Welcome to another edition of the back 40. We will be emailing this to program members as well as posting on our website. For those of you new to the G.R.O Program, we welcome you.
I have been on numerous properties recently and this year has been a challenge for many of you due to mother nature coming into play. Aerial maps can only tell us so much. Soil tests are a tool. Being on the ground really is where I believe I shine and offer the most added value to you. An element so many people overlook is the lay of the land.
When I help determine what my clients should plant and where, I have some thumb rules. I tend to recommend Inner Sanctum in the shady and isolated areas. This mix works great for kill plots and micro plots. We like to create edging and scrapelines along field edges. The perennials handle the lower amount of sunlight better than corn, soybeans and some brassicas. We also like using this strategy to make mock scrapes. We use licking branches, cedar poles and other tricks along these areas.
I then like to use screening just outside of the scrapelines. We use corn or my fortress mix. This reduces bucks glassing full fields. This also allows you to create “door ways” and entry areas where YOU want the deer to travel versus where they want to travel. You could use fall draw or grains and greens in these areas if the fields are smaller. Then further out we want to put more of the coldest tolerant forages. Mixes like frosty delight, bulbs and forbs and bulbs galore are good for those areas.
If you are planting corn and soybeans, we want to strip them. I prefer blocks of corn and soybeans if the fields big enough. We might plant 8-16 rows of corn and then soybeans and then another block of corn. We want to rotate corn and soybeans every year to reduce plant diseases and maximize yield. Another reason why we want to block corn and soybeans can be erosion. If we are solid seeding soybeans, we have more solid ground cover to help hold soil.
So many of the properties I’ve been on recently are heavy sloped. Not enough of you are putting in contour strips, water ways and perennial strips in the fields to hold soil. Once soil is gone, it’s gone. When there is no quality top soil left, we really will be challenged to grow productive forages. I have been pointing out to people to use perennials on the lower slopes but also to consider a strip of perennials farther up a slope or to consider a native grass mix along the slope. We need to slow down that water and we need to keep the ground covered.
Some of you have encouraged me to write more about no til or minimum til food plotting. I strongly encourage working the ground less. This helps improve soil structure. We also reduce the amount of weed seeds that bring to the surface. Another benefit would be a reduction of erosion on erodable soils. Here are some things I’ve been doing to be a good land steward.
Frost seeding perennials. When we frost seed, we allow mother nature to be in charge. The freezing and thawing action works the seed from the ground surface into the soil. When the soil warms up enough, the seed germinates and takes advantage of the moist soils. You see less weed pressure in this situation. You are not bringing up weed seeds. You also give the perennials a jump on any potential weeds. If the perennials canopy, you see less weed challenges.
Interseeding clovers and brassicas into soybeans and corn. I do a lot of interseeding and overseeding into corn and soybeans. I don’t like to see bare ground. Once the soybeans drop leaves, the clovers and brassicas begin to take hold. This also gives us ground cover, adds organic matter and helps hold soil throughout the late fall and winter. When we overseed clovers into corn and soybeans we fixate nitrogen. This gives us a benefit into the next cropping season. We reduce our nitrogen costs.
Another benefit of overseeding brassicas into corn and soybeans is the ability to loosen the soil. Radish, turnips, rutabaga and other bulbs loosen the soil by bio drilling. This increases water infiltration and reduces water runoff and erosion. We also see some weed suppression the following year from the release of soil exudates. One last benefit of bulbs into corn and beans is nutrient suquestration. The bulbs uptake nutrients and then becomes rereleased into the soil as the bulbs that are not consummed by deer decompose back into the ground.
Plot Scout
I do travel anywhere across the US to look at properties. I do need to charge for mileage. I try to schedule multiple stops each day whether it be in Wisconsin or out of state.
We charge $75 per hour plus mileage. G.R.O program members get charged $50 for the first hour and $75 per hour thereafter. I created Plot Scout as the wildlife version of crop scouting. This can be done any time of year. This time of year, I could be utilized to help design your fall plot locations or decide which mixes would be best to plant based on your terrain, soil type or hunting stand locations. I also can look at existing plots and look at weeds, stand densities and plant health.
Program mix seed still available:
Cafeteria Mix: We still have 15 and 30 lb. bags of cafeteria mix available. $36 per 15 lb. (1/2 acre) and $70 per 30 lb. (1 acre) bags. Plus, freight.
Bulbs Galore: We have a decent number of bulbs galore left. We have it now in 2.5 lb. bags (1/3 acre) for $10 plus freight.
Tips of the month
Foliar Plant foods: Always use 9-4-9 Plant foods whenever you spray your food plots. Even though you are not killing your food plot forages, you still stress them anytime you go over the top with chemicals. The perfect time to use foliar is then. You kill off weeds and give the forages that essential boost of N-K-K plus the micro nutrients overlooked by many food plotters.
