Weather & Drought

Category: seasons-timing
Topic keys: weather, drought, flooding, rainfall

Current guidance

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

Don maintains that weather trumps the moon and rut phase in driving deer movement, citing warm spells that emptied his cell cameras and cold fronts that brought does back. On the growing season, the show treats moisture and heat as decisive for crops and antlers: Don recalls extreme drought in 2025 leaving soybean pods too dry for deer to eat, contrasted with a well-timed rain during the 2012 drought producing a strong crop. By April 2026 Don notes rain stopped from mid-July until November, hurting pod development, and by June 2026 he reports heavy rain, five and 4.8 inches by two counts, ending a dry stretch, then over nine inches in two weeks with nineties forecast ahead. Terry, watching thigh-high corn against six-inch soybeans, hopes to avoid a repeat of last year’s extremely hot spell followed by thirty-five dry days.

How the guidance evolved (most recent 120 of 233)

• 2023-06-25 Don reports several other hunters, including a couple in Iowa, told him their deer showed increased mineral intake this year. 29:53 — Episode 175 - June Food Plot Update
• 2023-07-03 Don’s farm received about five inches of rain over three days (Thursday through Saturday), ending the drought at his house. 3:26 — Episode #176 - Don’s Advice for Battery High Prices
• 2023-07-03 A storm that hit while Don was away in Ohio wiped out a bunch of trees in a nearby grower’s orchard. 2:30 — Episode #176 - Don’s Advice for Battery High Prices
• 2023-07-03 Don relayed that a local factory clocked derecho winds of 106 miles per hour during the storm that hit near his area. 2:43 — Episode #176 - Don’s Advice for Battery High Prices
• 2023-07-03 Terry noted Minnesota endured a brutal, prolonged winter followed immediately by drought, a combination he believes compounds stress on deer. 62:53 — Episode #176 - Don’s Advice for Battery High Prices
• 2023-07-03 Don recalled that after the 2012 drought left his soybeans under knee-high, a hurricane’s rain made the plants triple in size within sixteen days. 13:59 — Episode #176 - Don’s Advice for Battery High Prices
• 2023-07-03 Don referenced a study showing the 2012 drought significantly reduced antler growth and body weights in bucks compared to other years. 62:14 — Episode #176 - Don’s Advice for Battery High Prices
• 2023-07-16 Don explains rain arriving July 1 was perfectly timed for the corn, which had been drought-stressed since planting. 16:38 — Episode 178 - The Bucks and The Corn are Growing Fast
• 2023-07-16 Terry explains the drought hurt soybean plots, especially for land-consulting clients, since the beans didn’t grow enough to outpace deer browse pressure. 18:29 — Episode 178 - The Bucks and The Corn are Growing Fast
• 2023-07-16 Don recalls that in 2012, despite no rain until September, the late rains produced a fantastic soybean crop amid the worst drought of his life. 19:18 — Episode 178 - The Bucks and The Corn are Growing Fast
• 2023-08-13 Don states he has never seen a year with both a bad spring and a bad fall growing season. 8:49 — Episode #182 - Don’s Buck Management Plan for 2023
• 2023-09-03 Don’s trail camera photo counts crashed from over 1,000 per day to under 100 once a hot spell hit. 26:07 — Episode #185 - Bucks are starting to shift - Fall Plots, GET THEM IN
• 2023-09-03 Terry notes two hurricanes moving through the eastern U.S. could unpredictably shift local weather and food-plot planting conditions. 32:28 — Episode #185 - Bucks are starting to shift - Fall Plots, GET THEM IN
• 2023-09-10 Don’s trail camera picture counts rose during a cool spell and dropped sharply, by roughly 90%, during subsequent hot periods. 3:35 — Episode #186 - Disappointing 2023 Buck Forecast
• 2023-09-10 Don noticed many older bucks lost antler inches this year and attributes it to the May-June drought. 28:26 — Episode #186 - Disappointing 2023 Buck Forecast
• 2023-09-10 Terry pointed out the region has actually been in drought since last fall, not just during May and June. 29:46 — Episode #186 - Disappointing 2023 Buck Forecast
• 2023-09-10 Don said six inches of July rain saved the season after a spring drought that threatened to be worse than 2012. 31:13 — Episode #186 - Disappointing 2023 Buck Forecast
• 2023-09-10 Don’s fall plots germinated but were stunted from lack of rain, expected to explode once rain arrives. 7:25 — Episode #186 - Disappointing 2023 Buck Forecast
• 2023-10-22 Don says October weather this year has been about as good as any October he can remember, with cooler highs and multiple cold fronts. 1:13 — Episode 192 - End of October - Tactics and Plans are Changing - PRE RUT!
