Bait vs Food plots

[Telemark]

Though the wording is very cumbersome, I think it is quite clear that food plots are allowed. It also seems that scents are allowed, as long as they are not designed to be consumed. Baiting with anything consumable is not allowed.

For example, growing corn and mowing it down is fine. Buying or otherwise gathering corn that you then spread or dump on the ground is not allowed. Buying some concentrated acorn scent lure and spraying it on trees is fine, but buying acorn powder and placing it out where it can be eaten by whitetail deer is not allowed.

 

[Bassattackr]

I have spoken to the local game warden about this I am good with my practice. Put I wouldn’t hang my hat on that for your sake. You can do as you wish.

I'd say a mower "scatters" the corn very well, which would mean illegal. But then again a combine tends to scatter quite a bit of corn as well that doesn't make it into the bin.. Poor wording in the law no doubt.

 

[PatinPA]

What if I'm broadcasting some seed corn and hoping for a little late season growth. haha

 

[Telemark]

What if I'm broadcasting some seed corn and hoping for a little late season growth. haha

That's probably where they get you with "normal agricultural practice." If you spread so late in the year that it won't germinate, that's not a normal agricultural practice.

 

[yoderjac]

That's probably where they get you with "normal agricultural practice." If you spread so late in the year that it won't germinate, that's not a normal agricultural practice.

If you read the wording more carefully, the normal agricultural practice applies to agriculture. Food plots are a separate exclusion. With food plots, they don't address practices..

I do find it interesting how many folks look at things from a "what can I get away with" perspective rather than what is right or wrong for me perspective.

 

[Telemark]

If you read the wording more carefully, the normal agricultural practice applies to agriculture. Food plots are a separate exclusion. With food plots, they don't address practices..

I do find it interesting how many folks look at things from a "what can I get away with" perspective rather than what is right or wrong for me perspective.

Wrong. It clearly says it twice, once after "crops", and again after "food plots."

 

[yoderjac]

Wrong. It clearly says it twice, once after "crops", and again after "food plots."

It is a confusing sentence and I understand how you are confused. It exempts:
1) mowing or cutting standing crops as a normal agricultural practice or for soil stabilization.
2) Food Plots
3) normal agricultural practices. (and it explicitly specifies several practices)

Food plots are a separate category. Take another read and look at commas and conjunctions. You'll figure it out.

 

[Telemark]

It is a confusing sentence and I understand how you are confused. It exempts:
1) mowing or cutting standing crops as a normal agricultural practice or for soil stabilization.
2) Food Plots
3) normal agricultural practices. (and it explicitly specifies several practices)

Food plots are a separate category. Take another read and look at commas and conjunctions. You'll figure it out.

You are mistaken.

The three things that paragraph exempts are:
1.manipulation of standing crops
2.food plots
3.use of products for scent only

"Normal agricultural practices" apply to crops and food plots. This is why a pile of corn in a food plot in November would be illegal, because it's not a normal way to plant corn, regardless of it's location in a food plot.

It's ridiculous to think food plots are exempt, and you're free to do whatever you want because you've designated it a "food plot". Maintenance of food plots is still bound by normal agricultural practices.

 

[yoderjac]

You are mistaken.

The three things that paragraph exempts are:
1.manipulation of standing crops
2.food plots
3.use of products for scent only

"Normal agricultural practices" apply to crops and food plots. This is why a pile of corn in a food plot in November would be illegal, because it's not a normal way to plant corn, regardless of it's location in a food plot.

It's ridiculous to think food plots are exempt, and you're free to do whatever you want because you've designated it a "food plot". Maintenance of food plots is still bound by normal agricultural practices.

Keep going back and looking at the commas and conjunctions. I know it is an English challenge, but you will eventually figure out which modifiers in the sentence apply to which practice.

None of this matters in practical terms. Someone asked about English majors and I had one look at it for fun. It was just an interesting technical exercise at demonstrating how confusing regulations can be.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Saw this one yesterday in fleet farm. Pathetic. This is in MN where supplementary feeding and minerals are illegal in much of the state where cwd is present and baiting is illegal state wide. Their products aways struck me as overhyped overpriced garbage but hell if I’ll support a company marketing products like this.

 

[GMan5465]

Saw this one yesterday in fleet farm. Pathetic. This is in MN where supplementary feeding and minerals are illegal in much of the state where cwd is present and baiting is illegal state wide. Their products aways struck me as overhyped overpriced garbage but hell if I’ll support a company marketing products like this.
View attachment 39534

Love the “Proud QDMA Partner“ logo in the bottom right corner. I would think that partnership should be questioned.

