whitetail food plots | Buck Manager

Alfalfa Food Plots for White-tailed Deer

Alfalfa Food Plots

Food plots are commonly used by deer managers to provide supplemental forage for white-tailed deer. Most hunters and deer managers like to plant forage species that are easy to maintain. However, a little extra work is usually worth it. Alfalfa food plots for deer fall into that category. Besides, nothing worth having comes easy. And, a little extra work can pay off big, especially if you consider establishing alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) as a forage plant for deer on your property.

Alfalfa is an excellent spring, summer, and early fall food plot choice for white-tailed deer. Alfalfa is a cool-season perennial legume that contains 16% to 26% of highly digestible protein. Whitetail will flock to a well-established alfalfa field. In addition, this perennial can survive for 5 to 10 years if managed properly. It’s a good food source for deer for those willing to put in the effort.

Alfalfa Food Plots are Tough

Established alfalfa plants have taproots that extend 4-5 feet deep in the soil. As a result, this forage species makes for a very drought tolerant food plot for deer and other wildlife. And what’s better than a drought tolerant food plot? Well, how about a highly productive food plot that is capable of fixing its own nitrogen? Yep, there is a lot to like about alfalfa.

This forage plant is a legume and does not need the application of nitrogen fertilizer. Like other legumes, it makes its own. Established alfalfa is tough. However, it’s not always easy to establish, Alfalfa is a highly effective forage plant for fall and winter food plots, but spring planting is recommended. After the first year, alfalfa serves as a dependable spring food plot for whitetail.

Alfalfa has many attributes that make it a great choice for forage plots. However, some deer managers find it difficult to establish and maintain. Alfalfa is not a plant where one can just disk, throw, and grow with the addition of a little fertilizer like oats or wheat.

Alfalfa has low tolerance for moisture and soil acidity. In addition, it performs best on well-drained soils (loam to sandy loam) with a pH between 6.5 and 7.5. And even though alfalfa is capable of fixing its own nitrogen, plots usually require annual applications of other soil nutrients. These often include macro- and micronutrients such as phosphorous, potassium, sulfur, and even boron. Additionally, alfalfa must be inoculated with Rhizobia bacteria (Type A) prior to planting.

Alfalfa Food Plots for Deer Hunting and Management

Managing Alfalfa Plots

New alfalfa food plots for deer and other animals must be managed. Heavy competition from weeds can will put a lid on recently-planted and poor (thin) stands of alfalfa. In addition, white-tailed deer can over-browse alfalfa plots. This is especially true before plant establishment and/or early in the plant’s growing season. However, proper management by the manager ensures the alfalfa planting is successful.

First and foremast, proper seedbed preparation is important. This is true for any food plot, but especially when trying to start alfalfa. Control competitive plant species through chemical or mechanical treatments. In addition, ensure that white-tailed deer are not present at a high density. If so, overuse of the food plot by deer could be an issue early on. Options include reducing the deer population or excluding animals from the food plot until it is established. Electric fencing and tall net-wire fencing will do the job.

Alfalfa for Food Plots

Believe it or not, there are currently over 220 varieties of alfalfa! Alfalfa varieties are rated for fall dormancy and winter hardiness. These factors should be considered based on the latitude of your property. When evaluating alfalfa, pay attention to hardiness and dormancy. Fall dormancy relates to how soon an alfalfa variety stops growing in the fall and how early it begins growing again in the spring. Winter hardiness pertains to how well an alfalfa variety will survive over multiple winters.

Once established, the dormancy and winter hardiness ratings determine the length of the variety’s annual growing season and the life of the alfalfa food plot. The best way to choose alfalfa varieties that are suitable in your area is to talk directly with local seed dealers, agricultural extension agents, and wildlife biologists.

Planting Alfalfa for Whitetail Deer

Planting Alfalfa Food Plots for Deer

Alfalfa food plots can generally be planted in April or September-October each year. Spring is preferred. Timing depends on latitude and the variety of alfalfa. Alfalfa can grow 2 to 3 feet in height and produce an astounding 3 to 5 tons of high quality forage per acre! It is a cool season species that will start growing in late-March, persist through the summer, and grows throughout October at southern latitudes.

Alfalfa planting rates vary by variety, but usually run around 15 to 20 pounds per acre. Seed costs for alfalfa plantings range from $60-80 per acre. Alfalfa food plots for deer and other animals requires more costs and effort up front than other plots. However, the reward is a high quality forage that benefits your whitetail and deer management program year after year. Alfalfa plots are a good investment for properties with suitable soils.

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”

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”

Cool Season Deer Food Plots Considerations

Food plots have become widely used deer management practices, but not all plots are created equal. Cool-season (fall and winter) food plots for white-tailed deer are not as susceptible to drought or weed competition when compared to warm-season (spring) food plots. This fact holds true for cool season food plots found throughout the whitetail’s range in most cases.

One exception may be legumes, which may require delayed planting if rainfall is deficient in the early fall months of September and October. Cool-season plant species can be planted on either upland or bottomland sites because of cooler temperatures and increased water availability during fall and winter periods.

Cool Season Food Plots for Deer Hunting

Cool Season Food Plots for Deer

Cool season forages commonly consist of oats, rye, ryegrass, wheat, arrowleaf clover, sweetclover, subterranean clover, Austrian winter peas, and brassicas. Various seed companies provide a plethora of cool-season seed mixes that incorporate a number of plants into a single food plot mix.

Food plot mixes are the preferred way to go. I always recommend that deer managers use food plot mixes, especially in new food plots or where low input from the land manager is expected. Without a lot of time and or soil amendments, it’s difficult to say what will grow well. Using a seed mix ensures that the land manager will have success with at least a couple of species in the mix.

Planting Cool Season Food Plots

Although at least 2-3 plant species are suggested in fall and winter food plots, I recommend that spring plots contain a minimum of 3-4 plant species. A variety of plant species will ensure that not all of your eggs are in one basket. If you research the recommended whitetail forage plants for your area, then choose several of those, the potential success of your food plot goes up dramatically.

This is especially true if you go with a low cost, cool season food plot and do not plan on investing in a soil test or fertilizer for your plantings. However, a soil test and appropriate fertilizer and liming as recommended by that soil test is highly recommended for optimal results.

Cool Season Food Plots: Mix it Up

Although commercial food plot seed mixes are readily available, you can also mix up your own concoction after doing some research and heading down to your local feed store or seed dealer. Seed mixes, regardless of whether they are purchased commercially or home-made, these are often good choices because with the variety of seeds in the mix at least some of them will be very conducive to the soil type where your food plot is found.

Fall and Winter Food Plots

Though seed and forage research on your part can help your the success of your cool season food plots, always get a soil test and perform the necessary measures to ensure you are planting under optimal conditions. Otherwise, you likely will be wasting valuable time and money. Deer management is not just about food plots, but they can be an important component in providing the animals found on your property with supplemental forage when they need it most.