• 2023-10-22 Terry predicts the October 29-31 weekend could be an awesome rut weekend if the forecast temperature drop holds. 5:40 — Episode 192 - End of October - Tactics and Plans are Changing - PRE RUT!
• 2023-10-29 Terry and Don believe the buck scored smaller this year than last due to a regional drought that suppressed antler growth in mature bucks. 21:55 — Episode #193 - Babe is Down!
• 2023-11-05 Terry advises hunters with flexible schedules to hold their vacation days open, since flexibility is a huge advantage when weather shifts. 4:46 — Episode #194 - 2nd Target Buck Harvested by Special Guest
• 2023-11-05 Don states that weather trumps rut movement, noting the same pattern is playing out again this year. 5:17 — Episode #194 - 2nd Target Buck Harvested by Special Guest
• 2023-11-19 Don forecast rising barometric pressure and an extended outlook making Saturday morning hunting conditions absolutely beautiful. 4:55 — Episode #196 - Lock Down Breaking Loose as Weather Changes
• 2023-11-26 Terry said he’s watching for a stretch of really cold weather to set in following the rut for their food plot programs to pay off. 20:07 — Episode #197 - Don’s Grandson Kills His First Buck!
• 2024-03-24 Barry Wensel reportedly said at the legends debate that the first cold, frosty morning of fall is fantastic for hunting, every single year. 27:04 — Episode #213 - Turning old cow pasture in deer sanctuary
• 2024-04-07 Don reports getting a bunch of rain earlier in the week, almost three inches on Monday and Tuesday, which the ground needed. 1:01 — Episode #215 - Could 2024 be a fantastic antler growing season?
• 2024-04-07 Don’s remaining Wisconsin consulting visits were canceled after a big snowstorm left drifts blocking farm access. 6:31 — Episode #215 - Could 2024 be a fantastic antler growing season?
• 2024-04-14 Joe Johnson explains that an erratic warm winter with swings from the 40s to 70s scattered deer instead of grouping them, hurting shed hunting. 37:47 — Episode #216 - Don Shoots His First Turkey - Friends Episode
• 2024-04-21 Don says with three or four dry days he could finish his projects and be ready for food plots. 4:11 — Episode #217 - Now Don wants to go fishing!
• 2024-05-05 Don plans to plant Miscanthus and a couple of food plots Sunday afternoon after church if the ground dries out enough. 60:47 — Episode #219 - The Most Important Aspect of Hunting Whitetails
• 2024-06-09 Don experienced one of the mildest winters of his life, with only a handful of truly cold days at the end of Illinois’s season. 1:20 — Episode 225 - Big Antlers this Spring Mean Big Decisions this Fall!
• 2024-06-09 Don said this antler growing season is unlike anything he’s ever seen set up before. 13:28 — Episode 225 - Big Antlers this Spring Mean Big Decisions this Fall!
• 2024-07-07 Don’s farm received nine tenths of an inch of rain on July 4th, welcomed after missing several prior rain systems. 6:24 — Episode #229 - Final Thoughts on the Buck Named Babe and Cameras are Out!
• 2024-07-07 Wes Delks showed Don a photo of a client’s South Dakota food plot that was completely flooded, unusual for that time of year. 38:36 — Episode #229 - Final Thoughts on the Buck Named Babe and Cameras are Out!
• 2024-07-14 Don reported his farm got 3.8 tenths of rain pushed up by a hurricane, ending a drought and improving conditions. 1:47 — Episode 230 - Don says Switchgrass is not the best bedding.
• 2024-07-14 Terry admitted this is the worst set of food plots he’s ever had, calling himself embarrassed and disappointed. 2:50 — Episode 230 - Don says Switchgrass is not the best bedding.
• 2024-08-18 Don predicts an early fall this year based on various weather forecasts and websites showing a mid-to-late September pattern in mid-August. 5:20 — Episode #235 - Is EHD Back in 2024? Bucks Dead in Indiana!
• 2024-08-18 Terry plans to stick with his food-plot schedule without panicking despite a dry forecast, keeping his property ready to plant if rain arrives. 61:17 — Episode #235 - Is EHD Back in 2024? Bucks Dead in Indiana!
