9 minute read
Membership Form
from LA Summer 2020
by DandKDesign
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION WHITETAILS OF LOUISIANA POST OFFICE BOX 436 FOLSOM, LA 70437 985-892-0056 OFFICE
whitetailsoflouisiana@gmail.com
MEMBERSHIP NAME: _______________________________________________ DATE: ______________ FARM NAME: _________________________________________________________________________ MAILING ADDRESS: ____________________________________________________________________ CITY: _________________________ STATE: ______ ZIP CODE: _________ PARISH: __________________ CELL PHONE: ___________________________ WEBSITE: ______________________________________ EMAIL: _______________________________________________________________________________ _____BREEDING FACILITY _____HUNTING RACH OTHER: __________________________ I AM JOINING AS: (PLEASE CHECK ONE) ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP (VOTING PRIVILEGES): $100.00/YR. ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP (NON-VOTING): $50.00/YR. LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP (VOTING PRIVILEGES): $750.00
I HEREBY MAKE APPLICATION TO THE WHITETAILS OF LOUISIANA AND I CERTIFY THAT THE INFORMATION I HAVE PROVIDED IS TURE AND CORRECT TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE:
SIGNATURE: ______________________________________________________ DATE: _____________ Mission and Purpose: To promote the business of raising and marketing Whitetail Deer in the state of Louisiana. To promote high ethical standards in the care, handling, and harvesting Whitetail deer To provide educational opportunities for members of the corporation and other interested people through the sharing of information concerning whitetail deer. To serve as a collective voice in governmental issues that affect whitetail deer producers, so as to enhance the whitetail deer industry. To require members of the corporation to operate in a legal, honest and forthright manner with fellow members, other whitetail deer producers and the general public.
Elam Woods Whitetails Dedicated to Great Genetics, Record Keeping
Fifteen years ago, deer farming was not even on Bill Holdman’s radar. But when his wife Pam insisted that they go on a vacation, he had a choice of Disney World, a big city or something else of his choosing. “A deer auction seemed like a reasonable alternative,” he decided. Because he had an engineering degree and owned a construction company, Bill was accustomed to going to auctions. “And what fun is an auction if you do not buy something?” he asked. “So, we came home the proud owners of two bred does.” Shortly after that, Elam Woods Whitetails in Winnsboro, Louisiana became a reality.
“Every deer farmer I have met has been more than willing to help me along the way,” Bill said, reflecting on their early days. He counts himself extremely lucky that David McQuaig from Cougar Ridge Whitetails in Oklahoma was at that first deer auction he attended. McQuaig, owner of the breeding buck Maxbo, told Bill something in that first encounter that he has never forgotten and has since passed along to many new farmers. Buy quality, not quantity. “We only wanted a couple of deer for pets, but Dave guided me to some great does,” Bill said. “Then I needed a breeder buck the next year, and Dave sold me Maxboson, a Maxbo son out of the great B-69. Once we started growing big deer most people that visited our farm wanted one. That concept is exactly what we have built Elam Woods Whitetails around. Grow great genetics and they will sell themselves.”
Today the farm has more than 300 deer in their breeding operation, with generally close to 125-150 fawns being born per year. Their focus has always been on producing the highest quality doe herd possible. With their Maxbo foundation herd, Elam Woods has outcrossed the very best sires from Texas through their A.I. program. Over the years, they have continued breeding the very best sires in the country to their does. “Our 2018 crop of bucks were our best ever and I know 2019 will be even better,” Bill emphasized. “Solid does produce. That is just a fact.”
In addition to having solid does, solid record keeping has also been their motto. Using GMS software, they enter every fawn, pen movement, medication, birth weight, genotype and every other pertinent detail about each deer. “I am not from a veterinarian background, so I learned I needed records,” Bill said. “GMS allows me to study pedigrees, dream pedigrees, track medications that worked or failed in every situation and the history on all my deer. That is the way I learned what would work for me. This software is a must have for every serious deer farmer.”
Not only is Bill serious about the care of every deer, Pam is just as serious and sees to the vitality of every fawn on the farm. Now a master at bottle raising fawns, neither Pam nor Bill had any experience at bottle raising them when they first began. But thanks to the advice and help of a lot of other deer farmers, they learned, and now bottle raise close to 70-80 fawns per year. “All of our doe fawns get raised on the bottle, so we ensure a tame doe herd,” Bill explained. “We hire three college
By: Gail VeleyBAYOU BUCK CONTEST WINNER!
students each summer to live on our farm and help with the bottle raising. All of our family gets involved, and this year our grandsons will help also.”
In addition to thoughtfully raising and managing each and every deer, the Holdman’s feel superior feed is also essential if you are going to get the maximum out of your genetics. Many years ago, they started experimenting with a nutritionist at Petrus Feed in Alexandria, Louisiana. Over the years they developed a buck and doe feed that keeps their deer in good health and supplies every ingredient to maximize their genetic potential. Many deer farmers in Louisiana now use this specific feed formula with good success.
Good success has also come in the way of their A.I. program, which has allowed them to import the best genetics in the country. Dr Clark Cooper and his staff have been the Holdman’s veterinarians from the very beginning. Each year they A.I. between 25-40 does with the best semen on the market, and generally have an 85-90% success rate. Over the years they have stacked great genetics on top of great genetics. “The result is a doe herd as good as any in the country,” Bill stressed. “Great does built on proven genetics become very predictable. I already know in two more years I will grow the best bucks I have ever owned. That is because I will be breeding these young well-built does. It just works that way.”
Once Bill perfected producing big deer, he realized he needed to become successful at something else - advertising and promoting his farm. The “good folks” at Hired Hand Software were just what he needed. “They built our website in a manner that even a computer dummy like me could keep it up to date,” Bill laughed. “They have been very helpful every step of the way.”
Last spring, at the first Bayou Buck contest for Whitetails of Louisiana, the Holdman’s three-year-old buck Rubenstein won Bayou Buck for 2018. “His tag number is Wh-1 and Pam always pulls the first fawn of the year to bottle raise regardless of gender,” Bill said. “At one year old, he was just a normal looking 5 x 5 scoring around 150” and blended right in with all the other yearlings. Then you would never have guessed what he would look like as a two-year-old. He scored 278 5/8” with a 238” main frame. He was a huge typical 28” wide. I knew then I had something special with this buck.”
At three years old, Rubenstein would keep his huge frame with 32” main beams, a 30” wide inside spread and very long tines. If Bill could grow every buck on the farm to look like him, he would be a very happy man. Rubenstein grew out as a three-yearold in a pen of 300-400” bucks, yet most of them had more points and heavier mass. However, none were as pretty as him, according to Bill. “Every time we drove by the pens, he would meet us at the fence for this daily dose of vanilla wafers,” he said. “Maybe that is what made him so big.”
Rubenstein’s sire was Boudin, born on their farm ( Maxbo 727/Rolex/ Maxboson/Maxin ). His dam was Or21 and was also born on the farm. Her pedigree is Moneymaker/Grand Canyon/Sundowner with Maxbo 3x, Hardcore, High Roller, BW Sunny and some great does including B-37 and W-252, the dam to Heatstroke. “Genetically, Rubenstein is built right and there really should be no surprise that he turned out to be a huge buck. Pedigrees just work that way!” Bill said.
Their ranch is located about 50 miles southeast of Monroe, Louisiana and only 25 miles south of I-20 in northeast Louisiana. They welcome visitors at all times and love to sit and talk about their deer. “We learn something from everyone who stops by to visit,” Bill said.
www.elamwoodswhitetails.com
