Ever hear of John Chapman? This name sounds familiar to many people today, but most folks can’t put their finger on who the guy really is until you say Johnny Appleseed. “Oh, yes,” they will say, “He is the guy who went throughout our country planting apple seeds that eventually grew into mature trees that produced delicious apples.”
Yep, he’s the guy. Johnny Appleseed lived from 1774 until 1845 and while it seems impossible, he became a legend in his own lifetime, a rare feat indeed. Of course today we see people become legends during their lifetimes in the field of sports, such as Michael Jordan, Lance Armstrong, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jack Nicklaus, Nancy Lopez, Michael Phelps, Peyton Manning, Chris Evert, Wayne Gretzky, and others. But let’s face it, as talented as these guys and gals are, how many of them could have become a living legend planting apple seeds? Even in today’s age of electronics — TV, radio, Internet, cell phones, and more, the answer to the question is… none.
Yet John Chapman, the apple seed planter, is still known to a vast number of our population today, although he has been dead for over 165 years. The reason this is true is because Johnny Appleseed wanted to leave things better for those people following him on this earth. He spent his lifetime planting seeds, establishing pioneer tree nurseries and helping the people around him in various other ways and made a lasting impression on generations of Americans. We as food plot managers can relate to what he did, for in our own way, we are doing the same thing, only on a smaller scale.
THE MODERN WILDLIFE SEED PLANTING MOVEMENT’S INNOVATOR
It’s well known that Ray Scott was the founder of Bass Anglers Sportsman’s Society (B.A.S.S.). In the fishing field, we can credit Scott with breakthrough ideas such as catch and release, live wells in boats, wearable personal floatation devices, engine kill switches, and many other boating and water-related conservation and safety projects.
Interestingly, while all these fishing-related projects were going on, Scott was deer hunting — and thinking — on the side. Finding whitetails preferred white clover over other products in food plots, Scott set out to develop a specialty clover that specifically fit the nutritional needs of deer. In 1988 he had that product perfected and named it Imperial Whitetail Clover. The first year he sold more than one million pounds of this incredible product, and in the process started many deer hunters on a seed-planting endeavor beyond their imaginations.
New products then came in a timely manner from the Whitetail Institute—Alfa-Rack, Extreme, No-Plow, Pure Attraction, 30-06 Mineral/Vitamin Supplement, and several other noteworthy items related to the nutritional needs of deer. During the next few years tens of thousands of deer hunters became involved in managing for deer and planted countless food plot tracts throughout our land. The result of these extraordinary whitetail management efforts was a striking increase in the number of entries into the Pope & Young and Boone & Crockett record books during the 1990s and early 2000s.
IS DEER MANAGEMENT BIG BUCKS ONLY?
I think almost every one of you reading this article enjoys seeing or killing a monster whitetail. They create an excitement within us that simply can’t be fully explained. Having a tall-tined giant come our way will send our heart rate out of sight and can wreak havoc on our nervous system to such a degree that we at times entirely blow the shot! Without doubt, wanting to grow trophy bucks was instrumental in initially getting most deer hunters into planting food plots, but as time went on these same people realized there was more to the deer management game than they realized. Some place within almost every hunter managing for whitetails is the desire to somehow make things better for wildlife, and for future hunters as well.
ARE YOU MAKING A DIFFERENCE?
First of all, in answer to this question, yes, as a hunter you are making a difference--and have been since 1937. This was the year the Pittman-Robertson act was passed. This act places an 11 percent tax at the manufacturers’ level on sporting firearms, ammunition and archery equipment. This money has been used to restore wildlife populations such as turkey, whitetail deer, wood duck, black bear, bobcat, predatory birds, and many more.
In addition, since 1937 a total of four million acres has been purchased with this money and preserved for wildlife and for use by future generations of this land’s people. This four million-acre figure, by the way, is less than 2/1000 of one percent of this country’s acreage. Our great country contains an amazing 2.3 trillion acres!
