Food Plots for Deer

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Food plots may not be useful in all areas.  For example, in dry areas such as southeast Texas, deer most desperately need food during a dry summer.  A food plot may not be successful given these weather conditions, but the food plot might work when there is adequate rainfall in which case the deer won't need the food plot because of available natural forage.

Supplemental feeding can reduce browse pressure on food plots or natural forage when weather conditions are bad, allowing these food sources to recover more quickly as conditions improve. 

The Most Underrated Food Sources for Whitetail Deer September 12, 2024 Outdoor Life

... Alyce clover (not a true clover), beets, buckwheat, cereal rye, cowpeas, iron clay peas, radishes (not a brassica family member), and winter peas can make for great food plot options. And within the clover family, traditional red and white clover aren’t the only options. Consider berseem and crimson, too...

Youtube Video:  4 EASY Mast Producing Plants You Can Grow.  September 10, 2024.  Whitetail Properties

Planting fruit trees to help wildlife August 12, 2024 Virginia, The Northern Virginia Daily

... Many people plant food plots to provide nutrition to deer and other wildlife. But if you want to help animals on a longer term basis, consider planting fruit trees. Fruit trees will provide nutrition and attract deer ...

Yellow sweet clover having a very sweet year July 5, 2024 Columbus Telegram

... Sweet clover provides good food for whitetail deer, mule deer, elk, and antelope and good nesting habitat for pheasants, grouse, and other upland birds including small mammals. Sweet clover provides a food source and is extremely attractive to pollinators such as honeybees and other hymenopterans... looks a little like alfalfa, grows taller and has numerous yellow flowers ...

Warm-season food plots vital for deer health April 17, 2024 Texas, Marshall News Messenger

... To maximize the effectiveness of warm-season food plots, a variety of forage types are recommended. Deer vetch, cowpeas, alyceclover, lablab and soybeans are all excellent choices. These forages not only provide essential nutrients but also contribute to soil health and overall habitat improvement...

Managing the Family Forest in Mississippi, 2022,  Mississippi State University Extension

.. Preferred foods for spring and summer have a relatively high protein content and high digestibility. Broadleaf weeds such as common ragweed and other herbaceous plants are preferred because of their high protein content and palatability. Some of the nonnative invasive plants like kudzu, Japanese honeysuckle, and Chinese privet hedge are also preferred. While acorns are relatively low in protein, they are high in fat and energy and are, therefore, preferred because deer instinctively recognize their need to build fat reserves for the winter. Pecans are also used for this purpose by deer in the Mississippi Delta region...  During the summer, legumes like cow peas and wildlife soybeans are preferred, as is alyceclover (a white clover). Cool-season plantings should include small grains such as oats and wheat. The addition of crimson, arrowleaf, or ladino white clovers is beneficial. In areas that have no significant hard mast production, deer can benefit from corn planted to provide a diet high in energy...

You’re Managing Deer Sanctuaries All Wrong January 19, 2022 National Deer Association

... The signs may include an obvious browse line, an understory (if there is one) consisting of non-native, invasive plants, and hillsides composed entirely of red cedar. These areas are marginal deer habitat at best, and we shouldn’t be encouraging deer to use them...

Goats Do More Than Eat Noxious Weeds, They Till And Fertilize Soil, Too September 16, 2021  CBS Denver

... the agency is trying to restore the vegetation for mule deer and elk population that winter in the area... goats were the best way to grow back more natural vegetation... nearly 800 got to work tilling the soil and eating the old grass. In the process ...

Forest Management for Improving Deer Populations July 21, 2020

... Are you looking to significantly improve your deer population?  Forest, or timber management, is one powerful way to do it.  Forest management helps to create healthy and fertile deer habitats that will improve your wildlife for decades to come.  Forest management is a seriously fertile investment opportunity for hunters and wildlife enthusiasts...

Food Plot Species Profile: Oats July 15, 2020 Quality Deer Management

... With regard to deer preference, oats consistently rank higher than the other cereal grains and most other forages for that matter... they germinate and grow very quickly ... oats will be killed when cold weather sets in unless a cold-hardy variety is used ...

Food Plots Not Only Benefit Wildlife But Valuable For Pollinators As Well June 22, 2020 Tennessee, The Chattanoogan

... Food plots are not just for deer ... “It is widely acknowledged that important pollinators, such as monarch butterflies and honeybees, are in decline ...