Deer Mineral, Ultimate Attractant and Cover 2, cover scent: Where legal, when you use ultimate deer mineral or repelx deer mineral, your conditioning the deer to that unique 5 flavor scent base. That exact same base is in the Ultimate Deer Mineral. That same base is in the cover 2, cover scent. So, the deer are used to that smell already from previous mineral applications. This makes the Ultimate Deer Attractant and Cover 2 more desirable to deer. Deer are animals that might be curious as to new smells in their turf but that is a short-term curiosity. When you use the liquid cover scent, those deer already identify with that smell. They are not on alert and just look at it as a natural smell in their environment. For those where legal, use all three to your advantage.
Ammonium Sulfate: As a rule of thumb, put down 50 lbs. per acre of ammonium sulfate during your growing season. Over 80% of you are sulfur deficient. Sulfur helps convert nitrogen as well as sweetens your forages. The end result is higher quality, more growth and better overall palatability. You’re looking at around $15-17 per acre.
Pellet Lime: A rule of thumb is 400 lbs. of pellet lime per acre is equivalent to 1 ton of ag lime. If you keep putting down 400 lbs. per acre per year, you should maintain Ph. If your very low in ph. and want quick response, put down 800-1200 lbs. per acre.
Weeds: So many of you spray your weeds too late. Whether it be glyphosate, butryrac 200, 24db or clethodim, weeds need to be sprayed before they reach 4” otherwise, you might only be stunting them or suppressing them versus killing them. Spray early and always follow label instructions. Use crop oil where indicated, ammonium sulfate or surfactant when indicated and always use 4-15-12 seed starter or 9-4-9 plant foods when spraying.
Corn: So many people use corn for feeding deer. This is a no-no. Deer are ruminants. They are fiber digesters and not pigs. Their diets should contain less than 25% starch. If you purchase deer pellets, grain mixes or make your own, keep the corn levels low. Never put more than 50% corn into a mix. If a deer receives 50% of their daily diet from the supplement mix, then their maxed out on starch load. Also, we don’t want dusty feed, so if you feed corn, keep the corn whole or make sure it’s a coarse crack versus a fine grind. Deer do not like dusty feed. Also, if corn is ground fine, it’s digested too rapidly for an animal.
What is not nutrition:
Iron Oxide. If you see iron oxide on a label, that is what makes a mineral or product appear red. There is 0% bioavailability in iron oxide. That means a deer gets no use out of it.
Zinc Oxide, Manganese oxide. They are only ½ as bioavailable as zinc sulfate and manganese sulfate. I don’t use zinc oxide, manganese oxide nor iron oxide. That is because they are the poorest nutritionally of the micro nutrients.
Annual Ryegrass. So many cheap wildlife seeds contain annual ryegrass. Sure, they grow fast but the deer tend to not eat them unless there is not much else available to graze. Ground cover uneaten does not equal nutrition. You also only have 25-33% of the calcium as clovers and only 65-75% as much protein. Why annual rye? Because it only costs $.60 per lb. versus $2-3 per lb.
Oats, wheat, rye, triticale and barley. Yes, they grow fast. Yes, the deer will eat them. They contain decent levels of digestible fibers. What they aren’t though is sources of protein nor calcium. Just like annual ryegrass, you see only 12-18% crude protein and calcium levels much lower than clovers and brassicas. I am not saying to not plant grains but do not rely on grains as your sole source of forage. Yes, you will attract deer but aren’t we trying to pack in the best available nutrition that we can to help get these deer conditioned before winter?
B Vitamins. I saw on a bigger name wildlife companies’ deer mineral tag, b-vitamins. You rarely if ever see that on livestock minerals anymore. People are educated. Ruminants, which include deer will not get effective use out of b-vitamins unless they are rumen protected. Rumen protected b vitamins are very costly and mainly are used by high performance dairy farms. Unless your feeding swine, horses or chickens, why would you feed anything with b vitamins on the tag?
We now improved Repelx Deer Mineral. There is nothing on the market even in the same ball game. Here is chart we put together comparing Repelx to other common minerals. Another thing I would like to highlight is we also have e-coli blockers, salmonella blockers, clostridium blockers, natural fly reducing additives, time release trace minerals, anti-microbials, anti-bacterial, anti-bad radicals and much more. This is science at its finest. No smoke, no mirrors, no celebrity endorsements nor pictures of huge deer. The eyes won’t lie nor will the deer.
We now have over 500 program members yet a lot of you haven’t committed to buying your food plot seed nor wildlife nutrition products from us. For those who spent the $20 to receive the education, what haven’t we done to earn your respect and business. Ask yourself, why not G.R.O. I am very confident to say that there is no other company who offers the quality, service, and price point that we do. Maybe some of you have been buying from another option a long time. In your case, how about you take the G.R.O. challenge, Put G.R.O. side by side with what you have been using. The deer won’t lie nor will your eyes. Give us a chance. That is all I ever ask out of anyone.
Please send your food plot pictures. We need some new one’s for the website. Also, I encourage you all to post them on social media. Tell your family and friends about us.
With that, we conclude another newsletter. We still have 1 more week of the educational series. Only 200 of you have signed up for it. Anyone who has watched the videos has heard and seen some really helpful tips. The first 2 seminars’ videos are still up on the private page on Facebook. Check it out. O’Brion Educational Series.