Drought-Proof Food Plots: Early-Season Fixes w/ Nutrien’s Skeeter Rutkowski

Deer season’s knocking, but the weather’s not cooperating. Matt sits down with farm manager Forrest Bonin and Nutrien’s Skeeter Rutkowski to talk drought, staggered planting dates, no-till vs till, herbicide burn-downs without residual surprises, when to replant with cereal grains, and how to keep new plots alive through a heat wave. They also break down early-season stand choices (acorns vs field edges), why water holes shine on 85–90° days, and simple camera tricks to monitor plots you can’t visit weekly. Stick around for fertilizer/micronutrient tips, tissue sampling, and a quick Idaho elk teaser for next week.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro—Tim’s out; guests Forrest & Skeeter; today’s plan

01:16 Planting in August, then… drought: spread risk with staggered dates

04:20 What drought does to corn/beans; speeding maturity & stress products

06:14 Crop harvest timing shifts deer movement; acorns starting to drop

07:22 Early-season trees vs fields—when to slip into the timber

08:30 Skeeter’s background & why ag testing maps to food plots

09:31 Cameras show deer returning to clover; velvet shed and a cold front bump

12:28 Silage coming out pushes deer; green-plot transition continues

13:06 Heat wave problem: keeping germinated plots alive (foliar stress reducers & growth promoters)

18:08 No-till vs till this year: moisture savings vs weed flush tradeoffs

23:09 Burn-down recipe & avoiding residual issues before replanting

24:57 Safety, labels, and pre-harvest/grazing intervals—big-picture chemistry checks

27:31 Terrain differences & stand locations (creeks, rivers, field edges)

33:13 Ponds vs dwindling creeks—why hot evenings are prime for water sits

35:52 Using 360 “revolver” cams on ponds for full coverage & intel

37:12 Replanting playbook: go cereal grains late; bump seeding rate; add N

40:15 When to add micros (foliar), tissue sampling timing & zinc for cereals

41:15 Watch the DeerCast piece on tissue sampling; community & RAC Pack plug

43:07 Next week’s Idaho elk prep episode tease & sign-off

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