By Jon Cooner
Q:My hunting property in Pennsylvania is very thick. We lease, so we can’t clear timber. The good thing is that since we control our activity, most of the land is sanctuary, so we keep mature bucks on the property.
The bad thing, though, is that we only have room for two small plots, which we plant in Imperial No-Plow and Secret Spot. We have 30-06 out in 2-3 spots as well and we’re thinking perhaps we need to increase our availability of protein to supplement the diets of the 8-10 deer we see on our property regularly (three trail cameras). We need to find a way to deliver more supplemental nutrition. How do you suggest we do that, given our very small areas for planting plots?
A:It looks like you’re already doing a great job in supplementing both forages and minerals, especially given the restrictions on available land to plant. To go even farther, I’d suggest that you consider our Cutting Edge line of nutritional supplements.
Cutting Edge is a three-part series of nutritional supplements that goes beyond traditional mineral/vitamin supplements and is a wholly new concept as far as nutritional supplements go. Cutting Edge has been on the market for several years now, and it is doing extremely well. In developing Cutting Edge, we broke down a deer’s annual nutritional-needs cycle into three sections, and we developed a stage of Cutting Edge for each part.
Cutting Edge Optimize covers the 200-day antlergrowing period of spring and summer. Most parts of North America lack essential nutrients required for optimal antler development. Optimize supplements the deer’s natural diet with minerals, vitamins and 16% percent protein — all nutrients that contribute to antler growth. Remember that it is also during the same 200-day antler growth period that does are in their third trimester of pregnancy and, later, are producing milk for their fawns. Optimize is formulated with these in mind too. Continue providing Optimize throughout the summer months.
Once fall arrives, switch to Cutting Edge Sustain, which is formulated to help bucks get through the rigors of the rut. Like the other stages of Cutting Edge, Sustain also benefits the whole herd during the coldest months of winter. Sustain is formulated not only to include high levels of protein, but also generous amounts of carbohydrates, which are critical if deer are to maintain body weight and health during the cold months of the year. Maintaining body weight can reduce the time it takes for deer to recover from the stresses of winter and the rut and help them get to the business of devoting more nutrients to antler growth earlier the following spring.
Cutting Edge Initiate covers the comparatively brief period between late winter and early spring (from around the first of February until green-up starts). This covers them until the emergence of new, green vegetation when you’ll switch back again to Optimize.
Cutting Edge can be used straight on the ground or in covered trough feeders. You also stretch Cutting Edge by mixing 17 pounds of Cutting Edge Sustain or Initiate with up to 100 pounds of corn, and 17 pounds of Cutting Edge Optimize with up to 100 pounds of corn or soybeans. That will stretch your Cutting Edge and make it even more cost effective for you to provide your deer with the best in nutritional supplementation.
