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John O'Brion
Nov 10, 2017
In Welcome
An overlooked part of a successful wildlife program is native grasses. Deer need food, water and cover. In areas where there is not enough effect woods cover, this is an option to create cover in 1-2 years were as it takes many years to establish a new forest or woods. Grandpa Ray Outdoors works with numerous local and state NRCS agencies and dealers that work with end users. We will focus more of our education in 2018 on warm season native grasses. Here are some of the standard blends that we sell. CP2 MIX: Native grasses 3.9 pls lbs./acre Big Bluestem, Little Bluestem, Indiangrass Sideoats Grama, Canada Wildrye. Forbs 12.2 pls oz./acre Black-Eyed Susan, Evening Primrose, Giant Hyssop, Lance-Leaf Coreopsis, Ox-eye Sunflower, Purple Coneflower, Purple Prairie Clover, New England Aster, Common Milkweed. $190 per acre Pheasant and Bird Mix: Native grasses 4.1 pls lbs./acre. Big Bluestem Canada Wildrye, Indiangrass, Little Bluestem, Side oats Grama, Switchgrass Forbs: 11.9 pls. oz./acre Black-Eyed Susan, Bergamot, Evening Primrose, Heath Aster, Lance-Leaf Coreopsis, Ox-eye Sunflower, Partridge Pea, Purple Coneflower, Purple Prairie Clover, White Prairie Clover, Yellow Coneflower, Stiff Goldenrod $127 per acre Pollinator Mix: Native Grasses 2.1 pls.lbs/acre. Little Bluestem, Sideoats Grama. Forbs: 34.8pls oz./acre. Bergamot, Black-Eyed Susan, Culver's Root Evening Primrose Foxglove Beardtongue Giant Hyssop Heath Aster Ox-eye Sunflower Partridge Pea Purple Coneflower Lance-Leaf Coreopsis Stiff Goldenrod White Prairie Clover Purple Prairie Clover Common Milkweed Prairie Cinquefoil Yellow Coneflower $375 per acre CP25 Mix: Native Grasses 2.5 pls.lbs/acre. Big Bluestem, Canada Wildrye, Indiangrass, Little Bluestem, Sideoats Grama Forbs: 19.0 pls. oz/acre. Black-Eyed Susan, Evening Primrose, Lance-Leaf Coreopsis, Ox-eye Sunflower, Partridge Pea, Purple Coneflower, White Prairie Clover, Yellow Coneflower, Stiff Goldenrod, Bergamot, Common Milkweed. Quail Mix: Native Grasses: Sideoats Grama Canada Wild Rye, Little Bluestem, Indiangrass Forbs: Purple Prairie Clover, Purple Coneflower, Western Sunflower, Roundheaded Bush Clover, Yellow Coneflower, Blackeyed Susan, Stiff Goldenrod $250 per acre Permablend: 7.5 pls. lbs/acre Switchgrass, Big Blue Stem, Indiangrass, Sideoats grama, Little Blue Stem. $120 per acre
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John O'Brion
Oct 16, 2017
In Welcome
October 2017 Welcome to another edition of the back 40. We also post this on the website private forum area. For those of you new to the G.R.O Program, we welcome you. I started G.R.O after seeing much misinformation in the wildlife industry. I do everything in my power to educate all of you to the best of my abilities. The purpose of the newsletter program and O’Brion Educational Series is to teach you all the basics to help tilt the table, in your favor, to achieve success. What no one should say to me is your seed is no good. We have the freshest seed on the market and we do not offer low germ seed nor remix old seed with new. Most companies in the wildlife industry do that. We also do not buy rejected seed or seed with higher than average weed seed counts. We have decided to make a few changes to the GRO Program to protect ourselves. Recently we have seen people leave the GRO team to start their own wildlife ventures. We want to help people and help change the industry but we do not want to hand everything to other companies. We are going to focus planting experimental seeds at the experimental plot locations as well as the new GRO experimental farm. To be fair to everyone, we have created a 3 tier G.R.O program membership. I have attached the new program levels. Bronze Level- Cost is Free You receive the monthly newsletter You receive access to monthly program member only specials. Silver Level- Cost is $20 per year. You receive the monthly newsletters. You receive access to monthly program member specials. You receive 10% off your online or dealer purchases. You receive access to the O’Brion Educational Series online seminars on Facebook You receive VIP invites to Grandpa Ray Fest Gold Level- Cost is $20 per year and you must have made $250 in G.R.O purchases in 2017 You receive the monthly newsletters You receive access to the monthly program member specials You receive 10% off your online or dealer purchases You receive access to the O’Brion Educational Series online seminars on Facebook You receive access to the Elite G.R.O “Gold” Program member only mixes You receive Grandpa Ray Fest VIP invites You receive your choice of hat or shirt Memberships will run from Jan 1, 2018-December 31,2018. We will be sending a renewal sheet to all of you. For those who have recently paid their memberships, we will pro-rate it. Example, if you paid for a yearly membership on June 1,2017, you will be invoiced for only 6 months at the end of 2017. If you paid for a membership on September 1,2017, you will be invoiced for 1/3 of a year or $7 to cover all of 2018. This will make it easier to keep track of which memberships are due as well as for accounting purposes to determine who receives Gold Level benefits for the following year. For those of you interested in having me visit your properties, look at the calender. If your in Kentucky and Ohio, either the last week in January or the middle of March would be times to commit as I will be doing both the Louisville Deer and Turkey Expo and the Ohio Deer Show. I will remind you all on here next month for any areas I have people scheduled in so we help save everyone on the mileage charges. I know I’ll be doing seminars in Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York