Hearing all the feedback on here, and from the forestry department here in Kentucky, I am abandoning the Apple tree idea. I don't have the time, or money to maintain apple trees. I've about decided to go with persimmons and hazelnuts, because I hear they are much easier to to grow and maintain. This is what locals and the forestry people say, at least. What do you all think?
As I have already indicated, apples are much harder here but not impossible. It takes some work and commitment, but without doing any spraying I have several trees that produce very well - and plenty good enough for providing deer food. They are also extremely healthy trees.
I think it comes down to how much you want it and how committed you are to it. For me, I want it badly enough that I'm willing to put in some effort to have it. If you plan on just going out and planting an apple tree and coming back in 5 years to see how its doing - then, yes, I agree with the KDOF. In that case, you will have wasted your money.
But with that said, you are going to have to do some work, even if you plant hazelnuts and persimmons. Hazelnuts do extremely well with limited sunlight, but they won't survive in a closed canopy forest. So plant hazelnuts and don't clean out around them in KY, and eventually they are shaded out. That's why the most common place I find them growing is in fence rows and the southern edges of the woods. Also, in some places the deer will just walk up and eat your bushes - so caging is a must.
Even if you set persimmon seedlings, you will need to keep the competition cleared back to some extent. They are very tough and can be nearly as tall as some of the typical climax forest trees in KY. However, I can't imagine them doing very well, and would expect very few to survive without some human intervention.
Bottom Line - There is no sure fire deer food tree without human intervention in this state. The mighty oak is the closest thing to it, because it is one of the largest and toughest climax forest trees. But plant a mighty oak where the cottonwoods or sycamores already have a head start on it (and walk away and do nothing), and it is doomed for failure too.
I do this because I love it. And when you love something, you won't accept failure as an option.
PS: Those guys at the KDOF know very little about apple trees. It isn't their area of expertise. They probably think every apple is something like a Honeycrisp or Gala that they have tried to grow at home and failed with. Trees like those are from the "Bowels of Apple Hell" in this state. Just starting with the right cultivars puts you way ahead of the game.
Best Wishes