KY WINTER 2020

www.kalaky.org

KENTUCKY WINTER 2020 - 2021

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Volume 3

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Issue 4

FOOD PLOTS

Creating Nutrition, Forage and Gathering Places for Cervids Sponsored by SeTDA

THE ART OF USING A DART GUN Sponsored by SeTDA

DEER & WILDLIFE STORIES DEBUTS 2021 SEASON ON PURSUIT CHANNEL

CHAMP 300” plus & 40” wide

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT

CONTENTS

Robert Fondaw

11.

VICE PRESIDENT

12. CONGRESS INCREASE $7 MILLION IN

495 Parker Creek Rd East Bernstadt KY 40729 fawn-doewhitetails@outlook.com 606-627-1368

Josh Neal

1113 Sebree Pratt Rd Sebree KY 42455 joshbneal@ymail.com 270-339-9788

FOOD PLOTS CREATING NUTRITION, FORAGE AND GATHERING PLACES FOR CERVIDS Sponsored by SeTDA

CWD FUNDING NADeFA - Shawn Schafer

SECRETARY / TREASURER

16. DEER & WILDLIFE STORIES DEBUTS 2021

Jason Holland 585 Old Rocky Hill Church Rd Gamaliel KY 42140 barrenriverwhitetails@yahoo.com 270-570-0173

SEASON ON PURSUIT CHANNEL Keith Warren

22. THE ART OF USING A DART GUN Sponsored by SeTDA

DIRECTORS CHAIRMAN:

Tony Maddox

725 Rabbit Town Rd Winchester KY 40391 solidrockwhitetails@yahoo.com 859-556-7253

Ricky Gaines

59 Vanken Ridge Rd Bedford KY 40006 unbridledwhitetails@gmail.com 239-340-1171

26-27.

THE REFUGE RANCH Sponsored by SeTDA

David Kotsch

4217 Mount Pleasant Rd Cromwell KY 42333 ddkotsch@hotmail.com 615-969-9283

IN EACH ISSUE

Henry Woodard

Advertising Information NEXT DUE DATE IS April 9..................... 20 Classified Ad........................................................................................... 20 KALA Meeting Dates................................................................................3 Membership Application ......................................................................5 NADeFA Virtual Conference............................................................... 23 Northern Top 30......................................................................................6 President’s Message...............................................................................2

9776 Roseville Rd Glasgow KY 42141 woodardpropertiestn@gmail.com 423-595-8898

Brian Cooper

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Deerstore.com................................................9

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1873 Forestville Rd Mumfordville KY 42765 270-537-5357

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Joe Miller

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Whitetail Syndications................................ 15

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Jake Anderson

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David Miller

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Hilty Whitetails.............................................. 10

Woodard Whitetails........Cover, IN F. Cover

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Vertual Show Special.................................. 27 KENTUCKY 2021

1

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE A MOMENT WITH ROBERT

A

lthough we had to cancel

With the hope of having our Annual

of a deceased cervid, rather than the

our meeting in January

Picnic and Auction in July, we are

entire head, saving deer farmers $20

because of COVID, deer

looking for a place for this event.

per tested animal. Every Kentucky deer

farmers in our beautiful

Please let me know if you are

farmer is also now required by our

state of Kentucky are

interested in hosting it and reach out

Dept. of Ag. to be trained and certified

feeling very optimistic about 2021.

to me or Vice President and Picnic/

for this endeavor in our bluegrass

With the need for our members to

Auction Chairman Josh Neal. All money

state. Perhaps in the future we will be

stay healthy yet up to date on what’s

raised through this event will help

able to implement a program of live

happening in the deer industry, KALA

us continue to solve issues with the

testing.

will be implementing informative

powers-that-be who influence our

videos through our Facebook Page.

way of life. By standing strong and

Feedback on these issues from

Look for video messages from me

supporting KALA, we will ultimately

members like you is crucial when,

as well as from various members of

see eye-to-eye with every regulatory

as an association, we look to remain

our Board of Directors as the year

agency in Kentucky.

viable for years to come. In addition to

progresses.

showing your support and attending In an effort to make deer identification

KALA events, collectively we need

easier, the USDA has implemented a

to reach to other deer farmers and

new tagging program using RFID (radio

advocates around us who haven’t

frequency identification) tags. All cervid

joined and need to. Please extend an

farmers are now required to change

invitation to those who would benefit

out the old 840 visual tag of any deer

from being involved. A strong and

handled on your farm this year to the

growing membership base is the key

new RFID tag, as well as use the new

to our success! Stay tuned for details

tag on any new deer acquired this year

about our picnic and auction and plan

either through purchase or during the

on attending! See you then!

fawning season. All changeouts must be documented with pictures and emailed to statevet@kentucky.gov. By having these new easily scanned RFID tags on our deer, life will be easier for all deer farmers.