and Georgia in 2017. I am at my best for all of you when I am out on properties. Seeing things many over look is where I shine. I look at slope, soil texture and structure, travel corridors, surrounding properties and other factors that will affect what you should plant. I help you map out a 2-3 year plan for plot rotation. Calender January 12-14 Minnesota Monster Buck Classic January 26-28 Louisville KY Deer and Turkey Expo February 10, 2018 Grandpa Ray Fest, Fall River WI March 16-18 Ohio Deer Show April 6-8 Wisconsin Deer and Turkey Expo Humics Humics are the most overlooked soil amendment. We use liquid humics in the 4-15-12 seed starter and the 9-4-9 Micro Pak. We use dry humics in the humic booster product. For those who have used any of these products, you know the results. The costs are minimum and the returns immense. Humic Booster contains calcium, which helps stimulate root growth and biological activity, and improves nutrient uptake. It contains sulfur, which is necessary for plant protein formation. Sulfur can increase crop yields and quality, and result in large returns to producers. Humic Booster improves soil structure. The humics in humic booster can help build organic matter and reduce soil compaction. Humic Booster improves nutrient uptake. Humics also help with a plants uptake of soil nutrients, especially phosphorus, iron, zinc and boron. Humics can also increase soil cation exchange capacity to improve nutrient-holding capacity and reduce leaching. Humic Booster is easily incorporated. Humic booster can be broadcasted alone or mixed with your recommended dry fertilizers. Key Factors to Holding Deer on Your Property By: Jason Wenzel I have been involved in various conversations regarding what goals people have with their property. I am always curious where holding deer on the property ALL YEAR is on their list of goals. I years ago never really considered this. I was always focused on this question: “What can I do to see more deer during hunting season?” The key word in that question is “season”. I managed my property for the season and not the year. Luckily, I could meet people along the way and was able to have a different mentality towards how I managed my property. There are 3 key factors to holding deer on your property all year. The factors are: food, cover, and water. I could go into depth regarding all three of these factors, but that’s for another article. Let’s begin with food. As many of you know, deer like to browse. Are there native food sources for deer to browse on? Yes. However, how long do these sources stay at a nutritional level that is beneficial to the deer and what happens when these native sources die off? These are “temporary” food sources that will be beneficial for small window of time. Time to think about the “big picture”. Is your property surrounded by agricultural fields? If so, what is planted in these fields? You ask yourself these questions because why would you want to plant on your property with what your property is surrounded by? Soybeans and corn are a common crop planted by farmers. Both for the most part of harvested in the Fall. When you assess your property, think about what you can plant that will essentially feed the deer in phases. For example: A food source for Spring, Summer, Winter and Fall. If you able to meet the nutritional food source needs for all times of year, the more likely you are going to hold deer on your property and pull deer from other properties who don’t have this type of management plan implemented. The second factor is cover. I also like to say a “bedding” place with this factor. Deer like to be in areas where there is adequate cover. Examples can include: Timber, swamps, or a bedding product that you planted. Such as our Perma Blend. Having a cover area on your property not only make the deer feel more comfortable, it will hold them on your property. A lot of people may refer to these areas as the “deer sanctuary” on their property. Areas you don’t want to disturb. The third factor is water. Like us, deer need to consume water for survival. If you have the above factors on your property; but no water, are the above factors going to be as effective? If the deer must leave your property for water, my answer would be no. There are various options for you to have an accessible water source on your property. You can utilize a natural water source already established on your property or create your own. A common question asked is, what about the winter months when the water freezes? (For those of us in the northern half of the US) Believe it or not, deer can get water consumption out of the plants they are consuming during these months. Therefore, it is crucial for you to have nutritional food sources available to the deer. If you can implement all these factors on your property, you will be able to hold deer all year which is great for the health of the herd. This also allows for the potential for bucks to grow many inches of antler. If the buck does not have to travel far to meet these three factors, they are not expending too much energy which allows for better antler growth. Lastly, herd management is a key component for herd health. If there are too many deer on your property and as a result consuming more food than what’s available, they will move onto the next food source. Proper Pond Design & Synthetic Liner Installation By: Creekbottom Land Management Most deer breeders and hunters alike typically think that all you need to make a watering hole for their animals is an excavator and an area to dig a hole in the ground. However, this is not the case when creating a healthy water source. The aquatic midge that causes EHD thrives in water sources that are shallow, have