The After Life - LOL!

Congrats Captain Pietrowski!

Your post on Deerforums have been more thought provoking to me than any other content. Be advised, building a "dream home" can really test a marriage.

I hope you will always feel the burn to stare at deer.

OK Roger, here goes.

First of all congrats on Captain. No snow here in northern Mn. We are about done with the ice fishing season. It was a very short season this year. I don't much believe in global warming but more in the highs and lows make for averages.

We have been deer farming now since '79. Got started with a fella named Harold Hills , he held MN game farm license number 1. He's gone now but there are lasting memories. As a guide and Hunter ,we started raising deer in interest of learning more about them. Although we sold many deer through the years we never made a penny. Once sold a deer that went to Texas and was killed by Dewight Yokum.

Now we raise deer to have big deer around as there aren't many left in the wild . The hunt preserve is our very existence and only source of income beyond social security. Never paid in enough social security to be paid much. Not really expecting anything from government except more problems. Anyway, adding mule deer to the farm several years back was a real spark of renewed interest. The mule deer are really making the hunt preserve work. Big typical whitetail don't hurt either.

We were very fortunate to already have a client base from all the years of guiding out west. Many of our current clients are second and third generations of that base. I seem to be wandering here.

Not building any new houses or even sheds. Bought a new tractor in January , figure that will be my last one. Married to the same woman almost 50 years. She travels a lot but comes home often enough to see that I am not dead . Have great kids and 4 grandkids that love the deer.

Hadn't been to a doctor since January 11, 1966 when I broke my leg playing hockey. Had to go in back in February , having trouble with eye watering freezing when I was fishing. Turns out to be pterygium and it has progressed to near blindness in my left eye. Dont feel sorry for me , I should have been wearing sunglasses those 60 plus years on the water and ice guiding.

With so much behind me and maybe only 20 or 30 years left on this earth the excitement of antler growth on our mule deer and whitetail is bigger than Christmas used to be. I can't chase the mountains anymore to find big mule deer but I will always have them in my woods.

Like you Roger I am also going moose hunting this year in Alberta Canada. Left a big one there 4 years ago and have reason to believe he is still there. Already throwing arrows at long range targets getting ready. The days of full workouts are gone but still doing 3-5 miles of treadmill almost daily. Now that the snow is gone we will be doing that outside.

It's hell getting old but I ain't going anywhere soon because I wake up every morning having more to do than I can ever get done.


Roger. I look forward to meeting you in sept when I come out and pick up those buck fawns.

Kevin

i will roger - deer wise i sold deer to get my herd down to a manageable number kept the best ones and picked up a couple great ones but got the overall numbers down - i guess i'm done chasing my dream of chasing the name -deer will always be part of my life as long as we can break even each year - but instead i'm following my dream - i started a 501 foundation called Deer Farmers Give Back Foundation - we are a 100% non profit that raises money for children's hospitals and things like that, we can also be used by state associations to help the industry - More importantly i get to help give back - i was once on the other side of that when my son was 3 days old he was flown to children's hospital in Pittsburgh and we lived out of a Ronald McDonald house for 3 weeks while my new born was in neo-natel ICU - the stuff you see at a children's hospital absolutely breaks your heart - sick kids who did not deserve the hand they were dealt and parents turning their kids over to the state because they cant afford to take care of them - now this sick kids has no family if he ever does become better - these are things that people do not see or hear about every day - there is even a special room in the hospital if you just want to give up your healthy kid cause you don't want them any more - its unreal! but very very true - i also did this foundation and titled it the way i did to put a whole other outlook of our industry - were not just shooting fish in a barrel were a group of guys and girls who have big hearts, for their animals and for people and we are giving back - there was a ton of legal red tape i we had to go through to make this all happen and we still are not done with all that but were getting there.


 


that being said i encourage you to check out our auction on facebook - it ends April 1 at 11pm eastern  as of now were over 23k raised just from simple donations from deer farmers and were no where near done - we are also doing a 50/50 drawing to help raise money you can see any of the board members for tickets for that


travis rhodes - president


denny eubanks - vice president


ezra lane - secretary 


danny burch in texas


and Bret eubanks


 


heres a link to the auction - check it out and if you have anything youd like to donate let me know  that straw sitting in your tank could help save a childs life


https://www.facebook.com/events/963096223726562/?active_tab=posts

The way you make the industry sound so terrible. Maybe I'll be the only one with deer left in a couple years. Is it still possible to make money with shooters? $100 straws and doing Ai myself. Dropping off unwanted does to preserve. O well time will tell. Bout to add 2 pens they'll be in the woods I think the deer Will like that.


Outside of deer I've been studying to take my state electrical license hope to start my own business in time.

We have our second baby on the way doctor thinks it's a boy from he ultrasound so I'm excited about that.

Currently in the process of rebuilding a 5.9 cummins diesel engine. Just took the block to machine shop to have bored and honed.

I agree with FreeTown, for those of us that have based our programs on stocker bucks and refused to get involved in the pyramid breeding stock game, we are still doing fine. We never experienced the disappointment of spending thousands on a straw of semen with no chance of a viable profit. Deer farming is just like any other agricultural business, we sell a commodity , no matter what fancy name or eye catching advertisement you use to describe it, deer are still an agricultural commodity.