• 2024-08-25 Don explains hot weather subdues visible rut activity while cold weather makes bucks move and be seen more. 3:16 — Episode #236 - Antler Genetics Follow Mother or Father?
• 2024-08-25 Terry says he hunts the coldest available days regardless of whether they fall in late October or early November. 5:34 — Episode #236 - Antler Genetics Follow Mother or Father?
• 2024-08-25 Don says comparing two very different growing seasons back to back proved weather is a real factor in antler growth. 7:31 — Episode #236 - Antler Genetics Follow Mother or Father?
• 2024-08-25 Terry recounts an unusually warm, high-79-degree August day that felt like late September or early October. 8:42 — Episode #236 - Antler Genetics Follow Mother or Father?
• 2024-08-25 Don describes a dry June followed by a first rain on July 4 and a hurricane bringing more rain in mid-July. 24:29 — Episode #236 - Antler Genetics Follow Mother or Father?
• 2024-09-01 Don’s clover plot, planted in mid-early August, is barely popping out of the ground due to dry weather. 1:36 — Episode 237 - Cell Camera Spooking Mature Deer? Don Thinks Maybe So…
• 2024-09-01 Don’s Deadly Dozen, planted a few days earlier, still had not emerged from the ground at all. 1:49 — Episode 237 - Cell Camera Spooking Mature Deer? Don Thinks Maybe So…
• 2024-09-01 Terry recalls a past year when a month-long September drought left Deadly Dozen seed dormant until October rain, after which it germinated and looked great. 2:42 — Episode 237 - Cell Camera Spooking Mature Deer? Don Thinks Maybe So…
• 2024-09-01 Don recommends planting food plot seed immediately rather than waiting for a forecasted rain, since a missed pop-up shower wastes the opportunity. 5:22 — Episode 237 - Cell Camera Spooking Mature Deer? Don Thinks Maybe So…
• 2024-09-01 Don says since the weather can’t be controlled, the focus should be on getting seed in the ground and hoping for the best. 6:40 — Episode 237 - Cell Camera Spooking Mature Deer? Don Thinks Maybe So…
• 2024-09-08 Don said that unlike last year, when older bucks he tracked stayed the same or lost inches, every buck he watched from the previous season added inches this year. 16:38 — Episode 238 - 2024 Buck Forecast - MORE GIANTS SHOT THIS YEAR
• 2024-09-16 Terry stated their worst fear was that EHD-favoring drought conditions were spreading further. 7:55 — Episode #239 - EHD Is Closing in on Don’s Farm!
• 2024-09-16 Don explained the outbreak needs a heavy rain of several inches and a hard frost to subside, but the ten-day forecast showed no rain. 9:11 — Episode #239 - EHD Is Closing in on Don’s Farm!
• 2024-09-22 Terry’s alfalfa was completely torched brown by the summer’s heat and drought. 7:57 — Episode #240 - If Don Was DNR, How He Would Make Illinois Better Than Iowa
• 2024-09-22 Terry’s deer ate roughly 2,000 pounds of feed from two feeders in under two weeks amid the drought. 8:48 — Episode #240 - If Don Was DNR, How He Would Make Illinois Better Than Iowa
• 2024-09-29 Don reports getting 2.3 inches of rain at his place, with more in the forecast. 1:09 — Podcast #241 - Don’s Target Buck Revealed - Non-Typical Giant!
