Dr. Esben Kjaer joins the Blazin' Grazin' hosts to talk fire, forage, and the fine art of managing rangelands for both cattle and wildlife. His work from Kansas to North Dakota reveals how prescribed fire and strategic grazing shape biodiversity - from plant and insect communities to nesting birds. He shares what happens when conservation meets production, and how landowners can use grazing without losing habitat.

The conversation also dives into fire aversion, Kentucky bluegrass invasions, and why fire still beats grazing when it comes to restoring native prairies. From the challenges of burning in the frozen north to bringing new fire science to Oklahoma, Dr. Kjaer offers both research and real-world lessons for anyone who loves the land, livestock, and a good burn plan.

Resources:

- OkState Department of Natural Resource Ecology Management

- Esben Kjaer Ph.D.

Deer have many benefits to ecosystems and society, but they can also be a cause of human-wildlife conflict. Join Drew and Joe as they discuss the impact deer can have on agricultural production, property, the spread of disease, and humans.

Learn more about deer resistant ornamental plants at: https://extension.rutgers.edu/deer-resistant-plants

Dr. Joe Gerken and Dr. Drew Ricketts are extension specialists and faculty members in the Wildlife and Outdoor Enterprise Management Program at Kansas State University. Find out more about the program at http://hnr.k-state.edu/academics/undergraduate-programs/wildlife-outdoor-management.html

Watch the podcast on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@KSREWildlife

Sometimes you just need to follow your dreams. Eric Mayo is a Mississippi pond owner with a small 1.5-acre pond. After complete renovation, Eric wanted something different. So, he did everything we preach against in pond management. He stocked different species, collected them from the wild, and just threw in as many unusual species as possible. The results? Eric holds nine Mississippi rod-and-reel and fly rod records, many of which came from his small pond. If you want to hear about managing for trophy redspotted sunfish and longear sunfish, well hold my beer and watch this!

Do you have questions or comments? Follow the Fish University Facebook community and chat with Wes or suggest future episodes!

Watch this episode on YouTube (here)!

In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Kristy McAndrew from Mississippi State University. Dr. McAndrew will walk us through the ins and outs of Brown spot needle blight, a fungal disease that infects pine needles, leading to premature needle loss, stunted growth, and long-term stress that increases a tree's vulnerability to other pests and pathogens, and provide an update on Emerald Ash Borer presence in the region.

Dr. McAndrew is a forest health specialist at Mississippi State University in the Forestry Department. Kristy has a Bachelor of Science in Forestry and a Bachelor of Science in Fisheries & Wildlife, both from the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO, and also completed a Master's and PhD at Mississippi State University in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology, and Plant Pathology.

For more on brown spot needle blight, see this recent article and publication from the Arkansas Division of Agriculture. www.uaex.uada.edu/media-resources/news/2025/august/08-18-2025-ark-UAM-needle-blight.aspx

If you have questions, feel free to contact us at [email protected]

Dr. Ben Jones, CEO of RGS & AWS, joins us to explore how active forest stewardship - from prescribed fire to targeted timber harvests and new wood markets - can restore age-class diversity and habitat for ruffed grouse and wild turkey across eastern forests.

Resources:

EQUIP

Food Plots, Feed or Fire: The Real Costs Per Pound of Deer Forage (NDA article)

Ruffed Grouse Society

Dr. Ben Jones [email protected]

Our lab is primarily funded by donations. If you would like to help support our work, please donate here: http://UFgive.to/UFGameLab

We've launched our SECOND online training course focused on wild turkey biology, history, and heritage! Be the first to know when our new course launches by signing up here!

Be sure to check out our comprehensive online wild turkey course featuring experts across multiple institutions that specialize in habitat management and population management for wild turkeys. Earn up to 20.5 CFE hours! Enroll Now!

Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Publications

Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Publications

Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow

UF Game Lab @ufgamelab, YouTube

Donate to our wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund

Want to help wild turkey conservation? Please take our quick survey to take part in our research!

Do you have a topic you'd like us to cover? Leave us a review or send us an email at [email protected]!

Watch these podcasts on YouTube

Please help us by taking our (quick) listener survey - Thank you!

Check out the DrDisturbance YouTube channel! DrDisturbance YouTube

Want to help support the podcast? Our friends at Grounded Brand have an option to donate directly to Wild Turkey Science at checkout. Thank you in advance for your support!

Leave a podcast rating for a chance to win free gear!

