Food plots for feeding deer

[SwampCat]

I do very little TSI work. The timber management I'm referring to takes less time than food plots for me. Most of my personal contribution to this is planning and coordination. For example, we interviewed several foresters until we found one we like. That was a one shot deal. We met with a wildlife biologist and the forester and developed a long-term plan that balances timber profit with wildlife benefit. He drafted an initial timber sale contract. Our role was to review and modify it to meet our needs. He then told us the likely impact of your clauses on the sale, and we would then reiterate until we had a contract we liked. He then conducted the sale, flagged trees, and oversaw the timbering to ensure the loggers worked to the contract.

We then used that forest stewardship plan as a basis and worked with USDA to apply for EQIP. That took several meetings with USDA folks. EQIP covered firebreak installation, herbicide application, and controlled burn costs. We had the option of doing the physical labor ourselves and keeping the USDA money or contracting out the labor and we chose the latter (because of time and expertise).

My time expended for all of this was probably about 60 hours spread over two to three years. I did participate personally in the controlled burn crew because I wanted the experience and I did spend a day on the dozer the prescribed burner brought to do some other tasks since it was there.

That 60 hours of time provided 3 to 5 years of high quantity/quality native deer food impacting about 130 acres. Upcoming thinning and controlled burns will refresh this early successional habitat and impact an additional 150 acres or so. Since we have been through the process once and now have more connections, I would expect this to take less than the 60 hours it took last time. Rather than a loss, we broke even on the EQIP program which equates to free wildlife benefit, and generated around $50K in timber sale.

Compare that 60 hours to the ballpark 500 hours a year I spend on planted food (food plots, mast tree planting/maintenance) and a net cost of around $4K.

Don't get me wrong, I've messed around with hinge cutting and other TSI techniques that require my personal labor. I would put them on a similar cost/benefit scale as food plots. I also realize that the economics will be different for others based on their existing habitat. It also requires scale. Folks often don't want to buy small stands of timber. We will be trying to coordinate management units so while one is having its first commercial thinning, another stand is having a second commercial thinning.

Future-Cast: We are looking hard at taking some management blocks of timber and converting them to savanna type habitat.

Thanks,

Jack

i have a lot of cedar with little commercial value - $300 per acre mulcher work to get rid of them. Then, clean up the chips so something will grow costs even more. A lot of places dont have commercial timber value and tsi is expensive. I can plant my 35 acres in two long days if weather is decent. But there is a couple bush hogging per year added too that.

 

[yoderjac]

i am the same way. TSI work is labor intensive - and expensive. A lot of my deer that use my food plots come from surrounding land that has been thinned or clearcut. Not sure that adding acreage to the hundreds of similar acres adjacent to my property is going to have as much positive effect as me adding more food plot acreage - which no adjacent landowners provide.

That is exactly what I suggest! Use food plots strategically, not to be the primary source to feed deer. If you have early successional timber next door, food plots might be the right tool. If you want to do more than attract, choose crops and planting techniques that complement the native foods.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[jsasker007]

Wouldn't "using food plots strategically" fall under the kill plot mentality? Only planting enough to draw a couple of deer to shoot? Nothing wrong with that but I thought we are talking about herd health? If there is enough quality food for a deer to access year round then I think they would give up the brush/sticks they eat to survive during the winter months. LC mix pretty much covers that need in my opinion. My BIL fed round bales of alfalfa one winter to feed deer on his 550 acres and the results were awesome. Same could be accomplished by planting some acreage in alfalfa---initial cost of planting is the expense, then the fields keep producing for years. Not seeing where a person would need to be rich to do this.

 

[yoderjac]

i have a lot of cedar with little commercial value - $300 per acre mulcher work to get rid of them. Then, clean up the chips so something will grow costs even more. A lot of places dont have commercial timber value and tsi is expensive. I can plant my 35 acres in two long days if weather is decent. But there is a couple bush hogging per year added too that.

Yep, every place is different. It is expensive to get started with timber. Either you pay for the value of the timber on the land when you buy it, or you eat the cost of the initial planting (presuming your land is suitable for it). It can be 15+ years before you get the first return. We bought land with planted timber. I considered the initial investment (above the value of the land had it not had timber), as my hunting premium.

If you have sufficient land available and want to go this route, consider chatting with a state forester to see if it is practical to grow timber on your land.

This is not the only strategy. It really depends on your land and location. In the south where summer is the big stress period, I could see someone renting some land to a soybean farmer (presuming it is appropriate land). They would then not plant to cover the summer because the farmers beans would cover that. It is the same concept. Finding a method to make the wildlife benefit a byproduct of a profit generating event.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[yoderjac]

Wouldn't "using food plots strategically" fall under the kill plot mentality? Only planting enough to draw a couple of deer to shoot? Nothing wrong with that but I thought we are talking about herd health? If there is enough quality food for a deer to access year round then I think they would give up the brush/sticks they eat to survive during the winter months. LC mix pretty much covers that need in my opinion. My BIL fed round bales of alfalfa one winter to feed deer on his 550 acres and the results were awesome. Same could be accomplished by planting some acreage in alfalfa---initial cost of planting is the expense, then the fields keep producing for years. Not seeing where a person would need to be rich to do this.