• 2024-10-27 Don asserts that weather, not the moon or other factors, is the single biggest driver of daylight deer activity. 19:46 — Episode #245 - Halloween Hunting Should Be Great! Weather and Hunting Forecast from Don Higgins
• 2024-10-27 Don reads a rising barometric line on the forecast chart as a great sign for fantastic hunting that weekend. 17:27 — Episode #245 - Halloween Hunting Should Be Great! Weather and Hunting Forecast from Don Higgins
• 2024-10-27 Don explains that cold fronts dropping temperatures below normal make deer activity extremely hot regardless of calendar date. 19:58 — Episode #245 - Halloween Hunting Should Be Great! Weather and Hunting Forecast from Don Higgins
• 2024-10-27 Don predicts the last days of October and first days of November could see more deer activity than November 15 if the weather stays cool. 23:28 — Episode #245 - Halloween Hunting Should Be Great! Weather and Hunting Forecast from Don Higgins
• 2024-10-27 Don says temperature plays as large a role in daylight rut activity as anything else hunters will witness. 23:34 — Episode #245 - Halloween Hunting Should Be Great! Weather and Hunting Forecast from Don Higgins
• 2024-11-03 Don states that weather trumps everything in deer movement, more than the moon or the rut phase, a view he has held for years. 2:21 — Episode #246 - Don Says - Best November Hunting in 50 Years
• 2024-11-03 Don says his cell cameras showed a sharp drop in deer activity during a three-day warm spell, with far fewer photos to delete than usual. 3:24 — Episode #246 - Don Says - Best November Hunting in 50 Years
• 2024-11-03 Don says that if the forecast holds, this will be the best November weather for deer hunting he has ever seen in his life. 35:43 — Episode #246 - Don Says - Best November Hunting in 50 Years
• 2024-11-03 Don explains that when great weather sustains daylight rut activity for a long stretch, the rut can end abruptly, like a switch flipping, rather than tapering off. 36:51 — Episode #246 - Don Says - Best November Hunting in 50 Years
• 2024-11-03 Don asserts that weather is a huge factor in deer activity while the moon phase is only a tiny factor by comparison. 38:14 — Episode #246 - Don Says - Best November Hunting in 50 Years
• 2024-11-03 Don relays that his friend Kyle Birch, hunting near the Missouri-Kansas line by Kansas City, had a hot morning and shot a giant buck. 23:39 — Episode #246 - Don Says - Best November Hunting in 50 Years
• 2024-11-03 Don recalls shooting his buck Mel on October 30, 2020, right before a warm spell shut down daylight deer activity in early November. 35:27 — Episode #246 - Don Says - Best November Hunting in 50 Years
• 2024-11-10 Don states that weather always trumps everything when predicting rut activity, calling this week a perfect example of that. 2:05 — Episode #247 - Lockdown, Drone’s, and Deer Pimps
• 2024-11-24 Terry described waking to cold, windy weather with the season’s first snow on his truck in Illinois, sensing it signaled a great hunting weekend. 0:37 — Episode #249 - Another Big Archery Buck! Terry Peer and Don Higgins Discuss
• 2024-11-24 Don recalled that rain and strong wind convinced him and Steve Shields to get breakfast in town instead of hunting that morning. 1:07 — Episode #249 - Another Big Archery Buck! Terry Peer and Don Higgins Discuss
• 2024-11-24 Terry said the warm front that hit around November sixth through eighth suppressed the rut he and Don had anticipated, though many great bucks were still killed. 1:56 — Episode #249 - Another Big Archery Buck! Terry Peer and Don Higgins Discuss
• 2025-01-05 Don asserts that weather trumps everything, including the moon and the rut, when it comes to deer activity. 29:09 — Episode #255 - Deer Movement and Weather Fronts
• 2025-03-02 Don describes extreme cold in Iowa last week that dropped to eight degrees below zero before warming dramatically. 13:24 — Episode #262 - The Controlled Burn on Switchgrass GONE BAD!
• 2025-04-06 Terry reports significant tornado damage occurred through Arkansas and Tennessee overnight. 9:41 — Episode #267 - Spring Whitetail Habitat Projects - Is it Go Time?
• 2025-04-13 Wes Delks sent a video of himself kayaking with his son across his flooded front yard due to heavy rain. 68:29 — Episode #268 - Thermal Drone Tells the Truth on Don’s Farm
• 2025-04-20 Don notes there was a cold spell about a week prior where the temperature dropped to 26 degrees one night. 8:36 — Episode #269 - Genetics, Nutrition, or Age (which is more important)
• 2025-05-04 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 — Episode #271 - Cool Wet Spring Concerns for Antler Growth and Nutrition
• 2025-05-04 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 — Episode #271 - Cool Wet Spring Concerns for Antler Growth and Nutrition
• 2025-05-04 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 — Episode #271 - Cool Wet Spring Concerns for Antler Growth and Nutrition
• 2025-05-25 Don recalls last year as likely the best antler-growing season of his life, in stark contrast to the previous year, one of the poorest. 4:54 — #274 - Soil Health: The Foundation of Successful Food Plotting
• 2025-05-25 Don recalls a Memorial weekend flood that shut down Interstate 70 near Marshall/Martinsville, Illinois, drowning many newborn fawns swept away in floodwaters. 9:06 — #274 - Soil Health: The Foundation of Successful Food Plotting
• 2025-06-22 Don reported getting about three tenths of an inch of rain from a recent front passing through his area. 1:00 — Episode #278 - Are Deer Getting Smaller?
