Friday, August 01, 2008
Revolutionary New Era in Whitetail Management Is Here! - Part I
Part I – THE WHITETAIL REVOLUTION BEGINS … BORN OF NECESSITY
What if I told you a management strategy existed that could allow you to increase the number of deer on your property two or threefold, maybe more? What if I told you that same strategy could also increase your buck size to that of the best the area could produce? Then, what if told you that your “more and bigger” deer could be contained within a relatively small area, perhaps seldom or never to leave your property? And then, finally, I told you that you could do all that while actually improving, yes, improving, the quality of your native habitat to the benefit of all wildlife, game and non-game species alike!
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Posted by David Morris on 08/01 at 07:30 AM
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Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Chicory, A Powerful Perennial
(Originally Published in QDMA, Quality Whitetails)
By Rans Thomas
A few planting seasons ago, I was visiting with a client in the Southeast. As I glanced over his bookshelf, I noticed among hunting and outdoor books one title in particular – “Perennials.” I thought to myself, “Now, this guy has got it together. He is already reading about perennials for food plots.” Then I noticed the book’s full title: “Perennials – a Southern Celebration of Foods and Flowers.” It was misplaced from his wife’s cookbook collection. Oh well, maybe I would spot a new recipe. As I flipped through the book, I saw among the flowers and plants one of my favorite forage plot species – chicory. Maybe this book wasn’t so misplaced after all.
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Posted by Cedar Hills on 07/08 at 01:12 PM
Food Plot Tips and Articles •
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Get The Lime Out
(Originally Published in QDMA, Quality Whitetails)
By Rans Thomas
For successful food plots, skipping the lime is not an option. Here are
some ideas for reducing the size of this task without reducing food-plot
As most QDMA members are well aware, applying lime is a critical step in producing high-quality, maximum-yield food plots. Yet, among the general hunting community, it surprises me how many would-be food-plot growers overlook or neglect this step. I can think of many explanations — lime must be applied in very large amounts, often tons per acre; it works best when applied well in advance of planting and fertilizing; and it often requires specialized equipment for proper application. Though proper liming will never be as simple as throwing a few sacks in the back of a pickup before heading to the woods, I can offer several tips to make lime application easier and less expensive.
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Posted by Cedar Hills on 07/08 at 01:12 PM
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The Evolution of the Skinning Shed
(Originally Published in QDMA, Quality Whitetails)
By Rans Thomas
My first introduction to skinning a deer was in the barn on our family farm when I was a kid. My father attached a blockand-tackle hoist to a foundation beam inside the barn. He would back his pickup truck under the hoist and winch his deer up off the truck. I never shied away from the barn when Dad brought in a deer since, like most kids, I was very intrigued by the process. I had no idea how many hours I would spend under a skinning shed later in my career as a wildlife biologist. Not only have I used skinning sheds, I have looked for ways that hunters and wildlife managers are improving the standard designs of their skinning sheds, ideas that make my task of data-collection easier.
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Posted by Cedar Hills on 07/08 at 01:10 PM
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Thursday, April 24, 2008
What Is Palatability?
Palatability is a word that describes how much deer like something. In food plots, you want plants with high palatable. After all, the whole idea is to attract deer to the plots and get them to eat whatever is in them. But, high palatability is a mixed blessing. The more palatable a plant is, the harder to establish; the less palatable a plant is, the easier to grow. This is why weeds do so well – the deer aren’t eating them. Unless you understand all this, you can be fooled by what you see after planting a food plot. A lust, pristine food plot may look that way because deer are eating very little of it. Certainly, Tecomate could come up with seeds that could produce tons of great looking biomass but be moderately browsed. But, we believe food plots should be just that – food plots. They should consist of highly palatable plants that deer actually eat with relish.
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Posted by Cedar Hills on 04/24 at 09:16 AM
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