Testing for CWD has also become easier as a result of a recent decision

by The Kentucky Department of Agriculture. Testing will now be exclusive to the obex and lymph nodes

2

KENTUCKY 2021

Robert Fondaw 606-627-1368

KENTUCKY 2021

3

4

KENTUCKY 2021

Memberhip Application Member Name:________________________________________ Farm Name:___________________________________________

MEMERSHIP DUES:

New Member: ________

Regular Voting Membership $100 Out of State Associate Membeship $50 (non-voting)

Address: ______________________________________________

I hereby make application for membership the Kentucky Alternative Livestock Assocation.

Phone:________________________________________________

I agree to conf irm to the bylaws and code of ethics governing the association.

__________________________________________ Signature Date: ______________________

Renewal: ________

_______________________________________________________

Email: _________________________________________________

Online application avaliable on our Facebook page. Paypal@kalaky.org Mail to: Jason Holland 585 Old Rocky Hill Church Road Gamaliel, KY 42140

KENTUCKY 2021

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NORTHERN TOP 30 THERE WAS A GREAT TURN OUT AT THE NORTHERN TOP 30 IN COLUMBUS, OH.

K

ALA Board members Pictured from left to right. Joe Miller, Ricky Gaines, Tony Maddox, Brian Cooper, Henry Woodard and Vice President Josh Neal

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE KENTUCKY CONSIGNERS THAT DID FANTASTIC WITH THEIR LOTS.

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KENTUCKY 2021

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FOOD PLOTS

CREATING NUTRITION, FORAGE AND GATHERING PLACES FOR CERVIDS By: Gail Veley • Sponsoed by SETDA

S

hould time, space and investment capital allow, deer farmers would do well to establish food plots on their farms or hunting preserves.

Compared to the overall cost of feeding protein pellets, bagged grain and alfalfa hay, food plots designed to regenerate or provide adequate year-round forage may add up to substantial savings in the long run. Additionally, food plots provide guaranteed gathering places for whitetails and nutrition for optimum growth, depending on what your goals are.

Unwittingly, deer farmers turn into agricultural experts when they delve into the world of planting food plots.

While you may not need vast parcels of land to do it successfully, you do need conducive soil, offers Jared Deason of Sweetwater Plantation in Bristol, Florida.

However, before using an area of your property for establishing potential forage, gather and submit soil samples to your local AG extension office to determine how viable and nutrient rich it is for the things you wish to plant, and whether or not you may need to add minerals such as dolomite or lime. Determine whether your ground drains efficiently or tends to hold onto moisture, as well as how much natural precipitation occurs in your area during each growing season.

In wetter climates found in Florida, the perennial peanut fares quite well.

Known to some as the alfalfa of Florida, it serves as a beautiful ground cover complete with yellow flowers that withstands considerable grazing and lasts approximately eight months out of the year. A relative of the edible peanut found in grocery stores, the

perennial peanut is also tough, resilient and versatile and an absolute favorite food of deer. Yet, “one of the drawbacks is getting it established,” Deason said.

In addition, “you have to find someone who already has plugs and buy and plant them. If you can give it time and be patient, it’s worth planting.”

While the perennial peanut may come in at Number One for preferred food plot forage in Florida, perhaps the most well-known, most commonly planted vegetation all across the U.S., is cereal rye. Cereal rye, found in virtually every cervid food plot in areas of the country where deer farming exists, tolerates adversity from colder climates, poor soil fertility, heavy grazing and even drought. Considered a safe bet for germinating and growing quickly, cereal rye can also feed deer all winter long.

“That’s what most hunters and preserve owners do,” Deason said. “They plant cereal rye and oats for winter forage.”

Deason, who first began planting food plots in 2003, realized that in order to cater to the nutritional needs of deer throughout the year, a deer farmer is well-advised to plant a variety of things such as oats, wheat and clover. Deason also strongly advises to never wait too long to plant and to not only plant for the winter, but for the spring and summer months as well. White clover, a common Florida plant, provides supplemental protein-based foraging in the spring while increasing nitrogen levels in soil for grass growth. Red clover, a member of the bean and pea family, baths the landscape in purple springtime flowers while providing another valuable protein source to whitetails. Yet white and red clover tend to not co-exist well, as white clover

thrives better in saturated soil while red clover thrives better in soil that is welldrained.

