. 32:08 — Episode #240 - If Don Was DNR, How He Would Make Illinois Better Than Iowa
A listener with a growing 75-acre farm asks what percentage of a property should be sanctuary and whether to add fruit trees. 61:52 — Episode #246 - Don Says - Best November Hunting in 50 Years
An audience member asks what percentage of acreage Don and Terry devote to food plots on their properties. 12:33 — Episode #211 - Live from RWWP Dealer Event - BINGO
Land and Martin from Claypool, Indiana ask what to plant on a wet 10-acre weedy patch instead of grass to create better winter bedding cover. 53:52 — Making Good Tree Stands GREAT | Don Higgins’ Best Habitat Tricks + Doubting Thomas Premiere
Sam asked whether his dad’s 10-acre dove field on their shared Georgia farm is a harmful intrusion for deer hunting. 59:35 — Episode #147 - Winter Buck Inventory… More Important than Summer?
Jay Walls Jr. asks Don’s thoughts on transplanting wild saplings to help the deer herd. 54:09 — Episode #179 - Is Antler Growth Behind This Year?
Bob Jones asks Don and Terry to weigh in on horizontal versus vertical bedding cover and how it relates to bedding grass. 44:13 — Chasing Giants Episode #142 - Heat Wave Rut - What will Don do?
What made the farm Don posted about on Facebook one of the best whitetail properties he’d ever seen? 15:10 — Episode #95 - Live from Guthrie, KY
Other than isolation and cover, what is the number one thing landowners can do to grow bigger deer? 19:45 — Episode #95 - Live from Guthrie, KY

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