 

[yoderjac]

Love the “Proud QDMA Partner“ logo in the bottom right corner. I would think that partnership should be questioned.

No forum...no criticism...

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Love the “Proud QDMA Partner“ logo in the bottom right corner. I would think that partnership should be questioned.

Whores. Sold their soul for the almighty dollar

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Missed this thread back in Sept. Few thoughts....

Looks like all of us in states where baiting is illegal have the same experience...bait piles every 100 yards in the woods and guys in blaze orange and camo fulling up pick-up trucks at the local Tractor Supply with bagged "deer corn." . It's the same here in Massachusetts.

To the OP's post, on one hand, my food plots have the same intent as a bait pile....to attract deer so I can possibly get a shot.

On the other, they do so much more. They provide food for at least 7 or 8 months of the year. They provide more protein and more variety than a pile of corn. They provide lots of edge habitat...lots of browse and trees for rubbing. They provide locations for social interactions. And that's just for deer. Of course that edge habitat benefits different species of sun-loving butterflies, birds, bees, etc. The feathered edges provide thick habitat for grouse, rabbits and hares, woodcock, etc. Turkeys benefit from all of this as well. The sunny edge creates great locations for planting new native trees and shrubs to further increase the bio-diversity.

I know I am preaching to the choir on this. Not saying anything that anybody here doesn't know. To each his own. If baiting is legal, OK...if that's what makes you happy, go for it. All of us are incredibly blessed to be land owners. We are privileged to be able to work a chunk of land that we call our own and improve everything about our shared passion...habitat management and deer hunting.

 

[yoderjac]

Missed this thread back in Sept. Few thoughts....

Looks like all of us in states where baiting is illegal have the same experience...bait piles every 100 yards in the woods and guys in blaze orange and camo fulling up pick-up trucks at the local Tractor Supply with bagged "deer corn." . It's the same here in Massachusetts.

To the OP's post, on one hand, my food plots have the same intent as a bait pile....to attract deer so I can possibly get a shot.

On the other, they do so much more. They provide food for at least 7 or 8 months of the year. They provide more protein and more variety than a pile of corn. They provide lots of edge habitat...lots of browse and trees for rubbing. They provide locations for social interactions. And that's just for deer. Of course that edge habitat benefits different species of sun-loving butterflies, birds, bees, etc. The feathered edges provide thick habitat for grouse, rabbits and hares, woodcock, etc. Turkeys benefit from all of this as well. The sunny edge creates great locations for planting new native trees and shrubs to further increase the bio-diversity.

I know I am preaching to the choir on this. Not saying anything that anybody here doesn't know. To each his own. If baiting is legal, OK...if that's what makes you happy, go for it. All of us are incredibly blessed to be land owners. We are privileged to be able to work a chunk of land that we call our own and improve everything about our shared passion...habitat management and deer hunting.

You missed that food plots are available 24/7 and cannot easily be restricted to hunting hour availability like feeders or bait piles that can be covered. I would also say that attraction is not the purpose of most of my food plots. We do have some harvest plots that our hunters hunt over, but most of our plots are planted as part of a QDM program to cover stress periods which are out of our season.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

You missed that food plots are available 24/7 and cannot easily be restricted to hunting hour availability like feeders or bait piles that can be covered. I would also say that attraction is not the purpose of most of my food plots. We do have some harvest plots that our hunters hunt over, but most of our plots are planted as part of a QDM program to cover stress periods which are out of our season.

Agree. On my small, swampy, and very diverse 30 I do not have anywhere on the land where I can squeeze in anything more than a half acre or 3/4 acre plot or so. So mine in no way are destination plots and I do not have a QDM management plan. I refer to what I am trying to achieve as Quality Hunt Management...I simply want to improve the number of quality hunting experiences for myself and my family.

But yes, on larger acreage certainly providing year round quality food is also a benefit of food plotting vs. baiting.

 

[buckdeer1]

Cross guns effect he harvest far more than baiting or food plots,I would be that out of my feeders other animals besides deer eat far more than the deer and probably the same with my food plots.Baiting can be a very good management tool as you can take time to age and sex the animal also you can bring does away from bedding areas for management. saying that I could see sitting within view of a feeder with rifle could be productive but I always see more mature bucks in the timber or on food plots than what cam gets on feeders

 

[SwampCat]

I am not sure if the OP is using the term “baiting” as a reference to only putting out a food source just during hunting season, or if he refers to baiting and supplemental feeding as the same. In our state, baiting is done during season, and supplemental feeding is outside season. I even have a different opinion of that, as we place a food source, but we generally do not hunt it - so in my mind, that is more supplemental feeding.