This podcast is made possible by Turkeys for Tomorrow, a grassroots organization dedicated to the wild turkey. To learn more about TFT, go to turkeysfortomorrow.org.

Music by Artlist.io

Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak

Jacob and Eric sit down with MSU Assistant Research Professor Dr. Melanie Boudrou to discuss the results of a recent project that used GPS collars to study deer-pig interactions.

Check out the MSU Deer Lab's online seminar series (here) and select the Natural Resources option from the Categories drop-down menu. You will need to create an account to view the seminars. The seminars are free unless you are seeking professional educational credits.

Also, be sure to visit our YouTube channel (here)

In this episode, we return to the mailbag to answer listener questions. Brady covers the current status of brownspot needle blight and thinning pines with herbicide applications as an alternative to commercial thinning in light of depressed markets. Shaun covers a combo question on replanting costs and how to treat those costs for tax purposes and how that may or may not affect a timber owners basis account.

Strap in for a philosophical episode as we sit with Dr. Dwayne Elmore and explore the complex nature of critically evaluating information in an age of information overload.

Resources:

Pre-Print: Lashley et al. (2025) Female Wild turkey survival meta-analysis

Dr. Dwayne Elmore - Tall Timbers, Publications

Our lab is primarily funded by donations. If you would like to help support our work, please donate here: http://UFgive.to/UFGameLab

We've launched our SECOND online training course focused on wild turkey biology, history, and heritage! Be the first to know when our new course launches by signing up here!

Be sure to check out our comprehensive online wild turkey course featuring experts across multiple institutions that specialize in habitat management and population management for wild turkeys. Earn up to 20.5 CFE hours! Enroll Now!

Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Publications

Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Publications

Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow

UF Game Lab @ufgamelab, YouTube

Donate to our wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund

Want to help wild turkey conservation? Please take our quick survey to take part in our research!

Do you have a topic you'd like us to cover? Leave us a review or send us an email at [email protected]!

Watch these podcasts on YouTube

Please help us by taking our (quick) listener survey - Thank you!

Check out the DrDisturbance YouTube channel! DrDisturbance YouTube

Want to help support the podcast? Our friends at Grounded Brand have an option to donate directly to Wild Turkey Science at checkout. Thank you in advance for your support!

Leave a podcast rating for a chance to win free gear!

This podcast is made possible by Turkeys for Tomorrow, a grassroots organization dedicated to the wild turkey. To learn more about TFT, go to turkeysfortomorrow.org.

Music by Artlist.io

Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak

AI generated wildlife videos are common on the internet and it can be hard to distinguish what is real and what isn't. For this episode, Drew and Joe are joined by Danny to discuss the kinds of AI generated videos that frequently feature wildlife, the ways artificially generated videos can alter expectations of real-world interactions with wildlife, and some ways to identify AI generated content online.

Dr. Joe Gerken and Dr. Drew Ricketts are extension specialists and faculty members in the Wildlife and Outdoor Enterprise Management Program at Kansas State University. Find out more about the program at http://hnr.k-state.edu/academics/undergraduate-programs/wildlife-outdoor-management.html

Watch the podcast on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@KSREWildlife

We've launched our SECOND online training course focused on wild turkey biology, history, and heritage! Be the first to know when our new course launches by signing up here!

Our lab is primarily funded by donations. If you would like to help support our work, please donate here: http://UFgive.to/UFGameLab

We've launched a comprehensive online wild turkey course featuring experts across multiple institutions that specialize in habitat management and population management for wild turkeys. Earn up to 20.5 CFE hours! Enroll Now!

Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Publications

Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Publications

Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow

UF Game Lab @ufgamelab, YouTube

Donate to our wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund

Want to help wild turkey conservation? Please take our quick survey to take part in our research!

Do you have a topic you'd like us to cover? Leave us a review or send us an email at [email protected]!

Watch these podcasts on YouTube

Please help us by taking our (quick) listener survey - Thank you!

Check out the DrDisturbance YouTube channel! DrDisturbance YouTube

Want to help support the podcast? Our friends at Grounded Brand have an option to donate directly to Wild Turkey Science at checkout. Thank you in advance for your support!

Leave a podcast rating for a chance to win free gear!

This podcast is made possible by Turkeys for Tomorrow, a grassroots organization dedicated to the wild turkey. To learn more about TFT, go to turkeysfortomorrow.org.

Music by Artlist.io

Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak