UpperMidwest Fall 2022

Grant Carrolan

Hidden Hollow Whitetails 12820 Prosperity Road Marion, IL 62959 618-559-5952 gra5566@yahoo.com

Adam Helgeland

Trophy Whitetail Deer 23209 470th St.

Lake Mills, IA 50450 641-590-3410 adamhelgeland@gmail.com

Scott Fier

Buffalo Ridge Whitetails 3788 260th Ave Potter, MN 56280 507-829-3151 fierscott@gmail.com

Mike Ryckman

Ryckman Whitetails PO Box 565 Linton, ND 58552 701-527-2101 ryckman219@gmail.com

ADVERTISERS INDEX 5 Star Genetics ...........................................36 ADM Alliance Nutrition, Inc. ........................ 7 Antlers by Design .......................................30

AR&R Antler Replica & Repairs .................35 Blessed Bayou ............................................28 C&E Wildlife Products 32 Cedar Breaks/Missouri Valley Muleys Front Cov., 2

Jo Jo’s Whitetails

Pine Creek Deer Farm ... Center Spread, 13 Pneu-Dart ...................................................... 9

Prime Acres Whitetails ..............................17 Purina ..........................................................26

Rocky Ridge Whitetails 5, 11 Rodenkirch Whitetails In. F. Cov.

Sunrise Supply, LLC 14

Mark Hollenbeck

Sunrise Ranch 277772 Elbow Canyon Road Edgemont, SD 57735 605-685-3376 markholl@gwtc.net

Thompson Trophy Whitetails 31 Trophy Whitetails Back Cov. Whetstone Brothers 24 Woodard Whitetails ..................................... 4

THE BENEFITS OF USING DEER TUNNELS

By: Gail Veley • Sponsored by Whitetails of Oklahoma

Although a smaller deer farm might get by without a handling facility and tunnel system, larger deer farms can operate much more efficiently with one, explains Chris Ezell, owner of Dangerous Whitetails of Oklahoma, in Adair, Oklahoma. Deer tunnels, along with a handling facility, can allow a deer farmer to run several head of deer through in a matter of hours, greatly reducing stress on the deer while potentially negating the need to dart them.

“In my opinion, darting may hurt their immune system,” Ezell said. “If not done correctly, it could be detrimental to put them to sleep.” Yet many deer farmers depend on darts, developed by several companies through thoughtful technology intended to safely deliver antibiotics and sedatives to whitetails. While numerous farms depend on these efficient and carefully designed darts to accomplish a variety of goals including antler cutting, CIDR insertion and medication administering, for larger deer farms darts might prove

costly to buy. In addition, darting is thought by some to be best accomplished during cooler parts of the morning or evening, whereby with a tunnel system, the weather isn’t usually a huge factor, said Ivan Hochstetler of Double H Whitetails in Dundee, Ohio.

At his 23-acre farm with close to 200 typical deer, Hochstetler, like Ezell, maintains a CWD-Monitored herd. In addition to using their tunnel systems for procedures such as vaccinations, A.I. and (at Ezell’s farm) antler cutting, both men are required to test every three years for TB and brucellosis. Running them through their facilities for these purposes may take an entire day. However, in lieu of having a facility “it would take several days,” Hochstetler said. “For us, it would be a nightmare.” Yearlings, mature bucks with or without antlers and does can all be run through a handling facility. Two minutes is the maximum amount of time any deer should spend in the final phase, the squeeze chute, as additional time would be too stressful on them, Ezell emphasized. After leaving the facility, alley ways allow deer to find their way back to their pens at both farms.

When Hochstetler built his barn in 2009 with the support of his wife Ruby, he had visions of running a substantial deer empire. Even though at the time they only had two deer, the first thing Hochstetler did was put in a handling facility and tunnel system complete with solid wooden walls for added safety. Back then, the total cost was close to $10,000.

Although it would cost more today to construct the same facility, over time it would not only pay for itself, it could you save substantial time and money in the long run. “We put CIDRs in 60 does last year and then later, pulled them,” Hochstetler explained. “If our farm, as a larger operation, had to dart those does instead for the same procedure, it would have been a substantial cost. When you think about all the times you would use your facility, in two or three years that handler might be paid for.”

Ezell and his wife Jodie shared the same vision as Hochstetler when they first entered into the deer business 13 years ago and bought a farm with an existing facility. Through the years of using it, Ezell has realized the safety, comfort and ease of accomplishing whatever job that needs to be done. Although he was grateful to have bought a farm with a handling facility already in place “I would have done it anyway,” Ezell said. “When you think of all the benefits, how could you afford not to?” Consulting services for constructing handling facilities are offered by Ezell by calling him at 918-697-5389.

Deer Tunnel System and Handling Facility

THE BENEFITS OF USING DEER URINE

By: Gail Veley • Sponsored by ILDFA

Masking a hunter’s scent while attracting often elusive or territorial bucks to a desired hunting location can often times be more effectively done by using deer urine. Buck and doe urine, when collected professionally, is packaged, sold and shipped in a manner so as to arrive as fresh and potent as possible. “You can spray or rub some on a tree near where you are hunting, spray it on your boots and you could also hang scented cotton wicks,” explains Grant Carrolan, Owner of Lip Curl and President of the Illinois Deer Farmers Association (ILDFA). “Scented cotton wicks are basically three-inch long slim cottons you can dip into the urine bottle to soak it up and hang from a tree next to you. As it drifts through the air currents it masks your own scent. I believe a deer’s nose is highly sensitive to scent.”

The scent of does in estrus, or another buck in an already established territory is usually too good to pass up for bucks during the rut looking for action or a fight. By using a bottle of premade, ready-to-go deer urine, hunters may cut down on the time they spend in the field finding and harvesting the buck of their dreams. However, gathering urine is not as simple as placing a collecting pan beneath a deer while they urinate, as whitetails in general are too skittish

to make this possible. In order to collect urine safely and efficiently, commercial deer urine producers design and utilize a facility conducive to the process, designing stalls with sloped concrete flooring topped with PVC interlocking floor tiles with drainage holes.

After placing a buck in one stall and one doe in each remaining stall, urine is collected several times a day as it drains down into a trough with collecting buckets. From there, it is triple filtered to eliminate bacteria and contaminants and placed straight in the refrigerator to retain freshness, using no additional additives or preservatives. Urine is later packaged into one or two-ounce matte black glass bottles for added UV protection and sealed with polyconelined caps to push out any remaining air. As long as the bottle stays cold and exposed to oxygen as little as possible, the urine should retain its potency, Carrolan emphasized.

While correctly gathering and processing urine are key production components, collecting urine from a CWD free certified herd is also an important consideration, as it may be the most risk-free product available. Diligent efforts to avoid potential CWD contamination include eliminating exposure to both wild and domestic deer whose urine may carry the threat of CWD. As such, a few states have

banned the use of urine for hunting and others are considering doing the same.

Yet, in weighing the pros against a potential con, deer urine, used for decades by avid hunters, has proven itself time and again to be one of the best ways to successfully hunt. Perhaps an even greater benefit to using deer urine is a hunter’s ability to create a “mock scrape” using both buck and doe urine prior to an official hunting season and instead of stalking a buck, attract one. “This makes the meat more tender because you never get their adrenaline pumping,” said Jeff Williamson of J & S Scents in Anna, Illinois. “It can also make a buck feel like another buck is in their territory and they come in riled up for a fight.”

While deer urine is available in bottles, it is also produced in gel and dissolvable bead form. With each item, a little can go a long way, making it a worthy investment. Price per item usually depends on the potency factor, which can be measured by a digital hormone tester. “Overall, urine is a very effective tool for successful hunting,” Williamson said. “I think most hunters would completely agree.”

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IOWA WHITETAIL DEER ASSOCIATION - BOD’S

WWW.IAWHITETAILDEERASSOCIATION.COM

EXECUTIVE BOARD:

Adam Helgeland

President

Trophy Whitetail Deer 23209 470th St. Lake Mills, IA 50450 641-590-3410

adamhelgeland@gmail.com

Fred Huebner

Vice President

Circle H Ranch 2575 Iowa Keokuk Rd. North English, IA 52316 319-530-7824

DIRECTORS:

Mike Hine

Timberghost Ranch PO Box 545 Mediapolis, IA 52639 319-394-9876 mike@timberghost.com

Mick Tonderum

GMT Farms Inc. 2008 5th St. Emmetsburg, IA 50536 712-260-7310 gmtfarms74@hotmail.com

Tom Stumpf

Treasurer

God’s Country Whitetails 2045 270th St.. Rockwell City, IA 50579 712-830-2358

godscountrywhitetails@hotmail.com

Roger Strunk Secretary

Strunk's Whitetail Haven 508 Franklin 3rd St West Point, IA 52656 319-470-2413 rlstrunk@yahoo.com

Nate Hippen

Honey Creek Whitetails 100 13th St. Aplington, IA 50604 319-240-8197

Chad Machart

Prairie Antler Ranch Anamosa, IA 52205

Jake Lahr

Hopkinton, IA 52273

Adam Helgeland 641-590-3410

adamhelgeland@gmail.com

Here's a delicious way to prepare elk: seasoned pieces of backstrap are wrapped in bacon, and grilled. This tasty meal is ready in under half an hour! I like to sprinkle the skewers with more Worcestershire sauce halfway through cooking.

IngredIents

• 2 pounds elk loin (backstrap), cut into 2 ounce pieces

• 1 tablespoon liquid smoke flavoring

• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

• ½ teaspoon garlic powder, or to taste

• ½ teaspoon onion powder, or to taste

• ½ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

• 16 slices thick cut bacon

InstructIons S tep 1 p reheat an outdoor grill for medium heat . S tep 2 S ea S on back S trap piece S with liquid S moke and w orce S ter S hire S auce . S prinkle with garlic powder , onion powder , and pepper . w rap each piece of meat with a S trip of bacon , and place on a metal S kewer . S tep 3 c ook the elk on the preheated grill until the bacon become S S lightly burnt , and the meat ha S cooked to medium rare , 15 to 20 minute S . p rep t ime : 10 min S c ook t ime : 15 min S t otal t ime : 25 min S S erve and enjoy !

Grant Carrolan

President

Hidden Hollow Whitetails (618) 559-5952 gra5566@yahoo.com

ILLINOIS DEER FARMERS ASSOCIATION - BOD’S

WWW.ILDFA.COM

Dr. Clifford Shipley

Vice President

Salt Fork River Ranch (217) 493-2958 cshipley@illinois.edu

Rick Davidson

2020-2023

Illinois Dominant Bucks (217) 260-2825 rdavidson@vivecrop.com

Janine Harden

2020-2023

Harden Deer Farm (217) 415-7508 hardendeerfarm@myfam.com

Rusty Karr

2022-2025

Dominant Genetics (309) 275-9567 rusty_k2000@yahoo.com

Kyle

Neal

2020-2023

Neal Farms Whitetails (618) 967-0076 nealfarms38@hotmail.com

Chet

Hostettler

Treasurer

Illini Whitetails (217) 246-8566 illwchet@gmail.com

Larry Hackethal

2021-2024 PO Box 655 Cobden, IL 62920 (618) 893-2252 pro1ab@frontier.com

Chase

2022-2025

Baker

Baker Whitetails (618) 841-9776 bakerwhitetails@outlook.com

Lisa Shepherd Secretary

Hidden Hollow Whitetails (618) 713-3799 lisa_shepard83@yahoo.com

Alison Reynolds

2021-2024

Rusty Gun Deer Farm 1706 W. Main St. Robinson, IL 62454 (217) 871-9657

Alisonmichelleoutdoors@gmail.com

Clint Shipley

2020-2023 Salt Fork River Ranch (217) 621-4855 cshiple2@illinois.edu

FREE business card ads for members of Upper Midwest Associations

If you would like your farm or business featured on our business card pages, email digital pdf file or scanned image (must be readable resolution) of your business card to the email address below.

This gives Upper Midwest members a way to reach out to one another for services and to buy or sell deer! There will be limited pages for these card spreads, first come first serve. The overflow would be placed in the next issue and cards will be rotated each quarter.

If you have any questions please contact Kathy Giesen: 435-817-0150

ILDFA: Lisa_shepard83@yahoo.com

IWDA: adamhelgeland@gmail.com

MDFA: fierscott@gmail.com

NDDRA: ryckman219@gmail.com

SDDEBA: jamesfam13@outlook.com

ASPIRING VET, ETERNAL DEER ENTHUSIAST

By: Gail Veley • Sponsored by Dr. Daniel Bontrager

The first time 17-year-old Presli Busby held a needle and injected antibiotics into a deer, she wasn’t filled with the apprehension most might feel doing so for the first time. “It felt pretty cool and natural,” the softspoken teenager and member of the Marianna, Florida FFA Chapter, said. However, Busby has spent most of her life being drawn to challenges. Her most recent one, entering an FFA (Future Farmers of America) Agricultural Proficiency Award Contest for Wildlife Management, earned her first place in the state and as an FFA finalist, a bronze medal.

While Busby is proud of her accomplishment, along with her parents and FFA Advisor Tony Watkins, it’s her mentor Dr. Daniel Bontrager, DC, who perhaps also feels like a proud father. Bontrager, owner of Bontrager Whitetails in Marianna, Florida, not only relies on her help at his farm, to him it still feels like just yesterday when he first met Busby as the four-year-old

daughter to a new employee at his chiropractic office. He never imagined he would watch her (then a little blond girl holding a bottle for fawns) grow up and not only love deer, but also be a serious contender for veterinary school.

“Presli is an amazing young woman,” Bontrager 66, shared. “Her Dad and I are friends and her mom, Terri, works at my office. Last winter, when my righthand man passed away unexpectedly, Presli stepped right up to help. When I would get home from the office and it was dark, Presli had everything with the deer taken care of. She is very conscientious and really takes care of business. She is a good kid and she’s honest and not afraid of hard work.”

The substantial amount of hard work to enter the proficiency contest, along with a very lengthy application, didn’t deter Busby when she began the process in February of 2022. In fact, it motivated her even more because, of the 150 or so members in her FFA chapter, she was the very first one to ever do so. “My advisor and I were thinking of more ways to be involved and I like entering contests,” she said. “Our goal is to have more of us enter for next year.”

As she begins her senior year of high school Busby has her sights set on vet school after earning a fouryear Animal Science degree from Chipola Community College. While working happily for Bontrager and studying takes up a great deal of her time, she also enjoys hunting with her father, Andy, 42, and her older brothers Jim, 22 and Hunter, 20. She also enjoys spending time with the family’s five dogs who include a Shih Tzu,

a Rottweiler, an English Bull dog, a Labrador Retriever mix and a Wiener dog. “The Shih Tzu is a boy, and the rest are girls,” Presli said. “And he’s in charge.”

Being in charge of her life is something Presli is obviously excelling at. As she prepares for the annual FFA Convention October 26th-29th in Indianapolis, Indiana, she is looking forward to hearing keynote speakers and mingling with others who share her same vision and goals. Established in 1928, the FFA teaches development of leadership and life skills that shape decision making and values. It also strives to help build the self-esteem of its members and prepare them for career success through agricultural education.

“I feel very blessed to be part of the FFA,” Presli said. “I feel grateful for the opportunities it has given me now and will give me in the future, and I am very grateful to work with Daniel on his farm. When I first thought about vet school, I was thinking dogs and cats. Now I’m thinking deer and livestock.” While Presli loves Florida, she has always wanted to try living somewhere else, too, and really likes the idea of living in Texas. With that being said, she better get ready for a lot of phone calls from Texas deer farmers when she becomes a veterinarian!

Mark Hollenbeck

Chairman

Sunrise Ranch

277772 Elbow Canyon Road Edgemont, SD 57735 605-685-3376 markholl@gwtc.net

Cory Jueneman

Timber Lake Elk Ranch

PO Box 141 Mobridge, SD 57601 605-850-4118 cjueneman@outlook.com

SOUTH DAKOTA DEER & ELK BREEDERS ASSOCIATION- BOD’S

WWW.SDEBA.COM

Greg Leenderts

Vice-Chairman

Whitetail Farms 48474 257th Avenue Garretson, SD 57030 507-227-6328

gleenderts@alliancecom.net

Brandon Walker

Cedar Breaks Mule Deer Ranch 19145 Robbs Flat Road Midland, SD 57552 605-567-3563 brandon@cedarbreaksranch.com

Chris Kassube

Brian James

Secretary/Treasurer

James Whitetails 30267 464th Ave Centerville, SD 57014 605-660-6280

Jamesfam13@outlook.com

Cody Warne

CNK Riverside Whitetails 39775 134th Street Bath, SD 57427 605-395-7111 Chriskassube1@gmail.com

Stone Meadow Ranch 2699 Remington Road Custer, SD 57730 605-222-7407 codybuckwarne@msn.com

South Dakota Deer & Elk Breeders Association Annual Meeting

Saturday April 8th at 10:00 AM Central Time

South Dakota Animal Industry Board Office

411 South Fort Street Pierre, SD 57501

Lunch gathering to follow. Please call any of the board members with questions or for more details.