It’s worth noting here that this ground purchased with hunter’s dollars is for everyone’s use. The bird watcher, the hiker, the fisherman, and even the antihunter benefit from this now-public land each of you hunters have paid for with your tax dollars. Other items paid for with Pittman-Robertson dollars are hunter safety courses and shooting ranges. Obviously, we hunters have certainly benefited wildlife, hunters, and other Americans in a big time way with this money. Despite this fact, I still see many hunters who have the lingering thought that their management efforts are not contributing to the wildlife in their area in a meaningful way. They also have some doubts about whether they are helping or hindering other hunters. At this point in this article, let me put these less than positive feelings to rest.
FROM SEEDS TO TREES — AND MORE
As deer hunters became more involved in managing for whitetails, they discovered through the many articles in Whitetail News, magazines and other reputable sources that while nutritious food plots were critically important to a deer’s health, other factors needed to be in place as well for maximum success. Inspired hunters started studying every aspect of how to put all the pieces of the deer management puzzle together, and where it was feasible from an owner or lessee’s standpoint, they took action.
I know of several examples of this, one close to my home in southern Indiana. This particular hunter owns nearly 200 acres of land, and he first laid out several food plots in strategic locations on his property and planted a variety of products from the Whitetail Institute. The next step he took was to do a selective timber harvest in his woods, in the process removing trees that were unproductive for any type of wildlife. This improved the timber quality of his forested areas and at the same time provided better natural browse and bedding spots for his whitetails.
Adding to the great food sources he already had, he began planting persimmon, apple and pear trees in locations that were open and had good sunlight. When he was done, he had provided the best variety of food sources possible for the deer on his property, whether they were up and feeding, or holed up in a bedding area. And he wasn’t done. Since he truly loved wildlife and his acreage was in a creek bottom region, he built a dam across a small stream with approval from the local conservation and zoning boards and created a wetland several acres in size. Today when he sits on stand within view of this wetland, he gets to enjoy watching muskrats, beaver, river otters, mink, several types of ducks, great blue herons and other types of wildlife frolic in or near the water.
Obviously, the enjoyment he gets from watching this variety of wildlife is a great payback for him even though it doesn’t involve killing a monster whitetail. Neighboring properties benefit from his management efforts as well, so everyone wins in this situation. It would be interesting if we could compile a list of all of the wildlife now on his property and write those totals down. Then, let’s assume we could somehow take away every wildlife management change he has made throughout the years. Now, if we could, we would let five years pass and once again total those wildlife figures. I suspect the difference in wildlife variety and numbers would be a shock to each one of us. This illustration proves, without doubt, what a positive contribution he has made to the wildlife in his region.
And he will be the first to tell you he has been paid back for his hard work in many different ways. Starting off, he does, indeed, have a house full of dandy bucks. He also has a storehouse of memories that are priceless, for he has spent hundreds of days on stand on his property. And I know he was paid back this past fall in a most touching way.
A few years back, this wildlife manager had severe back problems. Knowing this, a father and son offered to come over and help him put up some tree stands, asking for nothing in return. This past fall when the property owner was seeing three bucks on his property scoring in the 130s, he called up this father and son and told them to come over and see if they could kill them since he was looking for something bigger.
Full of excitement, they came over and set up stands with the landowner’s advice for placement. Both the father and son were successful, killing two of the 130-class bucks. They were the biggest bucks of their life, and they were happy beyond belief. Interestingly, even though the deer were killed off of this man’s managed land, he was just as happy as they were. Another type of payback for sound management practices.
WHAT’S YOUR PAYBACK STORY?
What I have just related is certainly a successful — and oftentimes touching — management plan carried out by a single individual, but I know each of you have your own payback stories created as a result of planting food plots. I know I do.
For example, last fall as I sat in a ground blind with our granddaughter Jessica The Rascal Girl Steger and her dad Mr. Curt, I was privileged to watch as a big doe moseyed into our turnip food plot. At 34 yards Jessica double-lunged that huge doe (it field-dressed 134 pounds) and I think I was just as excited as she was. And even though she was just 11 years old last year, I have been able to hunt with Jessica and her mom JoLinda, our daughter, and watch as Jessica has put the tag on three gobblers.