a degraded water quality, and have a soft and organic bank to breed in and around. The main rule of thumb when creating a pond, lake, or water source is that the more water you have the easier it is to manage. Why you ask? The simple answer is that when a water body increases in size and depth the heating and cooling potential dramatically decreases. The easy way to think about temperature of water compared to water body size is of a swimming pool. As summer progresses along you may begin thinking that the weather is nice and warm so it should be time for a swim. However, as you jump into that pool in May you get shocked with a very cool sensation rushing over to you as the water has not heated up to the same temperature as the air around you. Now on the flip side you may go on that same day and play in a puddle which may be exhibiting equal if not higher temperatures than that of the air. Making sure to keep the comparison of water temperature to water body size and depth will help you realize why those shallow puddles you may have created could be a midge fly threshold. A properly designed water hole/wildlife pond should have steep slopes, but keeping in mind that a deer should still be able to walk in and out of the pond rather easily to avoid stress on the animal. A 3 to 1 slope is typically a safe bet to not only give the deer an easy access in and out of the pond, but also be able to establish beneficial aquatic plants. In addition to the slope making sure the pond reaches a proper depth is very important. To help with management of the pond a depth of 4+ feet should be achieved. This would make the pond 24 feet in diameter. To increase the depth, you will either make a larger diameter pond or increase your end slope in areas of the pond. In summary the deeper and steeper you make the pond the easier it is to manage. Now that you understand the design of the pond you must now look at how the pond will hold water, and how to reduce the amount of muck/soil that the midge can breed in. In many areas across the Midwest it can be hard to find a spring to maintain your water level. In those cases, a synthetic liner can be your savior. Not only will the synthetic liner help maintain water, but it will also eliminate the loose muck/sediment that the midge needs to breed and reproduce. Typically, a material that is 24 mil or greater is sufficient in holding water meanwhile being strong enough to prevent rips/tears from deer hooves. Furthermore, unlike the typical bentonite clay that people have used to hold water in their ponds/waterholes, the synthetic liner does not leak as easy, and leaks are much easier to locate and repair. The Catch-22 to this idea is that having a full functioning ecosystem is still key in maintaining superior water quality. To achieve this goal a layer of sand is recommended to be placed on top of the liner. This will help become the planting substrate for your beneficial aquatic plants. The sand will also help to cushion the liner and create a substance in which wildlife can walk freely on with reduced or non-existent slipping. The last item the sand will help with is in prevention of UV rays hitting the liner which would breakdown the plastic of the liner. Program Member Specials Prepay In October and receive 10% off your order in addition to your program member discount. Prepay in November and receive 9% off your order in addition to your program member discount. Prepay in December and receive 8% off your order in addition to your program member discount. We are reminding you that we only have 8 pallets of G.R.O. soybeans and once they are gone, they are gone. October Special Any orders over $100 you will receive a free 4.5 lb bag of Fortress. Fortress is the GRO screening blend. New Addition to the GRO TEAM We want to welcome Dan Roehl to the GRO management team. He will be in charge of new dealer recruitments as well as marketing. Dan has a long history of success in business and he will be an asset to us all. Watch for future contributions on here from Dan. GRO hours of operation: Monday through Friday 8 am-5pm CST. Saturdays by appointment. John O’Brion 608-235-0628 Jason Wenzel 608-807-6389
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John O'Brion
Sep 08, 2017
In Welcome
GRO has a seed license and a feed labeling license. I (John) provide nutritional product expertise to other consultants, feed mill, farm stores and mineral companies. I am licensed to do so and I provide legal tags to these clients so their clients are buying legally tagged products. Everyone seems to be an "expert" in the wildlife industry. What makes me an expert? When other nutritionists, wildlife biologists and others seek me out, that i feel is a sign. When I work with expensive animals and people who's lively hood depends on me, that is a sign. My experience and expertise is not based on having a pHd but real live expertise and 10's of thousands of repetitions. When people buy nutritional products from GRO, it is like buying insurance. Your reducing the risk. Your tilting the table in your favor to have success. Now on to the seed side of GRO. When the state of Wisconsin seed inspector called me to ask where he could test my seeds, I told him who mixes my seed. He immediately was impressed by who I am working with and happy to know it. My supplier has not failed any test on 1000's of lots of seed. I am aware of other distributors who are on a "watch list." Some of those wildlife companies who buy from the "watch list" are those who inspired me to start GRO. So who are we? We aren't mixing seed or minerals in a wheelbarrow. We guarantee what is on our tags. We only buy from reputable suppliers. We are consistancy. We are integrity. We are YOUR INSURANCE.
