Williams Creek Farm of SW Iowa

[cbw]

Thanks for the tour, you have a beautiful looking property. How have the deer responded to your nitro boost and carbon load plantings?

Thanks! We are thankful.

Re: carbon load—this will be our first time planting it.

Re: nitroboost (NB)—last fall, I tested by drilling it alongside GreenCover’s fall release (FR) and a brassica mix in the same plot. FR and NB performed about the same—both strong earlier in the fall, and then late season, deer hammered the brassica.

Comparing GC to NB, both priced about the same. Currently, I lean slightly towards NB because they are lighter on the WR (I prefer to over-seed WR the first of Sept) and they have more varieties in the mix. As far as customer service, both are stellar… as a startup, Al from NB is super responsive. And GC ships super fast and very solid systems in place. (I’m in a biz group with their CEO)

I’ve also done some self-mixes, but for the small amount of food plot acres we have, when I want lots of variety, I find these premixed options are a good solution.

As noted above, this summer, I’m testing a couple plots of not doing any spring/summer planting. Hoping that will prove successful to drive down cost and time.


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[Buckhunter10]

Thanks! We are thankful.

Re: carbon load—this will be our first time planting it.

Re: nitroboost (NB)—last fall, I tested by drilling it alongside GreenCover’s fall release (FR) and a brassica mix in the same plot. FR and NB performed about the same—both strong earlier in the fall, and then late season, deer hammered the brassica.

Comparing GC to NB, both priced about the same. Currently, I lean slightly towards NB because they are lighter on the WR (I prefer to over-seed WR the first of Sept) and they have more varieties in the mix. As far as customer service, both are stellar… as a startup, Al from NB is super responsive. And GC ships super fast and very solid systems in place. (I’m in a biz group with their CEO)

I’ve also done some self-mixes, but for the small amount of food plot acres we have, when I want lots of variety, I find these premixed options are a good solution.

As noted above, this summer, I’m testing a couple plots of not doing any spring/summer planting. Hoping that will prove successful to drive down cost and time.


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Thanks for kind words. I believe you planted the Carbon Load last fall vs. NB (spring planting this will be your first time).

CL is our fall mix. I really pride myself on the ratios of our mix compared to the comp. We are only 55% grains - so we can give more clover, brassicas, peas, etc. to our customers.

All in all - a lot of great companies out there! We sure appreciate those who give us a chance or even just follow along.

Have a blessed day!

Al

 

[MN Slick]

To help make the farm payment, we have been selling hedge posts. We cut from Jan 11 through the end of May. It has been great to get my boys to learn to run a chainsaw.

Saturday had a guy buy everything we had on stock plus everything else we cut through this year. (600 or so)

This year, we tested selling the best one as bow stave posts. Still have some inventory left on those.

What creative ways do you guys do for income generation from your farm?


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Hedge stumps sprout like a mofos. We bought a farm where the guy cut a ton of hedge and the stumps are raging. I wish he treated the stumps. I sprayed some of bushes with Crossbow last summer and thought I kilt them but some of them are kicking out new growth this year. Just a heads up.

 

[cbw]

I believe you planted the Carbon Load last fall vs. NB (spring planting this will be your first time).

CL is our fall mix.

Ya. What he said.


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[cbw]

Hedge stumps sprout like a mofos. We bought a farm where the guy cut a ton of hedge and the stumps are raging. I wish he treated the stumps. I sprayed some of bushes with Crossbow last summer and thought I kilt them but some of them are kicking out new growth this year. Just a heads up.

Thanks! That’s what I love about this forum—being willing to share your experiences and ‘gotchas’ to help others. They do sprout like crazy!

When we bought the farm, there was very little browse. So much that in the winter, the deer were stripping honey locusts of the bark.

The first couple years we cut hedge, any stump that we cut lower than knee high the deer kept browsed down. (Great mineral stump according the guys at MSU Deer Lab).

Now with some TSI and other habitat improvements, the hedge sprouts are not as preferred and we are starting to treat them using undiluted gly around the stump cambium layer. (Cheaper than garlon or Triclopyr).

We will definitely be monitoring!


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[cbw]

Hedge stumps sprout like a mofos. We bought a farm where the guy cut a ton of hedge and the stumps are raging. I wish he treated the stumps. I sprayed some of bushes with Crossbow last summer and thought I kilt them but some of them are kicking out new growth this year. Just a heads up.

Is there enough stump to try hack and squirt?


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[T-Max]

Hedge is so resilient. I have treated cut stumps with Tordon and had them resprout. Almost everything we do has to be treated multiple times.


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[MN Slick]

Thanks! That’s what I love about this forum—being willing to share your experiences and ‘gotchas’ to help others. They do sprout like crazy!

When we bought the farm, there was very little browse. So much that in the winter, the deer were stripping honey locusts of the bark.

The first couple years we cut hedge, any stump that we cut lower than knee high the deer kept browsed down. (Great mineral stump according the guys at MSU Deer Lab).

Now with some TSI and other habitat improvements, the hedge sprouts are not as preferred and we are starting to treat them using undiluted gly around the stump cambium layer. (Cheaper than garlon or Triclopyr).

We will definitely be monitoring!


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He flush cut them. Most are surrounded by MFR too so between that and the sprouts it's hard to get to the stump.