EXECUTIVE BOARD:

DIRECTORS:

Scott Fier

President

Buffalo Ridge Whitetails

3788 260th Ave Porter, MN 56280 507-829-3151 fierscott@gmail.com

Steve Uchytil

Vice President

Crow River Whitetails 14681 175th St NE Atwater, MN 56209 320-894-1914 crowriverwhitetails@gmail.com

Mark Volk

Treasurer

Volk Whitetails 9095 160th Ave Royalton, MN 56373 320-232-3352 volkwhitetails@outlook.com

Steve Porter

Secretary

Porter Whitetails 1828 350th Ave Lake Bronson, MN 56734 218-526-0180 porterwhitetail@gmail.com

Directors

Lani

ACT PROMPTLY TO TREAT DAMAGED OR INFECTED ANTLERS

By: Gail Veley • Sponsored by KALA

The site of blood on a buck’s antler should mean one thing to any deer farmer. Drop everything and treat it. Whether treatment involves cutting the antlers or administering first aid in the form of antibiotics or topical ointments “don’t push it off until the next day,” said Joe Miller of Kentucky Whitetails, a 17-acre deer farm home to approximately 90 whitetails in Guthrie, Kentucky. “You can’t say ‘I will do it tomorrow.’ The possibility of serious problems or losing that buck to a blood infection is real.”

Although not formally recognized as a predator in the traditional sense, flies can cause blood infections should they lay eggs in an untreated infected antler and maggots result. “If you can control the flies, you have a better chance of avoiding this,” offers Nathan Blosser of Blosser Whitetails, a 50-acre farm with close to 400 whitetail deer in Buffalo, Missouri. Miller and Blosser agree that feeding topical ivermectin on deer feed can be a good defense against maggots as well as a worthwhile proactive health measure.

While injuries such as those caused from feeders or fencing can cause antler damage, shedding season also poses risks if antlers aren’t shed within a day, advised Miller, and recommends all deer farmers own a Callicrate Velvet Antler Bander to safely cut antlers and minimize bleeding for such occasions. “The bigger the antlers, the harder time they have shedding them,” said Miller, 65, a deer farmer since 1999. “If they aren’t shed in a day, flies can get in there and poison them. If so, we dart them when it’s cool, cut the antlers and clean them from the base and leave about three inches. Then we give a heavy dose of ivermectin and a shot of the long-lasting antibiotic Draxxin and sometimes a regular dose of penicillin

on top of it. We also put caustic powder on the ends to help it heal faster. Some farmers like to burn the tips. We’ve never done that.”

Congruently, Blosser, 56, has found in addition to using antibiotics, that Melaluca oil is excellent at deterring flies while penetrating into and cleaning antlers. He also uses Aluma Shield (used traditionally on wounds in horse hooves) that creates an aerosol bandage to protect from outside elements. Although both Blosser and Miller only see infected antlers less than a handful of times each year on their prospective farms, each had more cases earlier on in their deer farming careers. As a result, Miller, who prefers to raise typicals with a “little extra,” constructed a better feeder with 6 x 6 posts placed ten feet apart accompanied by eight or 10-inch PVC pipe after seeing the antler damage the original one had caused. “Now, if they jerk their head up, they won’t hit anything. Most of the time It’s the drop tines or more non-typical frames that can give you the biggest problems with catching or hitting things,” he added.

Drop tines, combined with reaching under fencing to get to grass can be another major cause of antler damage,

Blosser uses this type of feeder on his deer farm

Blosser found, who also prefers to raise typicals with a “little extra.” “So don’t leave your deer in bare pens if there is tempting grass growing right on the other side of it,” he said. “This type of management and prevention is the key to avoiding antler damage along with regularly observing your animals. If caught early enough, an antler infection can show improvement in one day. If not and the infection has become septic, it may take a buck as long as two weeks to be back to normal. Taking action early along with fly control is important in keeping your herd healthy.”

Lastly, no matter how bad you believe an antler infection is “you’ve always got to try and save them,” Miller said. “With all the time and effort put into raising them, it’s always worth trying.”

Blosser Whitetails: New deer barn, handling facility and holding stalls.