About J. Wayne Fears

Why is it that our farm does not seem to have as many deer, especially bucks, on it as our neighbor’s farm? The only difference in our management style is that our neighbors plant food plots in the spring and fall, and we plant food plots just in the fall.”

This is one of the questions we get most often, and quite frankly, it is one of the easiest deer management questions to answer. It is, in part, about keeping the dinner plate full on a year-round basis.

Holding deer, specifically bucks, on a year-round basis requires a combination of habitat basics. First is security. There must be areas where the deer feel safe. Bedding areas and escape routes are a must. Then comes water. Deer require surface water to be available all year. Next is diversity. They like diverse habitat, so there is a need for openings, dense brush, open woods, and corridors offering cover. And last, but by far not least, comes food. Deer require a variety of food including young twigs, buds, and leaves of certain trees and shrubs. They like certain grasses, sedges, legumes, forbs, fruits, and nuts. Their consumption of these food plants varies seasonally, based on when they are available. It is here that the food plot plays a role in helping create the ideal year-round habitat, or falls short.

As long as there is an ample supply of good food in a food plot and all other factors are met, bucks as well as does are likely to stay in a particular area. Take away a choice food supply and they may start to wander in search of a new food source.

Advantages of Warm-Season Food Plots

As a wildlife manager, I have always found it easy to get hunting clubs and rural landowners to plant fall food plots, since they are considered an attraction to bucks looking for choice food, as well as a place to sit in a blind or tree stand and see deer. But the spring/summer food plots are not grown for hunting, and they are more often than not considered of little value.

Warm season mixes usually have some type of clover such as this crimson clover. Both wild turkey and deer enjoy this treat.

As we all know, deer need all the help they can get in the way of food in the winter. A food shortage can be life threatening. We do not think, however, of the spring and summer as being a time of need, when the woods and fields are green and wildlife appears to be healthy. Even in high quality habitat during years of ample rainfall and mild summer temperatures, however, unusual trends in temperature or rainfall can cause a great deal of stress on wildlife.

The hot months of summer are a stress period for deer, and especially deer found in low quality habitat. Bucks are growing antlers during this time. If food is insufficient, they will not develop antlers to their age and genetic potential. During this time, does are pregnant, having fawns, and producing milk. Fawns are growing and being weaned.

The deer population now is at its highest historical numbers. There is a sudden need for high quality food, and lots of it. Now that some of the U.S. is suffering from higher summer temperatures, less rainfall, and drought or near drought conditions, much of the food available to deer is lower in moisture content than usual, and often lower in quality. Deer are under stress in the warmer parts of the country. So contrary to popular opinion, the hot summer is actually the period of highest stress.

	A summer food plot mix can provide bucks the nourishment they need to grow antlers, and does with the nourishment they need for producing healthy fawns.

Planning is a Must

High quality year-round food plots require planning to offer deer a dependable, highly nutritious food source on a 12-month basis. By now, most food plot growers know that in order to get top crop production on any food plot, a soil test must be taken and the resulting recommendations for lime and fertilizer followed. Since most food plots are planted in annual crops for the fall and spring, it is necessary for the warm season crops to be listed on the soil test information sheet, as well as the cool season crops. Far too many hunters list only the plants they are going to plant in the fall and omit the spring plants, but to get healthy summer crops there must be the proper amount of lime and fertilizer in the soil as well. Thus, the crop rotation information must be part of the soil test.

Planning the crops to plant in your food plots for both cool and warm seasons requires some thought and advice from an agricultural expert with experience in the area where your land is located. Just selecting a highly advertised plant mix at a hardware store and scattering it in your food plots won’t produce the food source you need to keep the deer on your property happy. Each crop has certain requirements. Some do well on dry, well drained sites, while others do well in moist bottomland type soil. Some are hardy during low temperatures, while others do well under drought conditions. Some do well in the warm south, while others do best in the cooler north. Where there are high deer populations, you will want to select crops that can tolerate heavy grazing and keep coming back with new growth.

When selecting seeds for your food plots, get seed that is recommended for your area and soil type.

Consider Perennial Crops

There is a growing interest in planting food plots in green browse perennial plants. You plant this crop one time and, with management, it provides a green food plot on an almost year-round basis for five years or more. Crops that fit this category include Durana clover, Ladino clover, Alsike clover, red clover, and alfalfa. It sounds like a “magic bean” for food plots, but it isn’t quite that. The advantages are obvious – plant it once in five years and you have wildlife food. However, it does require some effort. Like annual crops, it needs annual fertilization. It must be mowed to keep weed competition down during the warm months. It does not do well in all sites and regions, and, depending upon weather conditions, it can go through periods where there is little plant growth. However, companies like Hunter’s Specialties, Pennington Seed, and Whitetail Institute continue working to perfect some of these perennials, and they look very promising as long-term food plot crops for some regions of the country.

Consult With Your County Agricultural Agent

One of the best sources of free advice for selecting both cool and warm season annuals and perennials is the local Cooperative Extension Service county agent. Almost every county in the U.S. has one. Ask at any farm supply store and they can tell you how to find him or her. Spend an hour with the county agent and you can plan your year-round food plot crops and get free advice on soil testing, planting recommendations, and planting dates. Follow his recommendations and your food plots will reflect it. This may be the best free advice you will ever get!

Plan Replanting

On large properties with numerous food plots, the dates for planting annual crops can be crucial, especially during late summer plantings. All summer, the deer and other wildlife on your property have come to rely on the food in your food plots. Then suddenly you come in and plow up the remaining food and replant a fall crop. This shock period can be reduced by planning your food plots so that it takes place gradually over a period of weeks. You want to plan so that when the last food plots are being plowed up, the first ones plowed are coming back in green growth. The same thing needs to apply to the spring plantings. You never want all your food plots to be nonproductive at the same time.

	Cool season food plots get far more thought and attention than warm season plots since the fall plots are associated with hunting.

Keep Records

Having worked with food plots for over 40 years, I have learned that they have their own personalities and you can get the most out of a food plot by keeping annual records on it. Such facts as how much lime and fertilizer is applied, and the date applied, need to be recorded, as well as when it was plowed and when it was planted, and what the crop and seeding rate was. Also track how many bucks/does hunters see on the plot and the dates they saw them. Rain dates and amounts are important. Deer and turkey taken on a food plot, as well as their size and date taken is also valuable information. Reviewing records such as this, especially over a period of years, allows the manager to see what works best on a specific plot and what changes may be necessary to make it more productive. The more highly nutritious food that is available on a food plot all year, the more likely it will hold those bucks you want to see.

Year-round food plots alone are not going to guarantee that your property will attract and hold mature bucks, but when it is a part of a totally managed habitat, you put the odds in your favor.