Recent content by The Famous Grouse

I say it all the time. Clover is the food plotting equivalent of having a good ground game in football. It isn't flashy, it isn't showy, it isn't high risk, it doesn't involve buying a bunch of cool equipment. It just works. I use clover and an alfalfa/clover blend for more than half of my...

I absolutely believe mineral feeding has made a difference on my property. We used to have spindly, crooked, short racks. I started feeding the salt/TMS/di cal mix 5 years ago and the difference is dramatic. The biggest and most obvious change I've seen is in the 1.5 to 2.5 year olds...

I'm convinced that in areas that are mineral deficient, providing a good supply of calcium and trace minerals works. I have the rare situation where I hunted the exact land that I ended up buying for 10 years BEFORE I bought it and started managing it with food plots and mineral licks. It...

Beans are very frost sensitive and are killed by even mild frost. In addition to soil temp, it helps to research the long term average last frost date in your area and then consider your terrain. Last frost dates can vary considerably even in a small region, there can be a one week difference...

I take it that you, like me, are in the northern tier states or Canada? Guessing from your statement that you're a month away from bean planting. I don't think there's any set answer to your question. For me in east central MN, it comes down to when is it dry enough for my equipment. The...

Guys, can anyone give me a mixing rate for Clethodim in ounces per gallon? And at that ratio, how many ounces of crop oil do you use per gallon? I want to spray my oldest clover plot late this spring to get rid of the grasses and hopefully keep this plot productive for another year. I...

I agree to a point, but I wonder if some don't give up on brassicas too soon? All animals have a "food memory" such that they will seek out the food sources that were good for them before and they will do so at the time and place where these sources were found before. This is part instinct and...

Many states have already declared drone use to aid in the taking of game to be illegal. Either they have passed explicit laws, or in the case of my state, the DNR has released a statement saying that drone use would fall under an existing prohibition against using electronic devices in the...

Yep! You're exactly right, they all say how "lucky" you were to get land back when it was cheap and easy! I've seen those 2 phases I mentioned play out over and over when it comes to land. In the short term it ALWAYS looks like a bad deal to buy now, but when you just add 5-7 years, I have...

Really an interesting post and a reminder of how time flies! In 5 years, I hope: - To have all my plots cleared of rock and in full production. I've got about 3/4 of the last large 5 acre plot to go. - For both my sons to be interested and the oldest to be getting ready for his first season...

Maybe not with some, but IME there are very few farmers left that don't grasp concepts like this. One thing that may make it appear like farmers don't look at rate of return is that in many cases they have to balance this against opportunity cost. A given piece of land may only come up for...

How much more can the ag side of things get trimmed? Have you seen the price of corn and beans for the last 3 years? Now beef and pork are both down or declining as well. The main driver of hunting land prices is a combination of a good economy and low interest rates. This happend several...

As long as you're framilliar and can live with the disadvantages, I'd say the plan is solid. Pretty low cost per square foot of space. Also, you can't beat the security of storage containers. As long as you get one with the boxed lock protection so the locks aren't exposed to be easily cut...

The 2 biggest problem with shipping containers are: 1. Only 7'9" wide on the inside. So basically you can only store stuff along one side of the container to leave enough aisle space to actually get to and remove stuff that's back in the container. Also this seriously limits the utility as a...

Actually, a face shield is a MUST. I found that out the hard way when I went to cut some brush stumps must a little closer to the ground. I took off about 3 inches of a briar stump about the diameter of a good Robusto cigar. It flew off the blade, hit a tree right in front of me, flew...