Clark couple serve as example for wildlife habitat creation December 12, 2019 South Dakota, AberdeenNews.com

... the 400 acre plot is a paradise for deer, pheasants, waterfowl and songbirds... They have a “smorgasbord” of food plots for wildlife, Scott said, including some of the fruit trees listed above, plus corn, soybeans, sunflowers, turnips, radishes, apple and pear trees, and other fruit trees...

One of the Best Trees for Deer: The Origins of the Dunstan Chestnut September 17, 2019 DeerandDeerHunting.com

... Before the first Europeans arrived, and for a long time after, the forests of eastern North America looked very different than they do today... Those forests were also dominated by American chestnuts ... wiped out by a blight... deer love acorns, a preference for chestnuts is still permanently encoded into their DNA. They recognize the nutritional superiority of chestnuts ...  Chestnut tree seeds ... Chestnut trees ...

Information on Food Plots for Deer and Habitat Management from the Wisconsin DNR April 26, 2019

... Planting annual or perennial food plots can provide a good source of supplementary nutrition and, depending on what you plant, may also serve as cover. Food plots are an agricultural practice, so managing a food plot will likely include management activities such as testing your soil, cleaning your seedbed, applying fertilizer and removing weeds. Learn more about grain plot planting...

Food plots enhance property for deer April 16, 2019 Arkansas, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

... Various broadleaf herbaceous plants make up a majority of a deer's diet throughout the growing season. Iron-clay cowpeas, Quail Haven soybeans, and Roundup Ready soybeans are three types of legumes that meet this broadleaf category well that deer will find quite attractive on your property...

Public lands are Uplands hot spots October 30, 2018 Illinois, RiverBender.com

... Wildlife populations have thrived due mainly to various habitat enhancement programs... food plots containing corn, sorghums, millets, lespedezas, sunflowers and a wild game food plot mixture provide wintering populations with a nutritious source of feed... game populations at these sites seem to maintain their numbers ...

Deer hunters facing continuous CWD warnings October 6, 2018 Louisiana, The Advocate

... The recommendation against supplemental feeding came with the advice for landowners and hunters to increase native forage for the state’s deer through what biologists called, “prescribed fire, mechanical vegetation manipulation and application of appropriate fertilizers.” ...

Well-managed food plots nourish and attract deer September 7, 2018 MIssissippi, extension.msstate.edu

... For more information about wildlife food plots, look for MSU Extension Service Publication 3102, “Getting the Most Bang for Your Buck: A Guide for Liming and Fertilizing Wildlife Food Plots,” or Publication 2111, “Supplemental Wildlife Food Planting Manual for the Southeast.” These publications are located at http://extension.msstate.edu/publications. For more guidance on wildlife food plots, download the Food Plot app from the MSU Deer Lab (http://msudeerlab.com/apps.asp)...

Best Late-Season Plants for Deer July 9, 2018 GrandViewOutdoors.com

...  the best all-purpose plant is winter wheat. Deer devour it throughout the season... Perhaps the best all-around, late-season plants are brassicas. The brassica family includes several well-known plants including broccoli, kale, turnips and rapeseed...

Good nutrition offers keys to best deer herds March 29, 2018 Mississippi, extension.msstate.edu

... Studies that track the response of deer exposed to the best nutrition always produce positive results. Managing forests, timely use of prescribed fire and creating food plots are all tools to improve available nutrients...

Natural food plots is the best for wildlife management January 9, 2018 INFORUM

... when deer are drawn out of suitable cover and artificially concentrated around corn piles and alfalfa bales, the natural pecking order keeps needed nutrients from young of the year ... 

Mineral stumps provide white-tailed deer nutrition December 18, 2017 Mississippi, Mississippi State Newsroom

... It has long been a mystery why white-tailed deer devour the sprouts from recently cut tree stumps...   strategically placed game cameras.  The growth from cut stumps had much higher nutrient levels and was highly attractive to deer...

Business zeroes in on deer plots and land management October 19, 2017 Kansas, St. John News Online

...  the land management portion of the business will be clearing land and preparing food plots to feed deer and other animals. They will plant a variety of food products including radish, turnip, cow peas, rye and other seed for the fall crop...

Follow Guidelines for Successful Wildlife Food Plots August 17,2017 Alabama, Department of Conservation & Natural Resources

... it’s time to tackle the undesirable plants that inevitably pop up in the wildlife openings.  “The best thing you can do right now is start working on weed control to help make sure you will be able to prepare a really good seed bed to get the seed in contact with the soil,” ...