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John O'Brion
Sep 04, 2017
In Welcome
Here are pictures of various forages to help educate all of you. The first picture is rutabaga.
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John O'Brion
Aug 30, 2017
In Welcome
Here are pictures from the farm and educational plot. The first picture shows how I have my gun stand set up with screening, bedding and cafeteria mix
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John O'Brion
Aug 18, 2017
In Welcome
So many who listen to me speak at seminars are surprised that I rarely talk about products. Most of my communicating involves soil health and little overlooked tricks that are rarely talked about in the wildlife magazines or online. When newbies to the food plot world ask for advice, I wish more people would think like farmers. In today’s blog, I’ll explore this some more. The most important thing one can do before planting a food plot is take a soil test. Without a soil test your gambling. You will either create nutrient deficiencies, nutrient toxicities, or have reduced yields. If your low on ph., you could be only getting 37% use of the fertilizer you put down. If you have phosphorous deficiency, you might see your seed taking off much slower than ideal. If your short of potassium, you could see standability issues, perennials fizzling out faster than normal as well as reduced yields. If you are lacking nitrogen you’re going to see reduced yields as well as lower plant protein and quality issues. Palatability can suffer as a result. Think like a farmer. What is your limiting factor? If you only put 100 lbs. of nitrogen down, do you think you will grow 200-bushel corn? There is always a hope and prayer but why plant corn that doesn't make decent ears and is way below average on yield? If you plant soybeans are you ok settling for 20 bushels per acre yield when 40 bushels is the norm? Learn what it takes to grow normal yields, whether it be corn, soybeans, clovers or brassicas. Most do not know what it takes. Farmers that didn’t understand these things either went broke or are not making much money in their livelihood. Here is my first-year program I recommend to clients no matter where they live in the US. For spring plantings, plant annual clover blends or cool season soil building mixes. If you want to get a crop planted until June, then plant forages like sunn hemp, buckwheat, sorghum, and other warm season annuals. If your first planting is during the early fall, focus on annual clovers, reduced input brassicas and forages that radish and turnips. Goals year 1 for every new food plotter is the following: 1)Flush weeds, smother weeds and work on reducing weed load in the seed bed. Fixate nitrogen to reduce input costs. 2)Build organic matter. Organic matter is the 2nd most important factor after soil ph., yet so many people overlook it. 3)Sequester nutrients. Forages like radish and bulbs, uptake nutrients and rerelease them the following spring. This acts a little like “time release fertilizer.” 4) Understand basic planting principles like seed depth, seed to seed to soil contact, proper seed bed management. 5) Think to next year. Know how what you plant the current year will affect the next year’s crop. 6) Learn what nutrients are mined from the soil per ton of growth of whatever you plant. Know how to fertilize to maintain soil balance with whatever you plant. 7) If your soil is low on p or k, DON’T plant forages that require a lot of p and k. Use year one to rebuild soil nutrient levels. 8) Create a budget. Learn what will help you stay on budget and what are best options for the budget you set forth for yourself. 9) Observe, Learn and pay attention to what the deer are telling you. 10) Do not rush to spend a lot of money on equipment that might not be needed for your situation. Just because your buddy has a fancy no til drill, and other high dollar equipment, that doesn’t mean you need to have it as well. Start small and focus on the soil first. Here are the questions I always ask someone before giving sound recommendation. 1) Have you planted food plots before? If so, how many years? 2) What equipment do you have access to? 3) How many acres of total land and how many acres of food plots on this area? 4) Have you taken a soil test on all plots within the past 2 years? If so, please provide those sample results if possible. 5) What is your deer density on your land and vicinity? 6) Do you have aerial maps/google earth maps? 7) If an existing plot, what was planted on it the previous year. 8) What has been your biggest challenge in the past? 9) What are your goals? 10) What is your budget? 11) What is the overall health of the deer herd and typical size and genetics of the bucks? 12) Where is the property located? 13) Does the property currently have habitat and water?
