Deer Food Plots

| Tuesday, March 1, 2011
By Ben Mellott


It appears as though every time I view a hunting show on TV, the host or hostess is hunting huge whitetails on some form of food plot. It does very little for me, so far as impressing me with their hunting skills goes and sometimes I think they could get a monkey to do their jobs. Don't misunderstand me, there's nothing wrong with growing a food plot and harvesting deer. It's just that I expect professional hunters to be experts and impress me with their hunting ability. Present day hunters are much more patient and prepared to put effort and time into bagging a big buck. So, naturally, food plots are what you want. They help the deer and they help hunters be much more fussy about what they harvest.

Springtime all over North America, like many points on the planet, is a period of fantastic foliage growth. As spring awakes and the weather becomes more clear, many types of plant life comes up and the land starts to become plush and green again. This rebirth produces many of the protein plant foods for deer to eat. Actually, over the spring and early summer, most deer do not need additional food sources at this point. So, after the summer warmth has subsided, many naturally found plant sources have gone and are not desired anymore, this is precisely the worst time of the year for the whitetails. This time is when deer are biologically rebuilding for the colder months when they will have little protein that their bodies will need to make it through. This time of the season is also when the does have been bred and they are carrying their youngsters. If you possibly could provide a protein replacement at this time, you are providing 3 or more big objectives. First, the health of the deer herd will be improved upon and more deer will live through the hard winter. The second of these is that the does will produce a superior milk for their little ones, which will also add increased value to the herd through the wintry months. Lastly, the bucks of the herd will develop larger antlers. This is probably the most interesting aspect to the deer hunter.

Wild life expert, Grant Higgins of Fresh Tracks Wild Life Management services says that deer need a minimum diet of 14 pct protein and that the the best possible number is 16 pct. There are many plants that will help this in the fall, generally dependent on the area and the ground in that location. As usual, have your pH tested and other insufficiency's by your local agriculture expert. They will create a report that will advise you on things you might need and what you may not. The are a few principal grains that many industry professionals recognize for the fall and they are Oats, Rye and Wheat grains. These tiny grains will stay alive very well into the wintry months and offer nutrients which will be becoming tight. Furthermore, in the Northern states, that have huge oak forest, acorns will be by natural means be made, which deer will use until they are purged. So, unless you see a lot of action in you food plot early on, search the forest for acorns. Acorns are huge with protein and are located in the safest locations for natural cover. Many times plot managers believe that their crops are doing poorly or that they are not flourishing. This may be do to high deer density in your area. The deer may eating your small plants before they are able to grow. Furthermore, southern located plots managers must be leery of wild hogs consuming their plants. Wild boars can do plenty of wear and tear to a food plot, so managers must do whatever they can to keep them out.

The majority of industry experts agree that, if you're able to manage it, numerous food plots are what you want. Regrettably, many people don't have 10 or 15 acres or so to play with. Additionally, they don't have the time money or resources to undertake such a bold adventure. So, if you're not among the lucky people that do, and can only come up with 1 crop, please think about a fall food plot. Like mentioned previously, the summer is a normally abundant time for foods. So, some crop variety in late fall and early winter is a benefit.

Deer Food plots, I think, will go on to become a lot more desirable. With public and private hunting access downsizing everywhere, more outdoors men will end up purchasing their own land and grooming it into food plots. I think that this will be a very important thing for the hunters, the deer and several other critters that can experience some benefits for the supplemental nutritious foods that plots offer. If you are intending on growing you own food plot, try to make an attempt to have it as enjoyable as possible. Bring in your spouse and the children and make up a group strategy. You can set up game cameras and search through all the images together and make up funny names for the different whitetails and other animals that are coming in. It might be an activity that your family will enjoy for years into the future. And, maybe someday they will share this with their youngsters.




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