The Southern U Podcast: Elevating Southern Hunting, Land, and Wildlife Management

The Okayest Podcast Network is constantly growing and is showcasing new voices in the hunting industry, especially the voices that project the “Okayest Hunter” message. If you’ve listened to any of the shows within the network, you will understand that being the Okayest Hunter isn’t about being crappy at hunting. It’s about being okay with the various circumstance that the average outdoorsman has to deal with. It’s about helping others and propping everyone up on their own pedestal. It’s about not taking yourself too serious while also still demonstrating the desire to learn and improve. The Southern U Podcast fits into the fold well and is looking to educate as well as entertain. 

Many of the podcasts in the network are activity or species-specific and generally focus on the topics of tactics, gear, and outdoor experience. The Southern U Podcast takes their mission a step further and aim to serve a population of hunters that are wildly underrepresented in hunting media. This podcast targets southern land owners, property managers, hunters, and dreamers and gives them the information needed to take their passion to the next level. 

The podcast was started in 2023 and is regularly hosted by Taylor McMurtrey (Broadside Marketing and Branding), Jerremy Ferguson (Tutt Land Company), and Matt Brock (Habitat 1st Properties). The goal was to fill the space in the land and wildlife management category but aim it specifically at the Southeastern United States. Tons of media and habitat consulting focuses on the fertile grounds and the big bucks of the Midwest, but the pine thickets and deep hollers of the south are often overlooked. The Southern U Podcast is here to fix that problem. 

Who Should Listen

This podcast is a great listen for anybody that has a passion for the outdoors but there are two sub-groups of hunters that will truly benefit from it. I actually happen to fall into both camps. The first group would be the Southern-based outdoorsman. As was stated earlier, there is more emphasis put on habitat improvement and wildlife management in popular midwestern states like Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Illinois. A lot of the country is generally overlooked. The Southern U podcast does a great job of highlighting the Southeastern portion of the United States but could actually be applicable to anybody that is interested in the information.

That brings me to the second group which is the average guys that are interested in habitat and wildlife management. You don’t have to be a mega-acreage landowner to get something out of this podcast. While discussion is had on this subject, the normal topic of conversation is often small-to-midsize properties. They don’t just discuss high-dollar improvements either, there are plenty of topics for the average guy interested in management. 

The Southern U Podcast

The podcast has been running for a couple of years and has produced over 50 episodes. They run a tight ship and faithfully upload a new episode every two weeks. If you scroll through the episode catalog you will notice topics such as realty, land management, wildlife biology, gear, and hunting strategies. They include a wide variety of guests as well to add insight to the conversation. 

When it comes to the production of the podcast, you can expect top notch quality. Taylor says “I'm naturally drawn to the creative space with what I do for a living so I'd like to think that I bring that mentality over to the podcast as well. I can be a little obsessive when it comes to brand image and what our audience sees/hears from us. I also really enjoy the fact that listeners reach out to us on social media platforms to ask us questions and give us their success stories.” 

The Southern U podcast always airs with the listener in mind and aims to answer as many questions as they can. “Our hope has always been that landowners/managers would find value in the topics we cover related to land in the southeast. I'd like to believe that we answer questions that the general landowner, outdoorsman, or hunter has when it comes to things like habitat and management without being overly ‘academic’. Honestly, we just want our listeners to know that when it comes to habitat improvement, wildlife management, or anything else related to land in the southeast, we are here to help.”

This podcast has been a treat to listen to lately and I’m definitely going to become a regular listener. Whether the discussion is buying your first piece of land, managing a small hunting property, or just better understanding wildlife biology, the Southern U will be there leading the conversation.

Will Bowen, Okayest Hunter Contributor