Mar 10, 2010
What a difference a week makes here in Nebraska. Judging by the amount of water in the rivers and road ditches, I think it's safe to say that spring is fast approaching. Nice to finally be able to see the ground instead of all that white snow. This past winter has been brutally tough with colder temps along with record days of snow on the ground. This winter really shows us whitetail deer managers the real benefits of why planting foodplots is so important for deer herd health. In an average year, I have an ample supply of food to supply my deer herd throughout the winter months and into early spring. However, this past winter has shown me otherwise as when winter conditions get extreme, large numbers of deer yard up or congregate around a food source and feed there until supply is exhausted. Needless to say, my abundance of late season foodplots consisting of soybeans, corn, and antler king honey hole only lasted a short time. This past weekend I visited several properties that I had planted custom foodplots for last year to see how the deer were utilizing the plots. To my surprise the honey hole foodplots really took a pounding, almost unbelievable the amount of activity around the fields. My plan was to no-till corn into most of these brassica foodplots this spring with my 3-point flex 71 seeder, but with the large amount of craters created by the deer digging up bulbs, some minimal tillage to smooth out the fields will be necessary. The Antler King F/W/S blend which was seeded last fall around the end of August is providing the winter-stressed deer with a high quality food source right now also and since the fall/winter/spring is the only green food source around this time of year, it’s usage is extremely high and is providing the deer with a much needed nutritious food source. I also took advantage of hopefully some of the last snow of the season and frost-seeded some antler king trophy clover over a couple of smaller 1/2 acre foodplots. Frost-seeding is one of my favorite ways to plant clover especially on top of an inch or two of wet snow. The snow enables one to more easily see the spread pattern of the clover seed. The foodplot planter manufacturing business is extremely busy also with many late nights being spent in the shop. With the longer days approaching and the slightly warmer temps outside, I along with countless other foodplotters are beginning to get anxious for planting foodplots this coming spring.
Feb 2, 2010
Wow! Just got back home from the 2nd annual Nebraska Big Buck Classic show which was awesome this year. It was great meeting with old friends and clients, as well as the many new faces. With many great exhibitors and a huge turnout of people, this show will continually get bigger every year. Our lineup of atv food plot equipment as well as our 3-point foodplot planter equipped with the yetter flex 71 seeder units were again a huge hit this year. With many people still just starting to see the benefits of what planting food plots on their own properties can do for their deer herd, this business will continually grow forward in the future. Our new trail camera mounting system was a huge hit also. The unique thing that makes are trail camera mounting system different than most other trail camera mounting brackets on the market is that ours is made up of a large percentage of aluminum which makes the unit light-weight for carrying longer distances and also keeps the unit rust free and looking new for many years. With spring food plot planting just around the corner, I urge anyone interested in looking to purchase one of my food plot planters to get your order in early because of the seasonal demand come springtime.
Jan 24, 2010
With the reports of good shed hunting success, I had hoped to maybe venture out and find a few for myself near one of my standing soybean food plots that was getting devoured by a whole herd of hungry whitetails. With the upcoming show and springtime orders coming on, I spent the vast majority of the day in the shop fabricating trail camera mounting brackets. One of the neat things about our trail camera mounting system is the fact that the majority of the unit is constructed of lightweight aluminum which makes it easier to carry vs a bulky steel post like other units on the market. Another unique feature about our trail camera mounting post is that once the stake is positioned into the ground, the bracket that the trail camera mounts to will swivel 360 degrees allowing you to position your camera at the perfect spot for a good quality picture. I have been toying with the idea for sometime about going to a greaseless frame design on the brutebuster atv planters and that has now become a reality. The 2010 lineup of atv foodplot planters will now have composite bearings pressed into the bushing stock which will result in virtually no wear at the pivot point. This system sounds fairly complex but is quite simple and this will benefit the end user by basically having a zero maintenance atv food plot planter that is built for the long haul. I've always built my food plot equipment in a way that 30 years down the road, they will still perform like the first day the implements were purchases.
Jan 21,2010
Things are crazy busy around the shop as I am preparing for the upcoming Nebraska Big Buck Classic show at the Quest center which will be held at the end of this month. As usual,there will be more than a few late nights putting the finishing touches on the food plot planters and boxing up products. I received my first spring shipment of food plot seed and supplies from Antler King today also. Its always exciting to start getting in food plot seed which means springtime planting of food plots is not too terribly far off. Im also fabricating a new 3-row food plot planter that will again utilize the Yetter flex 71 planter units. Unlike my atv planters, this 3-row will be a 3-point mounted planter unit is geared specifically for compact tractors that are so commonly used for food plot plantings. I chose to use the Yetter flex 71 seeders again for my 3-point planter units because these units are virtually bullet proof and they just work extremely well for food plot plantings. What is so unique about this 3-row food plot seeder is the fact that for the DIY people out there that like to save money and get involved with assembling their food plot equipment,there is absolutely no welding involved assembling your Yetter 71 3-point planter. This 3-point food plot planter was designed so that anyone with a few basic wrenches can assemble it with ease with no welding required. Look for this 3-point planter to be available sometime in the next few months. |