I've only been raising bucks for the last years, and it's been great! Finding a few other deer farmers getting out, and keeping my customers happy at the preserve I work with has been great too. When my kids (2-11 year olds and a 3 year old) need fawns to bottle raise, I never have a problem just buying some from my buddies place.


 


Keeping the headcount down to about 20-25 at a time has been nice for the feed bill too!


 


I also have a few steers every year, and the kids have mini horses, rabbits, dogs, etc, there is always plenty of critters running around my farm.


 


Health wise I'm great, other than having a semi hit me head on about a month ago, but by the grace of God, I never had scratch. So, as long as I still wake up breathing, I'll just keep the critters I like to raise, and hopefully that, in itself, will keep me out of trouble.....LOL!

Hats off to you Roger in your promotion . Its been great to read your post and see your work pictures. Keep them coming. I too have put my home up for sale


and have boarded out my deer 50 miles away. After 29 years I find it hard to look out at empty pens. If we don't sell the deer will be back in the fall . Rodger have you ever thought of building a concrete and styrafoam house. A few years back I built a spec home this way. The only way to go if you live in the north country. Check out www.foxblocks.com  I used the one with 6 inches of concrete and  2&5/8 of foam on the inside and on the outside. Wishing you and your other great success in the future . Last week my wife and I celebrated 56 years together and we are planning to build a smaller house if we sell.


                                                                                                                                                                                                 Deer Whisperer

FreeTown WTs1065861458275125



The way you make the industry sound so terrible. Maybe I'll be the only one with deer left in a couple years. Is it still possible to make money with shooters? $100 straws and doing Ai myself. Dropping off unwanted does to preserve. O well time will tell. Bout to add 2 pens they'll be in the woods I think the deer Will like that.


Outside of deer I've been studying to take my state electrical license hope to start my own business in time.

We have our second baby on the way doctor thinks it's a boy from he ultrasound so I'm excited about that.

Currently in the process of rebuilding a 5.9 cummins diesel engine. Just took the block to machine shop to have bored and honed.




I dont think he put the post up to say how bad the deer world is( Even though its not 1/4 of what it once was) but more to speak of the future.  $100 straws and doing my own breeding has kept me in the game for years. Such as yourself. Chase a name and you will end up with empty pens. Takes some longer to learn that but in the end 99% do learn.

Yes I didn't mean to change the subject with the shooter market should of added a new thread. The fundraising sounds good congrats to that dude.

IndependenceRanch1065961458341998


I just thought it would be nice to hear about the other side of everyone's lives. Plus the forums are pretty dead since the industry is down from what it was years ago. Not sure why some are so sensitive about any negative talk. Sorry I posted anything at all.

Thank you to those who shared the other side of their life.
Facebook's rise in popularity has created an additional site for deer discussion. Perhaps that has diluted the audience on Deerforums. There is a lot of brainpower in a few secret groups. A lot of noise can be avoided in secret Facebook groups.


Men who stare at deer

Dad relayed some good news from the Nadefa conference. He said that 100- 200 more people are there than expected.

I believe that and the other half are all Amish lol.

Did that ever stop u from selling deer to amish? Or do u just get a kick out of downgrading people? there are amish farmers out there that go above n beyond u hav good n bad one is no different than the other we are all deer farmers!!!!!

No I just meant there not on the forums and there half the industry cool your jets man.

Roger, congrats on making captain.  You've done your time and now you have someone else carrying your bags, right?  B)  I miss the days when I blasted around the USA in a Lear much the same way you do on a global level.  Having lunch in a different part of the country each day is a lot of fun and has a way of putting things in perspective.  I traded in the keys about 9 years ago when I got married and have been working as an accountant ever since.  While I miss flying a lot, being home to help raise 3 beautiful girls (5yr. old & twin 2 yr. olds) has it's rewards.  As for deer farming, I'm about as new as they come.  I got 5 bred does 12 days ago to get things started.  Due to time and space constraints I plan to breed only 4-6 does a year.  Best of luck to you and always keep the pointy end forward & the dirty side down.


 


For what it's worth, there are Amish that follow this forum.

DarylGM1066171458553013



Roger, congrats on making captain.  You've done your time and now you have someone else carrying your bags, right?  B)  I miss the days when I blasted around the USA in a Lear much the same way you do on a global level.  Having lunch in a different part of the country each day is a lot of fun and has a way of putting things in perspective.  I traded in the keys about 9 years ago when I got married and have been working as an accountant ever since.  While I miss flying a lot, being home to help raise 3 beautiful girls (5yr. old & twin 2 yr. olds) has it's rewards.  As for deer farming, I'm about as new as they come.  I got 5 bred does 12 days ago to get things started.  Due to time and space constraints I plan to breed only 4-6 does a year.  Best of luck to you and always keep the pointy end forward & the dirty side down.


 


For what it's worth, there are Amish that follow this forum.




10-4  DarylGM