Therefore “understanding the soil conditions required for planting success will make creating food plots an easier task,” Deason said. In addition, acquiring the necessary equipment does, too. Deason, who used to manage his food plots using a four-wheeler with an attached homemade set of discs, now utilizes a large tractor with several different implements including a seed drill to manage the terrain.

And while it is always ideal to understand your soil and have the right tools, it is also ideal when possible, to fence off your feed plots in an effort to allow the area to rest from the continual activities of deer. Using this type of design and management, “you can open gates up to let them feed on certain things or close it off and let it last longer,” Deason emphasized. “Overall, food plots can make life easier for deer farmers, if you have the means and ability to establish them.”

KENTUCKY 2021

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NADEFA THANKS CONGRESS FOR WORKING WITH US ON COMBATING CWD

T

DEC 23, 2020 WASHINGTON, DC

he North American Deer Farmers Association (NADeFA), the nation’s leading voice for the cervid industry applauds Congress’ continued increases for funding to combat Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). On Monday evening, both houses of Congress passed legislation providing FY 2021 appropriations legislation. The bill is expected to be signed into law by the end of the week.

This legislation includes $11 million for cervid health under the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). That represents an increase of $2 million over what was appropriated in FY 2020. The increased funds are for state efforts to manage CWD in wild populations, leaving $4 million for USDA’s existing programs. That amount is equal to last year’s funding for these functions. USGS also received a $2 million increase more than doubling their previous year’s budget. This brings their annual spending on CWD to $3,720,000.

Also included was an additional $1 million for CWD research through USDA’s Agriculture Research Services bringing the total for that research to $4.6 million for FY 2020. This is the third straight year that funding for this research has been increased by $1 million. In the last four years USDA has gone from not funding CWD research to spending over $10M on those efforts in that time.

USDA also has funding in this bill for a new research program through their Wildlife Research Center in Fort Collins Colorado. The $2 million to start this program will make use of existing facilities already constructed for research into the disease. Creating this program was NADeFA’s highest

12 KENTUCKY 2021

research priority for FY 2021 and we offer our gratitude to Congress for providing this funding.

This year has been different in how we interact with our federal partners and Congressional champions.

It is because NADeFA members, leadership, and Capitol Hill Consulting Group have made lasting relationships in previous years with Members of Congress and their staff that we were able to overcome the obstacles and secure increased funding that will help eventually eradicate CWD. NADeFA Executive Director Shawn Schafer said of the increase, “Despite our inability to meet in person, Congress has continued to hear the needs of the farmed cervid industry, and made real strides to meet those needs. Once again Senate Agriculture Appropriations Chairman John Hoeven (R-ND), was instrumental to this success. These increases show that Congress is not forgetting about

® CWD’s impact while dealing with many issues that have arisen this year.”

NADeFA has worked closely with USDA-APHIS for more than two decades on a variety of issues related to cervid health and national guidelines. The CWD Herd Certification Program, for example, is a voluntary, cooperative program that allows participating cervid producers to achieve herd certification status of their cervid herds and to meet the requirements for the interstate movement of farmed cervids.

Shawn Schafer Executive Director NADeFA Office 330-454-3944

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KEITH WARREN’S DEER & WILDLIFE STORIES DEBUTS NEW SEASON ON PURSUIT CHANNEL

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New Braunfels, TX December 21, 2020

ecember 29th marks the debut of the 2021 season of Keith Warren’s Deer & Wildlife Stories. This is a one of a kind show for any deer enthusiast as the whitetail deer is the star of the show. Keith Warren continues to choose Pursuit Channel to deliver an important message each week about whitetail deer to deer lovers everywhere.

When Keith Warren’s Deer & Wildlife Stories began, the critics said it would never make it. Who would want to watch a show about deer farming and learn what it takes to grow the world’s largest whitetail deer? The answer is, apparently everybody. The ratings for this show are over the top and if you love whitetail deer, you will find this show a must watch program each week. Now in its tenth season, the show continues to educate viewers about the important role deer farming has for the future of the whitetail deer.

Deer farming is such a great choice for many Americans with rural property. They can have a deer farm on as little as a few acres and be able to earn a decent living off of it. Plus, living each day with the whitetail is something that most hunters only dream about.

“Pursuit Channel is our best outlet to help get the word out about the importance of deer farming because the demographic that watches Pursuit Channel is rural and they love deer and

16 KENTUCKY 2021 2020

deer hunting. The response to our show has been nothing short of incredible as we are changing hearts and minds of deer hunters with each broadcast. Deer farmers are the heroes when it comes to research on how to find a solution to CWD and they are making great strides in helping ensure that the future of the whitetail deer is bright. I’m honored that so many deer hunters have embraced this show and look for another great season with Pursuit Channel”, said Keith Warren.