• 2025-06-22 The recent rain came with strong winds that blew Don’s corn over, but it stood back up on its own within a couple of days. 1:20 — Episode #278 - Are Deer Getting Smaller?
• 2025-08-17 Don recalled that the fall of 2012, a severe drought year, was when he traveled to Alaska while conditions back home stayed extremely dry. 1:11 — EP #286 - Preparing for Hunting Season: Plots, Cameras & CWD Truth
• 2025-08-17 Despite the 2012 drought, Don’s soybeans still produced a fantastic crop that year. 1:29 — EP #286 - Preparing for Hunting Season: Plots, Cameras & CWD Truth
• 2025-09-07 Don reported his area had not received rain since July, with only one-tenth of an inch falling that week amid ongoing drought. 13:55 — Deer Velvet Shedding & Fall Buck Shifts: Don Higgins Responds to Rumors | Chasing Giants Ep. 289
• 2025-09-14 Terry reported that Kentucky’s archery season had opened, along with a couple other states, while the region suffered severe dry weather. 12:48 — Faith, Hunting & Courage After Tragedy | Chasing Giants Podcast Ep. 290
• 2025-09-14 Terry observed that farmers were already picking corn and beans in Central Illinois well ahead of the normal schedule. 13:05 — Faith, Hunting & Courage After Tragedy | Chasing Giants Podcast Ep. 290
• 2025-09-14 Don observed many farmers cutting soybeans early this year because dry conditions make the pods brittle and prone to shattering, causing yield loss. 13:42 — Faith, Hunting & Courage After Tragedy | Chasing Giants Podcast Ep. 290
• 2025-09-14 Don noted that due to a wet spring in southern Illinois, this year’s harvest would start in the north and move south, reversing the typical pattern. 14:50 — Faith, Hunting & Courage After Tragedy | Chasing Giants Podcast Ep. 290
• 2025-09-28 Don expects warm eighty-degree temperatures at season opener to keep bucks bedded until near dark, limiting daylight movement. 14:28 — #292 - Public Land Busts, Big Timber Dreams, & Target Bucks
• 2025-10-12 Don said he didn’t hunt during the first seven days of season this year because the weather was too hot. 0:51 — #294 From Old School to High Tech: Don Higgins Reflects on 40 Years in the Deer Woods
• 2025-10-19 Don’s area is in extreme drought, as dry as it has been since the drought of 2012 according to a local meteorologist. 19:22 — The Magic of Late October | Cold Fronts, Big Bucks & Character in the Woods | Chasing Giants #295
• 2025-10-26 Terry notes the weather pattern will shift to an east wind for three or four days starting Saturday after the pressure drops. 7:36 — “200-Inch Nebraska Giant: Joe Chambers’ Incredible Buck Story | Chasing Giants Ep. 296”
• 2025-11-09 Don’s trail cameras captured fewer overnight deer photos on the unusually warm night than any night in at least two weeks. 4:01 — The Weirdest Rut Ever: Warm Temps, Barometers, and Big Bucks | Chasing Giants Ep #298
• 2025-11-09 Don observed that midday deer activity was completely dead during the unusually warm week. 4:10 — The Weirdest Rut Ever: Warm Temps, Barometers, and Big Bucks | Chasing Giants Ep #298
• 2025-11-09 Don observed that deer were only slightly late reaching their beds during the warm week, and once bedded there was absolutely no daytime movement. 4:40 — The Weirdest Rut Ever: Warm Temps, Barometers, and Big Bucks | Chasing Giants Ep #298
• 2025-11-09 Terry recalled that on October 23 in Illinois, deer were already up and moving around 2 PM in the afternoon, before the time change. 6:29 — The Weirdest Rut Ever: Warm Temps, Barometers, and Big Bucks | Chasing Giants Ep #298
• 2025-11-09 Don noted the average first frost date for his area is October 24, and as of recording they had not yet had a first frost this year. 20:44 — The Weirdest Rut Ever: Warm Temps, Barometers, and Big Bucks | Chasing Giants Ep #298
• 2025-11-09 Terry planned to be back hunting in a tree stand in Illinois despite high winds, expecting the incoming cold front to boost deer movement. 22:27 — The Weirdest Rut Ever: Warm Temps, Barometers, and Big Bucks | Chasing Giants Ep #298
• 2025-11-30 Don noted this year’s abrupt shift from the rut straight into brutally cold late-season weather was unlike any transition he’d seen before. 10:53 — Late Season Starts NOW — Cold Fronts, Bucks on Food, and Thanksgiving Reflections | Episode #301