Although my wife, Carol, and I have taken numerous dandy bucks from our leased and managed land over the past thirteen years, and have had a great time together, those grandchild memories are hard to top when it comes to being paid back for all of our wildlife management efforts. Our great memories don’t only involve our family either.
For example, the last Saturday of Indiana’s 2009 December muzzleloader season our good friends Mike, Shannon and Emma Winks went hunting with us. Carol passed up a good buck that evening, Miss Emma killed her first deer, a button buck, and her mom Miss Shannon killed a nice 8-point buck, which turned out to be her best buck ever. As Mr. Mike and I sat in the blind with Miss Emma and watched as she shot her deer, I turned around and said, “She killed it deader than a hammer.”
Mr. Mike had a great laugh out of that line, and each of us has wonderful memories of that evening hunt with good friends. Now that, folks, is a priceless payback.
OTHER WAYS YOU ARE CONTRIBUTING
Whether you realize it or not, right now you are responsible for me making a living. Without you planting those seeds, I wouldn’t be writing this article. Nor would the folks at the Whitetail Institute have a job.
You keep a certain number of employees paid at fertilizer and chemical companies. People at lime companies and ATV, tractor and implement factories also owe their livelihood to each of you. And this list could go on and on because you have a huge, positive, economic impact on our economy at a time when it’s vitally needed. You help feed people too, not just animals and birds. Every time the farmer we lease from goes by our food plots and sees whitetails munching our Imperial Whitetail Clover he has a smile on his face. Can you imagine how much corn and soybeans we save the farmer by planting our tracts in products deer find so palatable? If you added it all up, it would be sizable, and the millions of bushels of grain we all save with our food plots no doubt feeds a lot of people.
Little noticed, but true, is the fact deer plot managers are great teachers of the natural world, so this knowledge and passion is passed along to others as well. You can’t get this kind of education in a class room. Don’t forget, either, that you’re instilling a great work ethic in your children, grandchildren and other children who help you work those food plot tracts. We’ll all agree a better work ethic is needed in today’s society.
So as you reflect back on your years of working and planting food plots for whitetails and wildlife, always remember you are making a difference not only in the lives of wildlife, but in people’s lives too. Fascinatingly, even in these tough economic conditions, almost all of you will plant those food plots again next spring. Here’s how I know.
My good friend Charlie Alsheimer, a valued contributor to Whitetail News, does more than 50 speaking engagements in churches every year and all of his seminars relate to deer biology, deer hunting, and quality deer management. His survey over the past five years of nearly 1,000 people who carry out QDM reveals 95 percent of them will do it again, regardless of the past droughts, floods and monetary costs involved along the way, and the mistakes they have made. It goes to show special memories of time spent with family and friends, and an abundance of wildlife, are sufficient rewards for the time invested.
In closing, my hat is always off to someone who is an innovator like Ray Scott, whose seeds got us started in QDM. I’m betting Ray and his sons, Steve and Wilson, also have a great feeling about the seeds they have sown, and the people they have helped start in wildlife management with their quality products, and the educational articles they have shared.
And I know they have that wonderful feeling not because they made a dollar, but because they made a difference.
My Biggest Personal Payback From Food Plots
“My daddy always said that you should leave the land better than you received it. We’ve taken our marginal soils here in Alabama and improved the quality of the land tremendously, with the result being a dramatic increase in our wildlife numbers. Managing for wildlife properly enhances not only the quality of your whole life, but the quality of your families’ lives and those of your friends as well. I’ve been able to see my daddy and mom be successful many times over our food plots, even into their 70s and 80s. To me, the memories from our food plots have been priceless.”
— Tes Randle Jolly, Alabama.
“Personally, I have tons of personal paybacks from food plots. Yes, both Aaron and I have killed some very nice New York whitetails because of the food plots we've planted; yes, I've taken some photos I never would have taken without food plots. But probably the biggest benefit is that Aaron and I have done them together… food plots have allowed us to make a lot of dreams together and the beauty is that so many have come true. When a father and son are able to play with dirt, manage a property, and hunt it successfully, the payoff is special.”
— Charlie Alsheimer, New York.