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John O'Brion
Aug 16, 2017
In Welcome
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 am proud to announce besides the main eductional plot in Columbus,WI, we have an eductional plot in Ladysmith WI, One in Pennsylvania and another going to be planted in Alabama. We are an education first company. We look forward to sharing with you all the fruits of our labor. As of August 8 we now have seed in the ground that no other wildlife company has. I am testing some seeds for a large US company and one is a unique clover not released yet in the US. Because of my reputation, I have companies offering me this wonderful opportunity. You, the end user benefit from this. I will not be able to use specifics on some of the product names I am testing but you will be the first to see pictures and receive feedback on it. Plot Scout The past 30 days I have been on properties in Illinois, Mississippi, Alabama, Minnesota and Wisconsin. I am now scheduling out into 2018. I will be driving to Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri for sure. To save all of you on the mileage expense, I always try to do multiple plot visits per trip. To put your name on the calender, call or email me 608-235-0628 or email obrionag@gmail.com I believe anyone who has had me on their properties have benefits what not just last the current season but many years to come. My perspective on soil, slope, plot rotation, fertilizations and correct species gives added value. There are consultants charging way more than I do that I believe only offer a fraction of the knowledge and information that I offer those who get my hands on approach and input. Consider PLOT SCOUT. For those of you who have not watched any of the O’Brion Educational Series on the private Facebook page, you should do so. The feedback has been incredible. I love doing the 1-hour live segments. We ended the 3rd part of the 3-part series back in late July but I am happy to announce we will do another piece Monday night August 21st at 7pm CST. If you’re not using the site, please do. You all also have free access to the private forums on www.grandparayoutdoors.com click on the forums and request access. It is only available to program members. I’ll be posting more pictures and tidbits on there. We also post a copy each month of the monthly newsletter on there to be read anytime. We also recently announced a new state of the art benefit for G.R.O. Certified program members, 50% replant. What that means is any program members who buy seed from a dealer or only simply needs to fill out a form saying what mix you are planting, how much you are planting and other basic information. If my act of mother nature your plots don’t grow effective, floods, hail or other causes for plot failure arise, all you need to do it put in a CLAIM. You pay for the freight and half the cost of the replacement seed and we will pick up the rest. I am not aware of anyone else in the wildlife industry doing this. Some in the corn and soybean industry offer similar programs and G.R.O. is now offering it to you. So, what do you need to do to be G.R.O. Certified? You take the following test. The answers will be posted on both the O’Brion educational series page and the private forums on grandparayoutdoors.com This is an honor system. We are all adults. I trust you all. A great goal would be to score 70% or better. If you don’t score above than, then all I ask is watch more of my videos. Read more of my forum posts and blog posts. Get educated to the best of your abilities. Email us with a request to be added as G.R.O. certified. We will reply with a basic form to keep on hand to use when you plant. You do need to send that form to us via email within 7 days of planting to qualify. Ready to get G.R.O Certified. Note this is a self-quiz. I will email post the answers on Monday. Please do not post answers on here. Only ask for clarification if need be. Good luck. 1) If you have a soil sample that says you need 20 lbs. nitrogen, 40 lbs. phosphorous and 160 lbs. potassium per acre. Which fertilizer would be the best fit. a) 10-10-10 b) 9-23-30 c) 18-18-18 or d) 15-15-15 2) What perennial clover tolerates wet the best. a) ladino clover b) alsike clover c) medium red clover d) mammoth clover 3) What brassica has the most cold tolerance? a) hunter brassica b) radish c) forage turnip d) Winfred brassica 4) Which forage produces the most forage tonnage per acre? a) soybeans b) ladino clover c) alfalfa d) medium red clover 5) What forage has the lowest mineral content? a) soybeans b) oats c) medium red clover d) berseem clover 6) What is the second most important soil factor after soil pH? a) potassium b) phosphorous c) organic matter d) sulfur 7) What contains the most energy? a) grain soybeans b) corn c) turnips d) rutabaga 8) What mix would be the best fit for low ph. soils? a) four galore b) grains and greens c) fall draw d) frosty delight 9) What trace mineral source is the MOST Bioavailable? a) polysaccharides b) sulfates c) oxides d) glyphosates 10) What fertilizer would be the best buy if you needed to use 40 lbs. nitrogen per acre 40 lbs. phosphorous per acre and 40 lbs. of potassium per acre? a) 10-10-10 at $10/50 b) 15-15-15 at $14/50 c) 18-18-18 at $16 d) 9-23-30 at $15 11) What is the biggest factor nutritionally in developing antlers? a) calcium b) phosphorous c) protein d) magnesium 12) What is the fastest growing forage? a) mammoth clover b) Ethiopian cabbage c) alfalfa d) oats 13) What