• 2025-12-07 Don relays that Wes Delks had six hunts where he only saw three total antlerless deer just before the cold and snow hit. 26:16 — Late Season EXPLOSION! Why Giants Are Falling Everywhere | Chasing Giants #302
• 2025-12-07 Don observes that once the cold and snow arrived, all the does that had disappeared came back to his property. 26:27 — Late Season EXPLOSION! Why Giants Are Falling Everywhere | Chasing Giants #302
• 2025-12-07 Don predicts that if the current cold weather pattern holds, deer will shed early and antlers will be more concentrated around cover and food sources. 30:02 — Late Season EXPLOSION! Why Giants Are Falling Everywhere | Chasing Giants #302
• 2026-01-04 Don attributes an unusually warm fall with green leaves lingering into November, followed by early snowfall in Illinois, to conditions that can cause deer pneumonia. 54:02 — Kill More Deer. Feed Hungry Kids. | Boone Brothers | Chasing Giants 306
• 2026-02-01 Don experienced a 24-degree temperature swing while traveling north during the winter storm, finding far less snow the farther north he went into Missouri and Iowa. 1:24 — CULLING BUCKS: Why Shooting 3½-Year-Old 8-Points Actually Works | Chasing Giants #310
• 2026-04-12 Don had his first year in 18 years of selling Real World soybeans where deer did not devour every bean, due to weather conditions. 6:36 — Don Higgins Breaks Down His Favorite Properties of 2026 - Chasing Giants #320
• 2026-04-12 In Don’s area, heavy early-season rain gave soybeans a fast start, but rain stopped from mid-July until early November, hurting pod development. 7:17 — Don Higgins Breaks Down His Favorite Properties of 2026 - Chasing Giants #320
• 2026-04-12 In the 2012 drought, a well-timed rain during pod fill produced a fantastic soybean crop despite the worst drought of Don’s life. 9:43 — Don Higgins Breaks Down His Favorite Properties of 2026 - Chasing Giants #320
• 2026-05-10 Don Higgins found that during last summer’s drought, some soybean pods developed but lacked moisture to push the bean out, so deer weren’t eating them. 35:07 — Grow Bigger Food Plots, Gardens & Fruit Trees – Mike Mitchell Breaks It Down | Chasing Giants #324
• 2026-05-10 Mike said trees treated with the micros grew less than usual during last year’s severe drought but didn’t wilt like an untreated newly planted tree would. 37:07 — Grow Bigger Food Plots, Gardens & Fruit Trees – Mike Mitchell Breaks It Down | Chasing Giants #324
• 2026-05-10 Terry planned to watch his food plots for drought stress and apply Mike’s Mighty Micros when needed, expecting the same approach to work on fall brassica plots. 39:55 — Grow Bigger Food Plots, Gardens & Fruit Trees – Mike Mitchell Breaks It Down | Chasing Giants #324
• 2026-06-07 Don said hot, humid summer weather is what drives plant growth, including buck antler development. 4:01 — The Biggest Mistake Food Plotters Make in June | Chasing Giants #328
• 2026-06-07 Terry said the ideal is avoiding a repeat of last year, when it turned extremely hot and then stayed dry for thirty-five days. 4:51 — The Biggest Mistake Food Plotters Make in June | Chasing Giants #328
• 2026-06-14 Don reports getting five inches of rain since the last recording, ending a dry stretch on his food plots. 1:01 — #329 | Why Don Higgins Gets More Excited About July Than Opening Day
• 2026-06-14 Terry mentions hearing that bad storms and even a tornado hit Northern Indiana this past week. 1:44 — #329 | Why Don Higgins Gets More Excited About July Than Opening Day
• 2026-06-14 Don totals his week’s rainfall at 4.8 inches across three separate rain events. 2:37 — #329 | Why Don Higgins Gets More Excited About July Than Opening Day
• 2026-06-28 Don reports roughly nine and a half inches of rain fell on his property over the past two weeks. 3:05 — Making Good Tree Stands GREAT | Don Higgins’ Best Habitat Tricks + Doubting Thomas Premiere
• 2026-06-28 Don forecasts temperatures in the nineties for the entire week starting Monday after the podcast releases. 3:36 — Making Good Tree Stands GREAT | Don Higgins’ Best Habitat Tricks + Doubting Thomas Premiere
• 2026-06-28 Terry reports his soybeans are only about six inches tall while his corn is thigh-high in some fields. 4:53 — 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 attributes lost antler inches to a May-June drought, while Terry describes the region’s drought as ongoing since last fall.