I agree with a post above - to think supplemental feed is only used by deer is an erroneous thought. I would say, depending on the food supplied, one would see more wildlife at a “bait” site than a food plot at any given time. Commonly, a wide variety of birds will be so thick on a bait pile as to sound like a covey of quail getting up when they take flight. I have personally counted 24 male cardinals at a bait site at one time. Numerous other bird species will be in the mix. Rabbits, coons, squirrels, doves, quail, turkeys, possums, rats, hogs, bears - probably a greater variety of animals use “bait” than use a food plot.

A bait site can also provide a great site to concentrate your efforts when wanting to remove specific animals. If you need to remove excess does, great spot. If wanting to remove coons, possums, and skunks - trapping around bait sites is a guarantee. I killed over fifty hogs off one feeder last year from Feb - July using a rifle and thermal scope. No way would I have been able to do that without the food source.

We have never killed a buck that weighed 200 lbs in 40 years of hunting in my state, and that with the availability of beans and clover in food plots. In the last two years, we have killed three, and another that weighed 195. I cant say that I see more antler quality produced because of supplemental feeding, yet - but we have more bucks with quality antlers visiting my land than with food plots alone.

No proof, but my opinion is that the supplemental feed tends to hold deer more on my land. As an experiment, I have a small, 1/4 acre wheat/clover food plot adjacent to a supplemental feeding location. My two biggest bucks are almost every night visitors at the feed. I put four cameras up on the food plot - and have never got a picture of either of those bucks feeding in the food plot. A few pictures of them walking through the plot, but usually they approach the plot from the woods. The does regularly feed in the plot and the supplemental feed - the bucks spend much more time in the feed.

Supplemental feeding is expensive. And the way I do it, time consuming, as I pour my feed out on the ground instead of using a dispenser. I resisted using supplemental feed for many years. When I did start, it was as an aide to position deer for the grand kids to shoot - and used strictly as a bait. Then, I increased supplemental feeding in an attempt to keep deer on my place for a longer period of time to hopefully reduce the number that were being killed off my property. I increased my use of feed even more - all through the summer months in an attempt to convince the summer bachelor herds to spend more time on my land and maybe more months during hunting season. I believe I have accomplished all of the above, in addition to improving body weights. It wasnt until I was several years in, that I realized the benefits to all the other species on my land.

In no way would I suggest to replace food plots and habitat manipulation with supplemental feeding. But it is a good compliment to the entire management program. You dont have to hunt the feeding sites. I have killed one deer in my life at a feeding site.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

Swampcat, to answer your question, I think of baiting as feeding to attract deer to shoot them. So, in your circumstance, you admit to feeding them During season, to attract them to your land, to keep them away from others to shoot them. So, you baited them on to your land.

I guess I’m my area, it isn’t legal to feed, or bait, but you can have a food plot. When I first bought my land, baiting was legal, and it may again soon be legal to bait. But for the better part of 10 years, it has been illegal. I have noticed when I use to bait, I had a ton more bear problems then I do now. Chances are, if it becomes legal again, I won’t bait, I have to many apple trees now, and I don’t want to bring in more bear to wreck more trees.

But the reason that brought up my post was, my food plots feed the deer all spring, summer and early fall, until the illegal baiters go hunting and drop a bag of corn throughout their woods. The deer disappear every weekend, until after rifle season. Then all of a sudden the deer are back eating in my food plots.

In my opinion, a pile of corn will Trump a food plot 99% of the time.

I think my major gripe is, it is illegal, and are cheating the rest of us that don’t cheat.

In my circumstance across the road there is public land a 1/4 through private land, come bow season, if you walk through the public land, there is a pile of corn about every 50 yards and a tree stand next to it.

My neighbor that lives across the road from me found several piles right behind his land, followed the trails back to another neighbor a half a mile down the road, he gave them the option, clean up the corn piles, or he would call the warden. Good for him!

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Bait/supplemental feed is wildlife animal husbandry. And that may be fine for some.

It’s a Pavlovian response mechanism on deer and that doesn’t sit well with me. We can train animals with treats. They are extremely smart in some respects but extremely stupid in others and we have found the ability to exploit that weakness with a bag.

A food plot is fundamentally and structurally different. It is beneficial in a long term, it is attractive but not crack. There is a reason a food plot is not outlawed anywhere but bait is outlawed in a large portion of the country.