would be the best buy? a) ladino clover 90% germ count 35% coating $5 per pound b) ladino clover 85% germ count uncoated $6 per pound c) ladino clover 90% germ count, uncoated $7 per pound d) ladino clover 80% germ count 35% coating $4 per pound 14) What forage tolerates the lowest ph.? a) ladino clover b) Winfred brassica c) turnips d) rape 15) Which forage doesn’t need to be inoculated? a) soybeans b) balansa clover c) alfalfa d) oats 16) What is the most shade tolerant mix? a) mass builder b) grains and greens c) fall draw d) inner sanctum good luck!! UPCOMING EVENTS Mark your calendar for Saturday February 11th for the 2nd annual Grandpa Ray Fest It will take place at the same site as last year. Savanna Oaks Community center in Fall River WI. We will have a fundraiser once again for the Outdoor Heritage Education Center as well as quest speakers. RSVP by emailing me at grandparays365@gmail.com We are limiting it to the first 200 people. It is for program members only unless extra spots are not filled. We however request that you let us know 2 weeks in advance if something comes up that you cannot attend. We will fill your spot with someone else. We want to announce a new show that we will have a booth at. It is the Minnesota Monster Buck Classic. It will take place January 12-14. If any of you are exhibitors and want to have a booth up there check it out. I will conduct my first Minnesota Seminar. Tell your friends and share this upcoming event. Perham, MN at the Perham Area Community Center http://mnmonsterbuckclassic.com/home.htm I will be posting many new food plot pictures on the website under the 2017 food plot area. We also will be posting pics on the O’Brion Educational series page as well as the forums page. I am blessed to receive so many calls and emails each day from people saying…I never have had such growth before. My answer is, this is what it’s supposed to be like. Yes, I do all in my power to help educate you all. Yes, I have no doubt we offer the freshest seed in the industry. The secret to your success starts with the roots. We will discuss more next newsletter on “what’s below the soil.” Thanks for all your business and having faith in G.R.O. Be well and be safe. John
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John O'Brion
Aug 10, 2017
In Welcome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKev8HL7_sQ watch the video created by Brad Jones of www.scrapelinehunters.com
The launch of 3x content media
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John O'Brion
Jul 23, 2017
In Welcome
This past couple weeks i've been on 8 properties from Wisconsin to Alabama and parts in between. Here is my thoughts from my travels. They are typical of what I have been seeing all year. 1) People need to plant more contour strips or change their planting practices to do a better job of holding soil/erosion control. Once your soil washes away, your chance for success leaves with it. 2) We work the ground too much. We see a lot of soil compaction issues. 3) We experience major weed challenges. Everyone should come up with a weed suppression plan not just to kill weeds that are currently growing but clean up your weed seed beds. 4) Too many crops that don't tolerate shade are planted in shady areas. Planting soybeans and corn to the woods edge is inefficient and you should create scrapelines for more effective growth and to hold soil. 5)Not enough people focus year 1 and 2 on soil health. We tend to want to jump right in and plant commonly grown forages. Year 1 is the time to add organic matter, fixate nitrogen, naturally smother weeds and set yourself up for long term success. 6) Very few soils are balanced on p and k. Too many people are not using the correct fertilizers, nor using enough to prevent soil nutrient mining. 7) Roundup resistant weeds are out there. I have been seeing more and more of it. Very few people are spraying at the right times. We are also not adding other companion herbicides to help control these noxious weeds. We are also not using a high enough rate of glyphosate for total kill. We see stunted growth. This sets ourselves up for roundup resistant weeds 8) Ineffective plot scouting. So many people see weeds but don't see whats below those weeds. We also are not aware as to what the deer are eating and when they are eating these forages. Weather and mother nature change plans. Weather affects nutrition. 9) Planting the wrong mixes in the wrong spots. We want to first know where you are going to put your stands. Then we want to know when are you going to be hunting these stands. We want to turn properties into "highways" 10) Not enough screening. Screening isn't just to help people get in and out of your stands. We never want a buck to glass a whole field. We want them to assume deer are out eating in a block of forage and make them go to find them. You help "steer" deer into these areas by creating "doorways." If people have a 4 or 5 acre field, we want to break that down with a 10-20 foot strip down the middle or around 2-4 of the field edges to make a big field into smaller fields. These are some of the recommendations I made to people in the past couple weeks. No matter where you live these are all basic concepts to work on. It's not as much what mix you plant. It is what mix you need to plant as part of your rotation and food plot sustainability practices.
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John O'Brion
Jul 15, 2017
In Welcome
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.