Local groups partner with PGC to plant 5-mile food plot on State Game Lands 57 August 12, 2017 Pennsylvania, Wilkes Barre Times-Leader

... Over the last eight years, numerous conservation groups have partnered with the Game Commission to build and maintain more than 100 acres of food plots ...  the lush vegetation found in the food plots makes for bigger and healthier deer and attracts a variety of wildlife...

Follow Guidelines for Successful Wildlife Food Plots August 11, 2017 Alabama, courierjournal

...  ryegrass has been the most prevalent winter forage planted in wildlife openings ... your basic big buck mix that every feed and seed store has, it will likely have wheat, oats, clover, ryegrass and possibly some rape or some other brassica  ...

Snelson's Wildlife Habit Management can help with food plots August 10, 2017 Missouri, The Rolla Daily News

... New Zealand is 20 years ahead of the Untied States in plant developments for food plots. One of their main exports is deer antlers and venison. One can actually earn a college degree in deer forage management there... Conducting a soil test is paramount to success ...

Maintaining a food plot for whitetails isn't baiting July 20, 2017 Minnesota, Minneapolis Star Tribune

...  in Minnesota, hunting deer over bait is illegal ... the DNR is considering a statewide ban on deer feeding. The main concern ... is that the practice puts animals in proximity to one another and possibly increases the spread of diseases such chronic wasting. The ban would not include planting food plots...

Grow weeds for forage, fawns June 10, 2017 Mississipppi, Jackson Clarion Ledger

... While food plots and mature forests with open understory have their place in a deer's life, so do weedy, snakey, brushy fields... You're providing food and cover. Food plots are just food...

It’s Time to Plant Chestnut and Fruit Trees for Deer March 13, 2017 deeranddeerhunting.com

... Ideal for wildlife, Dunstan Chestnuts have been called the best food plot tree. They’re easy to grow and produce nuts in just three to five years ....

Plan now for planting for wildlife this spring January 22, 2017 The Courier-Express

... Annuals ... that benefit deer that fall into this category include corn, soybeans, peas, brassicas, wheat, oats, rye, and some clovers... “Soybeans and peas can feed deer all summer, corn and clover can feed them during fall, and then corn and brassicas can provide food all winter.” ...

How to Increase Mast Production on Your Property November 2, 2016 North American Whitetail Magazine

... Having a diversity of oaks is important. Those in the red oak family flower one year and set fruit the next; white oaks flower and fruit the same year. By growing some of each, you guard against full mast failure caused by a late killing frost. Developing a stand with a diversity of species and fruiting types helps you ensure reliable acorn production...

Combination food plots can attract deer year-round September 5, 2016 Texas, Phys

... The combination of winter-hardy oats, iron and clay cowpeas and arrowleaf clover works well in any area that receives 35 inches or more of rainfall each year, specifically in East Texas, Higginbotham said. Cowpeas grow quickly when planted in September when moisture is available. Sprouts are an immediate attractor for deer...

Set A Whitetail Buffet: Planting Fall Annuals for Deer Food Plots July 26, 2016 OutdoorHub

...winter field peas. Whitetails love the stems, leaves and peas, so they’re attractive at all stages of growth from emergence to flowering. Plus, you can use them as both a single attractant or in combination with other plants such as clover, brassicas, small grains and grasses...

TSI, anyone? Timber stand improvement helps create quality deer habitat May 19, 2016 Louisiana, Louisiana Sportsman

...  many wildlife professionals recommend there should be five to 10 acres of permanent natural clearings for every 100 acres of timberland  — and they don’t mean just one five-or one 10-acre clearing.  The individual clearings should each range from one to a maximum of three acres in size...

Food plots for wildlife: Diversity works well for me May 19, 2016 Minnesota, Minneapolis Star Tribune

... food plots for deer and other wildlife ... begin by planting clover, or a clover mix (chicory is a common addition), for several reasons. Clover is generally easy to grow, does well in a variety of soil conditions, and is a reliable source of nutrition ... I’ve planted thousands of shrubs (especially redosier dogwood, which is a favorite winter food for deer) ...

Deer food on the cheap April 8, 2016 North Carolina, North Carolina Sportsman

... Deer need foods rich in protein. Most native spring and summer foods are low in protein content ... The best, economical options for a warm-season planting are mixtures of legumes and grains such as oats, buckwheat, cow peas and red clover. The mixture of legumes and grains will work with each other by providing necessary nitrogen and competition to help prevent weedy invaders...