  • 2023-09-10 Don noticed many older bucks lost antler inches this year and attributes it to the May-June drought. 28:26 — Episode #186 - Disappointing 2023 Buck Forecast
  • 2023-09-10 Terry pointed out the region has actually been in drought since last fall, not just during May and June. 29:46 — Episode #186 - Disappointing 2023 Buck Forecast

Questions on this topic

• Ryan asks what to plant for bedding in bottom ground that floods in spring but is dry the rest of the year. 48:04 — Episode #41 - Don and Terry start a new December Series called “Make A Good Spot Great!”
• Terry asked Don to script the ideal weather for the next six months to maximize antler growth on his property. 24:22 — When Managing Deer Means Saying NO to Giants | Chasing Giants Podcast #304
• Eric asked whether drought-related stress could cause bucks to drop antlers earlier, similar to its effect on overall antler growth. 54:34 — Episode#203 - Post Season Scouting and Project Advice
• Terry asks Don whether the rut is early or if the deer movement is simply due to the recent weather change. 4:44 — “200-Inch Nebraska Giant: Joe Chambers’ Incredible Buck Story | Chasing Giants Ep. 296”
• What were the weather conditions during the youth hunt? 4:13 — Episode #191 - Babe Out In Daylight - Giant Corn Yields for Food Plotters
• After last year’s drought, will good growing conditions this year bring more antler growth? 41:17 — Ep #208 - Live from the FAE Midwest Sportsman Classic!
• Will the current brutal cold and snow contribute to stress and cause early shedding? 27:42 — Episode #256 - Hard Winter and Early Buck Shed? Illinois CWD Announcement
• Rob Effingham asked whether it’s worth planting soybeans in drought-affected early July for deer forage, or waiting to plant cereal grains later. 39:38 — Episode #176 - Don’s Advice for Battery High Prices
• Kurt Myers from Washington, Pennsylvania asked whether this year’s drought will positively or negatively affect antler growth. 59:36 — Episode #176 - Don’s Advice for Battery High Prices
• Terry asks Don to confirm there is no fixed October lull, but rather weather dictates when bucks move throughout the month. 9:20 — Episode #246 - Don Says - Best November Hunting in 50 Years
• Terry asks Don for his thoughts on this year’s antler growth data on mature bucks he’s tracking. 31:14 — Episode #179 - Is Antler Growth Behind This Year?
• How do you make sure newly planted fruit trees get enough soil moisture until their roots grow down and become self-sufficient? 23:18 — Episode #172 - Don is really worried about EHD in 2023
• Terry asked whether spraying between cuttings during a drought, off the normal schedule, would harm the plant. 12:05 — Grow Bigger Food Plots, Gardens & Fruit Trees – Mike Mitchell Breaks It Down | Chasing Giants #324
• Terry asked Mike to explain how Mike’s Mighty Micros helps soybeans during a drought and when to apply it. 35:32 — Grow Bigger Food Plots, Gardens & Fruit Trees – Mike Mitchell Breaks It Down | Chasing Giants #324
• Terry asked at what point during a drought farmers should decide it’s time to use the product. 37:58 — Grow Bigger Food Plots, Gardens & Fruit Trees – Mike Mitchell Breaks It Down | Chasing Giants #324
• Terry asked if there’s any issue applying Mike’s Mighty Micros by drone during a drought year. 38:40 — Grow Bigger Food Plots, Gardens & Fruit Trees – Mike Mitchell Breaks It Down | Chasing Giants #324
• Amos asks how much the early May drought contributed to older bucks losing antler score, and whether they’ll rebound next year. 48:00 — Episode #186 - Disappointing 2023 Buck Forecast
• Eli Beachy asked whether antler strength differs year to year, noting more busted antlers this year. 15:51 — Episode #105 Live from Shipshewana, IN - 2 Episodes in One!