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John O'Brion
Jun 30, 2017
In Welcome
So many people measure success the the end goal. Whether it be harvesting that trophy buck or a mature doe, the harvest means finality. To others, they look at food plots as success if they hold deer on their property by providing 365 day nutrition. For myself, it is not about the end of the journey but the holistic benefits of doing better. For myself, food plotting and deer nutrition is a 365 day a year process. We want to take soil samples at the end of the season. If we need lime, we get it down ideallly from November thru March. We want to always frost seed new plots in February or March and overseed existing plots during that time frame. An outstanding time to scout is during shed hunting season. This gives us insight as to where the deer travel and bed. When we start planting our spring cover crops, we are setting ourselves up for success with our fall plantings. No matter what we plant, we learn from our mistakes and challenge ourselves to do better in the future. To some they look at this as failures but to those with long term goals, this can be turned back into a positive. We might be forced to think ahead or change our plans, whenever mother nature throws a roadbump before us. As the summer months turn to fall, we see the fawns growing larger and the bucks horn growth accelerate. The does are fattening up for the winter. Look closer at what they are eating and when are they eating what they are. There are trends. There always is a multitude of factors that can affect what an animal eats in any given season and in any given year. This is where G.R.O. offers the complete program. We are a wildlife program with a focus on intentive grazing with a holistic approach. We don't measure our success nor our customers by a size of a rack but our ability to educate our clients to help them do better. Our mindset is helping all of you to do better, each and every year. We want to go along for the ride with you. We want to see how your properties progress as time goes on. We are a relationship company. We value you as friends and not customers. We want to share our expertise to help you learn, making it fun and as a lifestyle experience versus, a task or necessity. Thanks for having faith in us. We have faith in you to help share the message with others. We all are G.R.O. Look closely at our logo......
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John O'Brion
Jun 30, 2017
In Welcome
If you got approved without being a paying G.R.O Program member please pay the $20 in the cart area or drop me an email. We know accidents happen and some people slipped through. Please respect that this area is private so we all can be fair and enjoy the page. We will be removing any NON program member in the next day or 2 but welcome you to join TEAM GRO
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John O'Brion
Jun 11, 2017
In Welcome
I started G.R.O after being a part of the wildlife industry distribution chain. I saw unethica and immoral practices. I was reading poor recommendations and seeing really poorly formulated products. I wanted to do what many were afraid to touch. I started doing consulting work in 1991. I was one of the first independent ruminant nutritionists in the US. I was the nutritionists for the first million dollar animal. I was nutritionists for some of the highest producing herd in the US. I was part of the first discovery farm program doing research. I currently do nutrition work for other nutritionists, feed mills, farm stores and individuals. I have formulated over 300 products that currently are in the market place. I receive a good portion of my monthly income from residual income for products I've formulated. So, I dont have a PHD but yet I talk to phd's about topics that might bore many of you to death. I get approached by companies offering me unique products to test. I get asked to test forages no one else has in the US. As a result, each of you that put trust and faith in me will have the ability to have the most state of the art technologies and forages. Program members might have forages even the biggest wildlife companies might not have for another year or 2. So, I do not know what i don't know. What I know is I have confidence in my abilities to help answer just about any question and give you all an honest answer. I have answers because I've been doing this so many years. Because I have been doing this every day there is way more repetitions than most have in the wildlife industry. Many are weekend warriors. I got dirty, continue to get dirty and am always seeking to do better. So, my challenge to you all is do all you can to do better. Share what you learn. Help our kids and take pride in being a G.R.O Team Member. YOU ARE, Grandpa Ray's....I'm just the guy who started this....let's continue this for our future.
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John O'Brion
Jun 11, 2017
In Welcome
Deer Nutrition 202 So many people want to take the approach of throwing some deer mineral out in hopes that it will help them grow bigger and healthier deer. As a nutritionist who mainly had/has charged consulting fees to my clients, here are some alternative ways of thinking. If I am doing my job right as a consultant and habitat manager, my clients will spend less money on supplements. The most healthy and economic way to get nutrition into any animal is through the forages. You have extra "space" in their rumen/gut/stomach to add extra forages that contain protein, effective fiber and minerals. Here are a couple case studies to walk you through this. A client i consulted with began seeing forage calcium levels drop and plant potassium levels elevate. The result was poorer performance and having to "buy" our production. So what we did in early May was add ammonium sulfate to the fields. Within 90 days we saw an increase of 25% in plant calcium levels and a decrease in plant potassium levels. We, as a result, were able to drop our supplemental mineral purchased by 20%. We also had increased plant protein utilizations because of the sulfur to help convert the nitrogen. Case study #2. I was called to a deer farm in north central Indiana to look at a trophy deer. The deer farmer wanted me to look at this valuable deer. I walked his property and noticed the types of forages the deer were consuming and mentioned that he should decrease the available variety of perennial rye grass to the deer. When i walked into the pen i noticed the deer having extreme shimmers and shakes. I knew he was feeding