Managing land can be beneficial to animals, hunters February 21, 2016 Pennsylvania, Citizens Voice

...  “We’ve experimented with different crops, but clover seems to be the best option for year round nutrition and lower maintenance,” ... Aumen plants clover that deer nibble in summer and turnips from which deer eat the leaves in autumn and the tubers in winter...

Confused on food plot management for deer? There’s an app for that October 23, 2013 Mississippi, Mississippi Business Journal 

... Bronson Strickland, a wildlife management specialist with the MSU Extension Service, said he wanted to give people easy access to research-based information while in the field or in the feed store looking at seed... “Deer Plot App” is available for Apple devices. An Android version will be ready soon...

Hinge Cutting 101: Building Better Deer Habitat With a Chainsaw March 10, 2014 

Bowhunting 

... A 75-foot tall red maple tree, standing proud and pretty, provides next to nothing for your deer herd. However, hinging that tree will provide both immediate and long-term deer browse...  it also creates the living, horizontal cover that big bucks love, and birthing fawns rely on...  a hinge cut is made by cutting roughly halfway through the tree at a slight 45-degree angle 3-4 feet off the ground ...

Soybeans excellent choice for food plots April 28, 2014 Virginia, Northern Virginia Daily 

... For this time of year the best plants to put in the ground are annuals. You want crops that come up quickly ... This boils down to three main choices: cowpeas, forage soybeans and lablab... Several companies make forage soybeans ... The plants also grow incredibly tall and dense...

A tree that produces berries May 24, 2014 Missouri, Southeast Missourian

... The red mulberry is a good choice for your back yard or wildlife food plot. Its low-hanging limbs will attract whitetail deer in spring when new bud growth begins... common in Southeast Missouri...

Cwiklinski offers advice on feeding deer May 26, 2013 New York, Evening Observer

... Deer really like crab apples, so try to thin out the limbs to afford more sunlight to increase the fruit yield. In a maple forest, consider cutting saplings to a height of four feet to create "bushes of browse" for the deer ... 

Plant in spring to ease stress of late summer March 15, 2014 Florida, Florida Today

...  management practices such as prescribed burning and timber thinning will create a habitat with enough resources to carry the herd until hard mast crops begin to fall ... “Cow peas, purple-hull peas, those summer annual legumes do pretty good,”  ...

Deer management information at Alton July 24, 2013 Missouri, The News

...Deer are selective. Grass, fruits, mushrooms, acorns and forbs are what they eat ... The best foods for warm seasons are fresh greens, wildflowers, fruits, clovers and soybeans, which are all high in protein. For the cooler seasons, deer eat acorns, corn, waste grains and soft native plants...  If you want to supplement the food through a longer period you might add clover, chicory or alfalfa ...

 Making food plots make a difference June 15, 2013 Georgia, The Albany Herald

... “A food plot that includes such plantings as alyce clover, joint vetch, or cowpeas can do a lot to help deer through the traditional stress of late summer until natural fall foods become more readily available ... By the same token, food plots planted with small grains and crimson clover can help get deer through the equally stressful period just before spring green-up... they can certainly help deer enter the more bountiful times of year in better condition.”...

Plant spring food plots with Realtree Nursery March 22, 2013 Texas, Lone Star Outdoor News

...the Dunstan chestnut, which was bred by noted plant breeder Dr. Robert Dunstan. Because of higher disease resistance and heavy annual production of nuts, the Dunstan chestnut is perfect for food plots. Plus, deer love chestnuts. They even prefer them over most oak trees ... 

Forest SilvoPasture:  A Technique for Livestock, Deer and Other Wildlife January 27, 2013 New York, Corning Leader

In the past, the norm was to keep livestock out of the woods ... Silvopasturing maintains a forest structure while allowing enough sunlight to the forest floor to grow grasses and forbs.  The concept of Silvopasturing is a method that can be used to benefit livestock and /or wildlife.  The structure and plant diversity of silvopastures is attractive to many wildlife species including wild turkey, deer, and many songbirds.

Successfully grow your own giant deer with a food plot December 9, 2012 New York, Metrowny.com

... While NYS law Part 189 of Title 6 makes it illegal to feed deer with food attractants, such as apples, corn or anything that is not alive or comes in a bag, the law does allow agricultural crops, including wildlife food plots ... Gray used a mix of turnips, buckwheat, clover and brassica, in his plot...