• Mike Russell asked why dry spring and summer months causing a drought reduce buck antler growth. 32:53 — Episode #188 - Apple Trees for Whitetails
• Jordan Brandenburg asked whether hauling water to drought-stressed food plots by ATV or truck would help, or create too much human-intrusion pressure. 36:54 — Episode #188 - Apple Trees for Whitetails
• Terry asks how storms, flooding, and spring weather affect deer health. 42:29 — Episode #270 - Deer Nutrition with Dr. Aaron Gaines
• Heath Jones asked how late is too late to plant fall food plots when there’s no rain forecast for two weeks. 50:18 — Episode #185 - Bucks are starting to shift - Fall Plots, GET THEM IN
• Terry asks whether Don’s deer favor clover or Deadly Dozen plots more in warmer weather versus grain in cold weather. 3:12 — Episode 303 – Late-Season Deer Movement, Winter Food Strategy & The Future of Big Bucks
• Terry asked what Don’s first hay cutting was like and how much he got off given the weather in his area. 3:13 — The Biggest Mistake Food Plotters Make in June | Chasing Giants #328
• Terry asked how legumes like alfalfa and soybeans handle heat, and whether they thrive as long as they have moisture. 4:18 — The Biggest Mistake Food Plotters Make in June | Chasing Giants #328
• Jason Hesselberg asked whether wildfire-smoke-caused haze and cooler temperatures would hurt antler growth this year like it did two years ago. 44:46 — Episode #278 - Are Deer Getting Smaller?
• Sean Pearson asked why mature buck sightings drop off during the traditional November 5-12 peak window and whether hunting pressure or his more-northern location is the cause. 48:10 — Episode #278 - Are Deer Getting Smaller?
• Don asked Lee Mitchell to describe what he observed during the 2012 drought and its effect on deer body weight and antler score. 49:11 — Episode #110 - Double Episode live from Master Class - Al Foster gives great advise
• Terry asks whether corn truly prefers hot weather. 5:26 — #274 - Soil Health: The Foundation of Successful Food Plotting
• Terry asks Don whether he has heard of any EHD outbreaks in his area this year. 13:35 — Episode #133 - Special Guest Mark Luster - Buck Forecast Part 2
• For flooded plots with surviving green cover but no real yield, should growers keep the cover or terminate early to replant sooner? 21:43 — Episode #75 - Concerned about cell cams, when should i plant, and purple headed freaks…
• Does research support that weather fronts matter more than moon phase for daylight deer movement? 25:27 — Episode #108 - Mind Blowing Deer Management with Dr. Bronson Strickland
• Nathan from Indianapolis asked whether fall drought would hinder bucks’ antler growth, fetal programming for next year, and oak regeneration from acorns. 23:40 — Episode #140 - Fall Drought - What does that mean for deer hunters?
• Terry asks whether drought-related nutrient deficiency during antler hardening could make antlers more brittle, similar to low calcium weakening human bones. 20:40 — Most Hunters Get This Wrong | The Hard Truth About Killing Mature Bucks | Chasing Giants #307
• Nolan Gingerling asked about deer movement on calm versus windy days, referencing Don’s rut report comments and his grandpa’s belief that wind suppresses movement. 54:29 — Episode #249 - Another Big Archery Buck! Terry Peer and Don Higgins Discuss
• For the first Higgins Hot Seat, Terry asks Don for a brutally honest verdict on a claimed collared-deer study showing no movement change ahead of a weather front. 28:05 — Episode #255 - Deer Movement and Weather Fronts
• Patrick Simpson asked whether a mild winter sets up a bad EHD year for those not prepared for it. 44:57 — Episode #17 - Live from Don Higgins first Master Class of 2020
• Chad Fox asks for food plot or habitat suggestions for a farm between two rivers that floods every year. 43:59 — Cut More Trees! How Aggressive TSI Creates Better Deer Habitat
• As it relates to fall food plots, are we right in the window to get plots in around rain? 2:00 — #287 “Predators, Food Plots & Cracker Barrel Woke?
• How is the recent rain and weather forecast likely to affect Don’s hunting strategy as season opens? 14:05 — #292 - Public Land Busts, Big Timber Dreams, & Target Bucks
• How is doe timing affected by neighbors having to do late or second plantings this year? 16:57 — #292 - Public Land Busts, Big Timber Dreams, & Target Bucks
• With no rain coming, will all the crops around Don be out by the second week of October? 18:18 — #292 - Public Land Busts, Big Timber Dreams, & Target Bucks
• JC Whitet asks whether to kill his drought-stressed two-year-old clover and chicory plot or wait for it to recover with rain. 30:23 — Episode #235 - Is EHD Back in 2024? Bucks Dead in Indiana!

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