a feed that a feed mill had been mixing for him. The deer base i sold to the feed mill and i knew the formula was sound. So, i asked how much he was feeding. I knew from my experience with individuals that people tend to free wheel when they want to get to the top. So, i asked if he was feeding anything else? He showed me a bag of additional supplement and he told me how much he used. It was the required amount. Then i asked if he was using anything else. He showed me another bag. So I went on to explain how he already had a balanced diet with the original mix. He added another, which doubled the required levels of trace minerals and vitamins with mix 2. By adding another elevated level of mix 3, what he was doing was killing his deer by creating deficiencies by excess. So the point is nutrition is all about balance. A little is poor, excess can also be poor. Having the correct ratios and amounts is what we want. Now on to the best way to get nutrition into deer. This is where i respect the heck out of guys like Gary Casper and others on here who are trying to educate you on forbs, native habitats and alternative forages. I use a lot of forbs and also am testing things that some might call weeds but they are high mineral and protein sources for deer. So if you can get deer to eat Gary Casper's 40% of their diet from your food plots and supplemental browse, you will get more added calcium and other nutrition than you can get into a deer from consuming the deer mineral. Here is the math. Case of a mature buck eating 4 pounds of dry matter per day: if they eat 1.6 pounds of enhanced nutrition they would get calcium levels of 1.5% instead of 1.1%. You would add an extra .0064 lbs of calcium to their diet if you can get deer to eat 1 oz every other day of your deer mineral containing 16% calcium, the result is .0048 lbs of extra calcium consumed in their diet. This shows how you can get more nutrition by healthy soils, more nutrient enhanced forages and browse than by mineral alone. Here are some other numbers to consider from forage tested in the 2016 GRO plot: ladino clover 1.12% calcium alfalfa 1.32% calcium trefoil 1.34% calcium high and dry 1.98% calcium kale 1.33% calcium chicory 1.98% calcium So, my challenge is to work with a wildlife consultant or habitat manager that knows soil and who understands how to help you match browse, forbs and forages that match your own situation. You will not need to purchase as much minerals, as a result. Deer mineral should become less of a supplement and more of a way to monitor when things get out of balance
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John O'Brion
Jun 04, 2017
In Welcome
Take half, leave half. In the grazing community there has been an old saying, "take half, leave half. Here is why it's important for people with perennial clover/legume plots. Look at the chart and see what happens to plant regrowth as you clip lower to the ground. Another consideration is if you clip low and late, you are leaving a lot of plant residue on the ground which can shade or kill off subsequent regrowth. For those of you who are not as familiar with managed intensive grazing, this is my expertise and It's the concepts i am bringing to the wildlife industry and a focus of my next book. It also is the focus of my 2017 research that I'll continually share with you, the public.
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John O'Brion
May 28, 2017
In Welcome
So many people are getting nervous to get seed in the ground and not every seed is suitable to be planted in some areas of the midwest yet. Sunn hemp, fast gro, and fortress needs soil temps to be 65 degrees and no more threat of frost. Even your soybeans need 60 degree soil temps. Those who put corn and soybeans in the ground might be seeing uneven stands or poor stands due to seed rot. If you have seed in the ground and if it doesnt germ or starts to germ but doesn't have enough heat to keep it growing, then you will see seed death.
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John O'Brion
May 24, 2017
In Welcome
Here is the new label for the Cover scent, "COVER 2." It is $10 per 12 oz bottle on store shelves and $13 which includes freight on the website. Program members get 10% off. This is the same flavor base as the deer mineral and ultimate attractant. It really works. It's not smoke and mirrors. There are numerous success stories using this. If it's legal to use deer mineral or dry attractant, the deer already are use to this smell out in the woods. This makes it work even better. It's natural and they will be on less alert vs anything new. Use this on rub poles, licking branches, buck cages, scent drippers or wicks.
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John O'Brion
May 16, 2017
In Welcome
No matter if you are new to food plotting or an experienced veteran, everyone can do better. Just like the guy who can grow 200 bushel corn, he can do more things to help him grow 250 bushel corn. That same guy will never continually grow 200 bushel corn if he is mining the soil or not keeping his soil healthy. What is preventing you from going to the next level, no matter what level you are currently on?
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John O'Brion
May 16, 2017
In Welcome
Instead of me posting numerous tips on how to help you all. Let's do something different. Let me ask you all, what are you going to do in 2017 to improve your wildlife health/food plots? For me i'm going to be utilizing more screening to block bucks' views, to draw them out of the edges. I also will do 3 smaller micro plots utilizing my primetime mix. Your turn...
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John O'Brion
May 05, 2017
In Welcome
I will be starting to work ground and possibly plant some of the g.r.o educational plot this weekend. Here is my observations. We have seen very cool and wet conditions. The weeds were growing well early and as a result we were seeing heading out of these weeds. We always want to spray weeks before they get 6" tall as the taller weeds get, the harder they are to kill. Once they seed out, they are even harder to kill. Sure you might stunt them but your setting yourself up for roundup weed resistance. We will have various varieties of alfalfa to compare. We will have alsike clover, white dutch clover, ladino clover, medium red clover, 3 annual clovers, oats, triticale, barley and wheat in the plot. We will be challenges this year by mother nature but this tells us more versus when everything is perfect.
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