The Next Revolution in Deer
Nutrition
Cutting Edge™ is a new system
of three different nutritional supplements/attractants designed to coincide with
a deer’s unique seasonal need and tastes.
Some ideas make so much sense
you wonder why nobody thought of them sooner.
Seasonal nutritional supplements for deer are one of those ideas.
Developed specifically for
white-tailed deer by the Whitetail Institute of North America, Cutting Edge™
is the first seasonal nutritional supplement.
It is really two new ideas rolled up into one revolutionary new product.
First, it is a complete nutritional supplement that gives deer a
multitude of beneficial ingredients. It
represents a quantum leap over ordinary mineral products.
Second, given that deer have changing nutritional requirements depending
on time of the year, there are three uniquely different versions of Cutting Edge™
to correspond to a deer’s seasonal needs.
The bottom line is deer
nutrition will never be the same.
Whitetail Institute of North
America Vice President, Steve Scott, emphasizes that unlike so many other
products on the market today, Cutting Edge™ was developed specifically for
deer.
“Everything we do is for
wild, free ranging, white-tailed deer in North America,” Scott said.
“Others may take products developed for cows or other livestock and
re-package them. Or, they may take
products developed for pen raised deer in Europe or New Zealand and re-market
them in the United States. That’s
not the way we do things.”
“We have an extensive network
of field testers across North America who test all of our products before they
hit the market. And before the
field testers get it, we’ve done our homework here in Alabama and across the
United States.”
Scott explains that Cutting
Edge™ has been in the works for a number of years.
“We’ve worked on Cutting
Edge™ for several years,” he added. “And,
I think it’s safe to say no deer nutritional product has ever been tested as
much as Cutting Edge™--in the lab or in the field.
SEVEN DIFFERENT COMPONENTS;
MORE THAN 30 ACTIVE INGREDIENTS
Cutting Edge™ products are
made up of more than 30 active ingredients that fit into seven distinct
categories. WE all know what minerals and vitamins do and that protein is
crucial for antler-growing bucks. Energy
ingredients are also important, especially when green plants go dormant.
Bucks can lose up to 20% of their body weight during the rut and when
winter comes. In the north
especially, deer need energy to cope with the stress of cold and snow.
Cutting Edge™ also contains
digestive aids and buffering agents. These
components enhance the digestibility of food so deer get the full potential
value from the food they eat.
The seventh component is a
taste and scent enhancer that is exclusive to Whitetail Institute products
called Devour. No matter how
beneficial a nutritional supplement is for deer, if they won’t consume it, it
can’t help it. The presence of
Devour assures deer will consume Cutting Edge™ products and derive the
benefits they provide.
Deer nutrition expert Matt
Harper was instrumental in the development of Cutting Edge.
He explains the difference between a complete and balanced nutritional
supplement (Cutting Edge™) and a complete feed.
“Cutting Edge™ was designed
to be a supplement to a deer’s natural forage.
It provides a deer with nutrition it may not be able to get from everyday
food. It also enhances the
digestibility of natural forages. It
is, however, not a complete feed. It
is a supplement.
The problem with a complete
feed, besides cost, is that deer can become dependent on it.”
THREE DIFFERENT SUPPLEMENTS TO
MEET A DEER’S UNIQUE SEASONAL, NUTRITIONAL NEEDS
Perhaps the most important
attribute of Cutting Edge™ is the fact that there are three different
supplements that coincide with a deer’s unique seasonal needs and tastes.
Have you ever noticed that deer
ignore mineral licks in the winter months?
The reason is simple. Deer
need less minerals during this time of year.
Their system knows what it needs and directs them to eat foods that will
enrich their health. This is the
premise of Cutting Edge™.
Using the antler-growing
process as a basis, the developers of Cutting Edge™ identified three specific
“nutritional need” seasons. The
first season is the beginning of antler growth in late winter or early spring.
It is during this period that a deer’s biggest need is protein for
initial antler growth, energy for body conditioning, and nutrients, which
aren’t available because green plants haven’t emerged.
The Cutting Edge™ product
designed for this nutritional season is called INITIATE™.
It contains the appropriate combination of protein, energy ingredients,
minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients.
The second nutritional season
starts when green plants emerge. A
deer’s nutritional needs shift to more minerals and vitamins that they can’t
get from natural forages and protein. Matt
Harper explains, “In most parts of North America, our soils and natural ranges
have been depleted of certain nutrients that are essential for overall health
and, more specifically, antler growth. Cutting
Edge™ OPTIMIZE, the second in the series of the seasonal supplements system,
provides a full complement of nutrients to make sure a buck gets what he needs.
OPTIMIZE also has 16% protein, a critical component to maximizing antler
growth.”
The third and final piece of
the seasonal, nutritional puzzle is Cutting Edge™ SUSTAIN™.
Remarkably, a buck can lose up to 20% of its body weight because of the
rigors of the rut and stressful winter months.
Come spring, when it’s time to grow antlers, a buck must first rebuild
its body. This at the expense of
growing antlers. Cutting Edge™
SUSTAIN™, which you provide after deer shed their velvet and through the
winter, helps to minimize weight loss and maintain overall body condition so
that come antler-growing season, a buck can put his all into growing antlers,
not rebuilding his body.
CUTTING EDGE™ IS AN
ATTRACTANT, TOO
Because Cutting Edge™ offers
deer what they need, when they need it, deer will naturally be attracted to it. All mammals, even humans, are this way. When we have a dietary deficiency, we likely will crave foods
that have a lot of what we need. Deer
are no different. Combine this
seasonal attractiveness to the presence of Devour, and Cutting Edge™ is
irresistible to deer.
Steve Scott calls the
combination of the nutritional benefits of Cutting Edge™ with its ability to
attract and hold deer, “nutraction.”
“When you combine a deer’s
natural craving for what it needs with the scent and taste enhancement we added
in the form of Devour, you get a synergistic effect that is truly incredible,”
he said, “Deer go nuts for this stuff. We
developed it to be the ultimate in deer nutrition, and it is, but its ability to
attract deer is incredible.”
Scott goes on to ask hunters to
refrain from using Cutting Edge™ as bait.
“You’ll notice the
difference right away. You’ll
have deer hanging around like never before.
We just want to make sure that hunters check their local game laws.
Cutting Edge™ is considered bait in some states.
We do not condone the unlawful use of our products.”
GRANULAR FORM IS EASIER FOR
DEER TO CONSUME
Salt and mineral products
historically have been offered in “block” form.
Cutting Edge™, on the other hand is granular.
“We looked at every aspect of
the product,” Harper said. “ We
decided that blocks made no sense. They’re
too difficult for deer to consume. Granular
makes so much more sense. Why make
it difficult for the deer to consume what is good for them?”
It’s like the ice cube versus
the glass of water. If you’re
thirsty, would you rather get your water by licking an ice cube or by drinking
it from a glass?”
AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY FROM THE
WHITETAIL INSTITUTE
Production of Cutting Edge™
started late in 1999. It’s
available directly from the Whitetail Institute of North America
(1-800-688-3030) and will soon be available from a growing number of Institute
dealers.
It’s not often that something
comes along that is so dramatically superior to what already exists as Cutting
Edge™ is to mineral licks or salt blocks.
Now deer hunters can provide deer with what they need to grow big and
healthy while at the same time keeping them in the neighborhood.
It’s the best of both worlds and it’s easy to use.
If you’re hunting on property
adjacent to me, you can rest assured I’ll be growing big bucks using Cutting
Edge™. But remember, you probably
won’t see them unless you put some Cutting Edge™ out too!