Managing a wildlife focused property is hard work year-round and it is easy to fall behind on your to do list. Often the separation between average properties and exceptional ones is simply foresight, planning, and a little bit of extra effort to get the important habitat work done at the right time. Today we're discussing this topic around deer management, specifically how certain habitat management practices are time sensitive and this timing can mean the difference between frustration and progress.

You can learn more about actively managing native deer forages here:  https://extension.msstate.edu/publications/guide-common-native-deer-forages-mississippi-and-the-southeast

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A good food plot system feeds deer every month of the year. On this podcast Bronson, Bonner, and Moriah discuss the plantings and management strategies they use in food plot complexes to provide year round nutrition.

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Do big bucks always have big antlered offspring? How much of a buck's antler size is affected by his sire? Are spikes genetically inferior? We're diving deep into antler heritability, buck breeding values, and antler genetics in this third and final buck culling podcast. Dr. Randy DeYoung of the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Kingsville is joining us and sharing lot's of information about buck antler genetics and how many variables around genetics affect culling efficacy.

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We're picking up where our last episode left off on the topic of deer culling for genetic improvement. Donnie Draeger is joining us to discuss the iconic Comanche Ranch high-fence culling study that went to even greater extremes to test whether deer herd population genetics can be improved. He and Bronson discuss the logistics of conducting a study of this scale, the results, and what contributed to the challenges they face in improving genetic quality of bucks.

You can read more on the the actual study here:  https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/wmon.70013

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Long debated in deer hunting stories, the subject of wild deer culling for genetic improvement is a debate that never dies, but there is a lot of sound research that has examined this question. This is the first of a three part series reviewing the results of genetic culling research. On this episode we're joined by Dr. Mickey Hellickson to discuss foundational deer culling research that he helped lead on the famous King Ranch looking at genetic culling via hunting in a free-range setting.

 The full study can be found below

https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/wmon.70013

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We're joined by Dr. Marcus Lashley today for a discussion on density dependence in deer populations, and more interestingly, when populations break from this typical relationship. We also spend time discussing challenges of habitat management in the lower coastal plain and how seeds get moved into freshly thinned, burned, or disturbed habitat units.

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You may have never considered how psychology might be intrinsically linked to deer management, but it is. On this podcast Bronson and Moriah discuss a psychological phenomenon called the Dunning-Kruger Effect, and specifically how this psychological bias affects all of us. From taxes, car repair, and highway driving to fine-scale deer movement, the guys discuss how they consider this bias in deer management and life.

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Herbicides are becoming an increasingly contentious subject in the habitat and food plot management world. There are many valid concerns surrounding their use, but do these concerns outweigh their value? Bronson and Moriah are joined by Luke Resop of the MSU Deer Lab to tackle this topic and discuss how they approach the herbicide issue when managing habitat for game species.

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Join the guys and Dr. Will Gulsby for a fast paced discussion on various turkey management topics. Key topics include determining ideal management unit sizes, quantifying population responses to habitat work, establishing sustainable harvest rates for your property, and more.

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In habitat management we talk a lot about the benefit of forest thinning on forage and cover production, but how do you accomplish this while not hindering future timber value? The short answer, is that context is important and there are always tradeoffs to consider. On this episode we're joined by Jonathon Stoll, our professional forester, to discuss the pitfalls of aggressive thinning and what you should consider when deciding between a moderate and aggressive first or second thin in loblolly pine.

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