Not necessarily. For example, planting a crop that is providing nutrition during a stress period when nature is not providing quality food is a strategic use of a food plot. Creating multiple small plots distributed over a wide property can be a strategic use as more familial doe groups can be anchored on your land. The specifics of the strategy depend on your region and specific property. Keep in mind that while we may call them harvest plots, they serve multiple purposes. My strategy does not rely on them to feed deer. We have larger central feeding plots to provide quantity of quality food during stress periods. The small distributed plots provide anchors for doe groups and function as harvest plots which are needed to keep the population in check.

While I don't use alfalfa because it is much harder to grow and fills the same niche as perennial clover, no reason why one could not use that if they had better soils than I do. The key is to use the best combination of "tools" that fit your situation.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[jsasker007]

Do you think several small plots work better to hold more deer vs 1 large plot of equal total acreage? 10acres spread out over 5 plots or one 10 acre plot---if you had to choose.

 

[yoderjac]

Do you think several small plots work better to hold more deer vs 1 large plot of equal total acreage? 10acres spread out over 5 plots or one 10 acre plot---if you had to choose.

Deer have a social structure, especially doe family groups. While the ranges of different familial groups overlap to some extent, during much of the year here, they want space. The reality is it that it is not either or. Take a map with your property at the center and draw two concentric circles, one at about 1,000 acres and another at about 3 mi. If you are looking to manage for herd health, this map contains the resources for your local herd. You need to figure out what deer have and what they are missing and when they are missing it. Those are the habitat holes you are trying to plug.

There are lots of factors, food, water, cover, arrangement, ... You also need to look at pressures inside these rings. Are they heavily hunted? Do neighbors shoot young bucks? When to farmers harvest fields? Where are roads, homes, and other obstacles?

So, when you analyze all of this, if you determine quality food is the missing element and when it is missing, you may want to focus on a feeding plot. Deer will move from bedding to this large plot and use it primarily after dark in the face of pressure. You will want the crop you pick to cover the time when it is needed.

The small distributed plots serve a different function. They tend to be used more during shooting hours because they are more isolated and secure. If well designed, it is only a bound or two to good cover. I find that familial doe groups then to "own" one of these plots but many groups tend to "share" a large feeding plot. If all the good food is in one place, there tend to be squabbles between groups. Sometimes these work out and sometimes groups will leave to avoid the stress. It is the normal social dominance/stress thing. I don't want doe groups moving on if I can keep them on my property. When they decide the stress at the big feeding plot is too much and leave, they will go back to the small plot they seem to "own".

I'm not saying one approach is better than the other. Large feeding plots and small plots have different advantages and disadvantages. I use both. What works best in a particular situation depends on your situation. When I lived further north, deer would herd up for winter which is a more significant amount of time. Even at other times of years I would see multiple family groups together. I'm guessing that the advantages of having larger groups of deer together in the winter outweigh the disadvantages of increased social pressure. Having spent such a large portion of the year working out dominance in larger groups, there may be less social stress between groups during the rest of the year.

I see less of that here. There is still some grouping in the winter here, but the groups are smaller and it occurs for a shorter time period. I see more social pressure between groups. I have another factor going on here as well. The foods I provide, both plots and native, are significantly better than much of the surrounding area. Most of the ag land withing 3 miles of me is not row crops but in pasture with cattle. Most woods are closed canopy. So, when we harvest a doe and create a hole in the social structure, the next time nature gets stingy and deer start ranging further to look for food, they often land on our place and fill that hole in the social structure. That may be changing as coyotes have begun using our farm on a regular basis in the past few years. Time will tell, but for years, we could not shoot enough does.

It seems kind of contradictory. I want family groups of does to stay, but I can't kill enough. Keep in mind that I'm trying balance the herd with the BCC and the BCC is changing as well manage the land.

Sorry there is not a simple answer. Hopefully I've given you quality food for thought!

Thanks,

Jack

 

[yoderjac]

One more thing about multiple small plots. As hard as it is to manage deer, it is much harder to manage people. Some guys are fine hunting cover and travel routes and seeing few deer but having a better chance at a mature buck. Most hunters want to see deer. This may be more true with kids and new hunters, but it can apply to anyone. People see lots of deer when they can watch a 10 acre plot. Suddenly everyone wants a stand on the plot except the few hunting cover and every deer in the woods knows they are being hunted. If I cut that plot to 8 acres and distribute 8 quarter acre plots across the property, hunters tend to distribute more. Because these are anchors for family groups, they still see deer and are happy. There is less acrimony between hunters.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[SwampCat]

Do you think several small plots work better to hold more deer vs 1 large plot of equal total acreage? 10acres spread out over 5 plots or one 10 acre plot---if you had to choose.

