162: The Call of the Bobwhite Is Now a Normal Thing

John Spearman is a retired Colonel for the US Army and the President of Deer Hill, an award winning tree farming operation. John has been part of this farm since 1977 and shares a little bit about its rich history, the family legacy he is building with his farm, and just his love for being outdoors. John and his family have been able to create alternative income sources on his property that go beyond timber and trees! 

 

Key Takeaways:

[2:10] Colonel John introduces his son, Von, who is a forester! 

[5:50] Both Colonel John and Von describe their land and some of it’s important historical landmarks.

[11:00] How did Colonel John find his property and purchase it? 

[14:10] Colonel John proposed the idea to his father-in-law to plant pine trees on the property.

[15:45] Colonel John was working two jobs, one for the military and one on his farm. He was a younger man back then and could do that kind of work. 

[20:00] When Colonel John’s father in law passed away, his father took on the role of managing the farm in Colonel John’s absence. 

[21:25] When Colonel John received the district tree farm award, he wondered why they didn’t receive the state tree farm award. 

[22:15] How do you properly market the timber on a tree farm? Colonel John got creative. 

[25:25] By preparing Colonel John’s thesis, it gave him a long-term plan and it deeply rooted himself in his business.

[26:45] Do quail and turkey flourish in a pine plantation? 

[29:10] What research projects is Colonel John currently involved in and what has he learned thus far? 

[30:35] Von explains what ‘trashy farming’ looks like. 

[32:45] Von shares what kind of things he’s planted on the farm thus far. 

[35:05] Colonel John provides a bit of backstory to the watershed and it’s importance to making this whole ecosystem work. 

[36:00] Von shares how they make money off of their tree farm, and it’s not just from the trees! 

[37:30] Colonel John shares his plans for the future and what he hopes to achieve with the farm. 

[40:10] It’s Colonel John’s duty to leave the land in a better condition than when he started. 

[40:40] How does Colonel John plan to pass on the tree farming business to his children? 

 

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Sctreefarm.org
• State.sc.us
• Scforestry.org
• Americanforests.org