“Keith Warren is one of the most tenured and well-respected producers in the industry. His superior knowledge and expert production capabilities have propelled “Keith Warren’s Deer & Wildlife Stories” to consistently rank among the top shows on the network. The Deer & Wildlife Stories brand has become a mainstay within Pursuit Channel’s “True North Wednesday block” and

® has built a strong reputation with their unequaled commitment to quality production and serving partners.”, said Rusty Faulk Deer & Wildlife Stories with Keith Warren is the voice of the deer industry (TM) airing online as well as on Pursuit Channel in 2020. You can watch all of our episodes online at: www.deerandwildlifestories.com.

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2021 D&K Design State Association Newsletter Advertising

2018 MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

NEW YORK DEER & ELK FARMERS ASSOCIATION P.O. Box 463

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Phone: 1-315-778-1412

E-mail: nydefa@nydefa.org

All memberships renew in March.

• Indiana Deer And Elk Farmers Association • Kentucky Alternative Livestock Association • Missouri Deer Association

Please send your check, payable to NYDEFA, to the address above.

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THE ART OF USING A DART GUN By: Gail Veley • Sponsored by SeTDA based on such, judging how far a lighter 0.5cc dart will travel compared to a heavier 3cc dart. Using a sturdy rubber mat or other suitable material as your target, start by practicing from 20 yards with a 0.5cc dart at a specific preReasons for darting deer are vast determined power setting. After gaining a feel for the flight trajectory, velocity and include antler cutting, CIDR insertion or removal, transporting and point of impact, incorporate a 1cc dart followed on up the line by a buck into a preserve, treating 1.5cc, 2cc, 2.5cc and finally a 3cc dart. illnesses and more. Should the Experiment with your dart gun’s power need arise to dart several deer within a certain amount of time, Walker settings while expanding the distance to your target to 30 yards followed by recommends doing so at night under 35 and eventually 40 yards. “You don’t dim moonlight, as much less stress is placed on deer in cooler temperatures. want to use a range finder,” Walker emphasized. “It will take you too long.

The deer is already moving too much While all of these parameters need to to arrange them visually. You need to be met for darting success, knowing compensate up or down quickly and not where to aim is equally important. “For fiddle with your gun causing noise when example, when darting a deer on high the pressure goes up.” alert, aim a little lower than where you intend for your dart to hit,” Walker said.

Understanding all of these concepts “Given that the deer is going to crouch should also coincide with understanding down and then spring up to run, this what medicines or vaccines work well will enable you to be more accurate.”

And while the best advice may be to aim for darting, as some medications such lower, in some situations never aim too as penicillin do not. “Have a good relationship with your veterinarian so low as darts have the ability to break legs if one may happen to make contact. you can figure out how to administer the proper medications and in what Aiming too high can also have it’s drawbacks as well, as a darter may then form,” Walker said. And when darting is done for the day, be sure to clear accidentally shoot over the back of the deer they are really after, only to end up the area of darts on the ground, as this could cause a potential health hazard if hitting the deer standing behind them, eaten. perhaps hitting an area not conducive for successful darting such as their eye Perhaps, too, Walker feels the following or face. “There is a greater margin of error when aiming at an adult and base is equally important advice to embrace.

“One thing we need to remember is of the neck, versus a fawn or the back that we are usually darting a deer end of an adult deer.” to save their life,” he said. “We have to realize there is a risk with darting Darters must also be careful to not and remember the more you do it, shoot too closely or with too much the better you are going to get. Yet velocity, as edemas, contusions and sooner or later you are going to make a “bounce outs” can commonly occur, mistake. Overtime it won’t always go the Walker said. To develop a feel for darting accurately, Walker recommends way you wanted it to. You could have had a bad charge or didn’t have the gaining a thorough understanding of correct velocity. Brush off the mistake.” the weight differences in darts, and of the animal,” said Walker, who’s spent the better part of a decade honing his craft. “Darting a deer that’s on high alert is not recommended.”

I

n theory, using a dart gun may sound simple. In reality, using one correctly requires superior marksmanship and the hand-eye coordination of a skilled athlete.

Given that deer are prey animals always ready to crouch and run, it also requires the ability to judge distances quickly and accurately while shooting a moving target. In addition, it demands a thorough knowledge of each different type of dart along with the experience to determine how far it will travel before hitting it’s intended target, based on the charge of your gun and weight of your dart. “This is not something you can practice for the ‘day of’,” explains Clayton Walker of Rax Wildlife Consulting in Lakeland, Florida.