I like several small plots - as Jack mentioned - to disperse the doe families around the property. I like one larger plot as the buck bachelor herd tends to concentrate around the larger summer plot - at least that is how it works at my place. My larger plots don't seem to attract as much deer use in fall and winter. I think surrounding hunting pressure makes them a little shy around six and eight acre open areas.

 

[swat1018]

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1571652949514365&id=161785573834450&_rdr
Dr Harper pretty much dispels the notion that soil fertility correlates to antler growth. I had falsely assumed most everyone had seen this, if not it is WELL worth the watch. Fascinating

Don't tell Jack.

 

[swat1018]

So an acreage of corn or beans planted for deer is different than acreage of corn or beans planted for profit? Odd notion. Also, my "food plot" corn/beans often is more attractive than the production ag due to seclusion, vs. road frontage.

 

[swat1018]

I completely agree, that if one has an unlimited budget and sufficient land for scale, we can do a lot of manipulation to benefit deer whether it is food plots or native habitat management. My contention that an unlimited budget is a rare exception not the rule. Given that, food plot scale is limited and they represent a small fraction of a deer's diet. So, for most of us, food plots will be a strategic tool applied in the 10's of acres at most. Timber management on the other hand can commonly be done on the 100's acres scale providing profit and the necessary resources for food plots while positively impacting the quantity of quality native foods via sunlight.

I would rephrase you statement a bit. I'd say that food plots can only provide a LARGE fraction of a deer's diet if a huge budget is available and they are planted on a very large scale like agriculture.

Thanks,

Jack

Wrong again. I can plant about as much corn/beans and other summer annuals for very little expense. There are many outlets for cheap or free seed if you put in the effort, do it almost every year. Fertilization is more than seed, and you can minimize that not fertilizing for 200 bu corn.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

I’m just growing nature’s own summer blend because I don’t have enough acreage to grow beans and such and they not get browsed to the ground…..Nature’s own summer blend is about a 25 way mix that the deer, especially does, seem to like. It produced a prolific fawn crop this year with many set of twins and even one possible set of triplets.

 

[No-Tox]

You can argue all you want. All I know is that does love a food plot and the does attract the bucks. Then you shoot the bucks. Pretty simple concept, if you ask me.
Put this one down this morning hunting over a food plot and feeder.

 

[yoderjac]

Wrong again. I can plant about as much corn/beans and other summer annuals for very little expense. There are many outlets for cheap or free seed if you put in the effort, do it almost every year. Fertilization is more than seed, and you can minimize that not fertilizing for 200 bu corn.

I was not speaking of seed cost only. Expense of planting includes all the cost including the time that I'm not applying to other tasks. I'm not saying what you are doing is not a good fit for your situation. When I compare the total improvement in nutrition for the cost, it is not even a contest for me.

 

[jsasker007]

NO-TOX,
Nice buck. In the one picture---is that two feeders? The one is a feeder on the right---what's in the white box? I'm Thinking of adding some type of feeding program for the winters here in Minnesota. I would want to go with something to help the deer in the severe cold months that we get but not sure where to start or what feed would be the best fit for me.

 

[No-Tox]

NO-TOX,
Nice buck. In the one picture---is that two feeders? The one is a feeder on the right---what's in the white box? I'm Thinking of adding some type of feeding program for the winters here in Minnesota. I would want to go with something to help the deer in the severe cold months that we get but not sure where to start or what feed would be the best fit for me.

The low feeder on the left is corn and the higher feeder on the right is protien. The protein feeder has a cinder block on it to keep the lid from blowing off.

 

[hillrunner]

I just heard that 20% of all private property across the US is used STRICTLY for deer hunting. Don't know what that number would have been 30 years ago but I would bet it was less than 5 percent. With that being said, I would ASSUME that there is a fair amount of food plots being planted on that "hunting" property. If this is the case I see it being a strong likely hood that food plots are contributing to good portion of a deer's diet and a believable reason for the increase in B&C bucks recently.

Do you have a link for this information? I find that incredibly hard to believe.

 

[BenAllgood]

Do you have a link for this information? I find that incredibly hard to believe.

I don't know where the paper is, but it was talked about in one of the episodes of The Back Forty. It was based off research by Luke Macaulay from UC Berkeley. They mentioned in the video it was 20% of private lands were owned or leased for hunting. I don't remember if they were specific on what type of hunting. It's a pretty good series too. It's from the MeatEater series. They bought a 64 acre parcel in Michigan and are managing the habitat primarily for deer hunting.

 

[roymunson]

Can we all agree that creating habitat, food, bedding, and generally anything else whitetail related (which is an incredibly adaptive species) can look very different in different parts of our country? Whitetails exist from the florida keys to darn close to the arctic circle. Habitat and a deer's utilization of that habitat will have to differ a ton because of what's avaliable.

Hunting whitetails in virginia will be different than in arkansas, texas hunting is different than alberta hunting...

Heck in Ohio here, if you have a large timber area, it'll be very different hunting than if you're on a big dairy farm full of fields and edges.

There's probably truth to all of the positions here, but for a guy in the south to tell a guy in the midwest that how he's hunting whitetails and their food, based on his area, seems pretty short sighted and closed minded