Food Plots | Deer Hunting & Management

Alfalfa for White-tailed Deer Food Plots

Food plots go hand-in-hand with most properties practicing white-tailed deer management. Alfalfa can be one of the many plant species used to provide supplemental food for your whitetail herd. Most hunters do not know this, but there are over 205 varieties of alfalfa! Which one is right for your property and deer? For those landowners and hunters looking to plant and establish an alfalfa food plot, this article covers information that can help you learn more about high-quality alfalfa.

Alfalfa varieties with the best forage quality will be marked high quality (HQ) or multifoliolate (ML). These select varieties have high yield, are resistant to insects and heavy grazing, and are somewhat winter hardy. Because there are so many varieties of alfalfa, there are a lot of differents between alfalfa varieties. The key is finding the variety that is best-suited for your ranch. Continue reading “Alfalfa for White-tailed Deer Food Plots”

Deer Food Plot Planning and Procedures

Well planned food plots can increase forage availability and at least partially compensate for decreases in suitable deer habitat. However, maximum benefits can be obtained only if forages complement the diet available from native vegetation and if forages are availalbe when vegetation is lacking or is low in nutritional value.

In most areas these stress periods occur during late summer and late winter. In addition to timing the availability of supplemental forage properly, landowners must also plant appropriate species in the best available sites, use correct planting techniques, and ensure soil fertility.

The area selected for planting will depend on the plant species to be establlished, warm- versus cool-season) and the goals of the landowner or deer manager. As a landowner, you may want to plant both types to supplement the usual lack of nutritous native forage in both late summer and late winter.

Introduction to Whitetail Food Plots and Forage Management

The white-tailed deer is the most popular big game species in the United States. Landowners and ranch managers are becoming more interested in intensive deer management strategies including supplemental food plots in order to conserve and further enhance deer populations, in some cases in areas with rapidly decreasing amounts of deer habitat. The establishment of supplemental food plots can be an important deer management strategy which has become widely accepted throughout the southeastern part of the U.S. out to east Texas.

However, it should be noted that most plot plantings are not aimed at improving nutrition of white-tailed deer despite the fact that much of the southeastern deer range provides substandard nutrition for quality deer production. This is compounded by the fact that often times the number of deer (deer density) is greater than the number of animals the habitat can support under optimal body and antler growing condition. Continue reading “Introduction to Whitetail Food Plots and Forage Management”

The Downside of Soybeans as a Food Plot

Soybeans are a good plant species for a food plot, but they are not perfect. Soybeans do have a couple of downsides. First, the growing point on the plant is above ground — and if deer, hogs, or turkey remove the top of the plant the two-leaf stage — it simply will not grow back. Thus, in areas with a high deer density, soybeans just are not feasible. Even in areas with low to moderate deer numbers, beans should be planted early enough to get past the deer while the does are fawning.

Another great option thanks to new technology: with the entrance of Round-Up Ready beans to the market you can drill seeds into residue and let the growing weeds “hide” your beans until the young plants are past the critical stage. Then, clean the food plot up by spraying the field and removing the competition.

Second, although soybeans are fairly drought tolerant, they do not yield as many tons of food per acre as alfalfa or even clover. In areas with lots of whitetail, the susceptible young plants combined with forage production could be a big limiting factor for your food plot.

Whitetail Deer Food Plots Without Planting

Have you ever noticed that the first plants to return in a plowed, scraped, or otherwise disturbed area are weeds? Although this may not seem like much, these natural food plots could be of big benefit to your deer management program. When exposed to air, light, and water, seeds that were lying dormant in the soil begin to germinate following soil disturbance. These young, succulent plants are high in nutrient value and attract a variety of wildlife species looking for valuable forage, particularly white-tailed deer.

Disturbed sites can also serve as excellent food plot locations to supplement white-tailed deer diets during the stressful late winter or late summer periods. Areas can be lightly disked during late winter for the production of spring annuals, and then be heavily disked in early fall for winter food plots. This process can be repeated over and over and you can even sprinkle in some seeds during the spring disking to enhance the plot. Remember, you are trying to create supplemental food for deer. You are not trying to grow a lawn. It does not have to look like a perfect stand of manicured plants. Continue reading “Whitetail Deer Food Plots Without Planting”