Unlike hunting where a range finder can mean the difference between a bullseye and a miss or where the ability to rest your rifle on the window sill of a hunting blind equals accuracy, shooting a dart gun offers none of those amenities.

It requires the necessity to shoot freehand and with both eyes open. “If you take time to aim or zero in, you’re taking too long,” Walker, 32, said.

After considerable practice prior to darting a deer for the first time, darting then requires the darter to move quietly and with ease around and through a deer pen, taking into consideration wind and temperature and whether the deer seem to be on high alert or more relaxed. “Read the body language

22 KENTUCKY 2020 2021

KENTUCKY 2021

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THE REFUGE RANCH

OFFERING WOMEN SOBRIETY, NEW HOPE AND SALVATION

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By: Gail Veley • Sponsored by SETDA 27-year-old woman knelt down beside a bleating fawn. Holding a baby bottle in her hand felt strange yet something about it, at the same time, felt natural. Embracing this new little fragile life, she took the fawn in her arms and began to feed it. As the fawn eagerly smacked and suckled the bottle, the young woman realized within the stirring of her soul something about herself she had never strongly considered before. “It made her think maybe she could be a mother someday,” said Mitchell Dobrow, codirector along with her husband Mike of The Refuge Ranch in Okeechobee, Florida. The Refuge Ranch, dedicated to helping women overcome drug and alcohol addiction, helps women discover many things about themselves including sobriety, self-worth, purpose and hope as well as a personal relationship with Christ.

Broken, devastated woman often with nowhere left to turn, have found themselves on the doorstep of a new life by enrolling in the multi-phase program offered at the ranch. A new life was exactly what 29-year-old JackieSue desperately needed after 14 years of drug and alcohol addiction. Her life was literally spinning out of control as she had allowed drugs and alcohol to completely take over. She had lost every meaningful relationship in her life and was living in a shed. After a friend told her about the ranch “for the first time I felt like God was saying this is where I should go,” she reflected. However, the God JackieSue grew up knowing was, in her opinion, a punishing God. “I felt like God loved others but not me,” she said. In the middle of a group session one day at The Refuge Ranch,

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the teacher played a random song “and I just busted out crying. I realized right then that God has always been right there with me and has always loved me. I have been given these new tools and new life through God and the ranch to help others,” JackieSue, now 34, explained.

Guiding women through their recovery journey and transformation is the main purpose of the 120-acre ranch, whose employees do not see themselves as merely having a job but instead living out their calling. Yet, it all starts by accepting and developing a relationship with the Lord, Mitchell emphasized.

“This program is so much more than sobriety,” said Mitchell, who herself personally experienced along with Mike the struggles of addiction. “We teach them life skills that enable them to become the person that God intended them to be.”

The Refuge Ranch, a 501 (c)(3) organization, was founded by Fred Beeson in 2004 and operates on

donations and grants. Participants in the program live on-site and begin their 12-month commitment with an Induction Phase, for the purpose of orienting to the program, followed by a Regeneration Phase for rebuilding their lives and learning to love themselves.

For those that desire to stay after graduation, a year-long Servant Leadership Program is also offered.

The Refuge Ranch works with indigent and low-income women who do not have the financial resources to pay for addiction treatment and does not turn women away due to their inability to pay for the program. Through the generosity of donors and the sale of deer, The Refuge Ranch can continue this mission.

Through the ranch’s carefully structured program, participants awake at 6:30 a.m. each morning for a walk and devotional followed by breakfast, group sessions, lunch, work outside on the ranch grounds followed by dinner, journaling and quiet time. Ranch work includes, among gardening and other

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responsibilities, caring for the sizable herd of deer that reside there. In a quest to further teach responsibility and provide supplemental funds for the ranch to operate, a deer farm, Double R Whitetails, was created on-site in 2017. “The deer were a big influence over me and learning to not be selfish,” JackieSue said. “At first I thought it was crazy to be touching a deer and pretty amazing to be bottle feeding them.

They teach you about the importance of caring for something that really needs you to be there for them.”

Being there for each other is what the women and staff members continuously do each and every day.

The ranch typically serves 10-16 women at any one time while making sure all who participate transition into wellrounded addiction free Christ-centered lives. “I was so blessed to be able to come here,” said JackieSue, who is now

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employed by The Refuge Ranch. “Before STRENGTH IN NUMBERS – A UNIFIED VOICE! NYDEFA that I felt like I had never grown up. I grew up here. I’ve gotten all these tools and I’m going to school now to become a social worker. They saved my life.”

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