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Plan on Year Round Food Plots
By J. Wayne Fears

Food plots should offer deer nutritious food every month of the year.

J. Wayne Fears

Pottstown PA --(Ammoland.com)- “Why is it our farm does not seem to have as many deer especially bucks, on it as our neighbor’s farm?

The only difference in our management style is that our neighbors plant food plots, spring and fall and we plant food plots just in the fall.”

This is one of the questions we get most often from not only Whitetail Unlimited members, but deer hunters in general. Quite frankly, it is one of the easiest deer management questions to answer. It is, in part, about having a dinner plate full, on a year around basis.

Holding deer, specifically bucks, on a year around basis requires a combination of habitat requirements. First is security. There must be areas where the deer feel safe. Bedding areas and escape routes are a must. Then comes water. Deer require surface water to be available all year. Next is diversity. They like diversity so there is a need for openings, dense brush, open woods and corridors offering cover. And last, but by far not least, comes food. Deer require a variety of food including young twigs, buds, and leaves of certain trees and shrubs. They like certain grasses, sedges, legumes, forbs, fruits and nuts. Their consumption of these food plants varies seasonally, based on when they are available. It is here that the food plot plays a role in helping create the ideal year round habitat, or falls short.

As long as there is an ample supply of good food in the food plots and all other factors are met, the deer, bucks and does, are likely to stay in an area. Take away a choice food supply and they may start to wander in search of a new food source.

Plant warm season food plot crops with the same planning and care given cool season crops.

Advantages of Warm Season Food plots
As a wildlife manage, I have always found it easy to get hunting clubs and rural landowners to plant fall food plots as they are considered an attraction to bucks looking for choice food, a place to sit in a blind or stand and see deer. But the spring/summer food plots are not grown for hunting and they are more often than not considered of little value.

We all know that deer need all the help they can get in the way of food for the winter. A food shortage can be life threatening. We do not think, however, of the spring and summer as being a time of need, the woods and fields are green and wildlife appears to be healthy. In high quality habitat during years of ample rainfall and mild summer temperatures, this may be so; but these are becoming rare due, in part, to climate change.

The warm and hot months of summer are a stress period for deer and especially deer found in low quality habitat. Bucks are growing antlers. If food is insufficient, bucks will not develop antlers to their age and genetic potential. Does are pregnant, having fawns and producing milk. Fawns are growing and being weaned. The deer population is at its highest numbers. There is a sudden need for high quality food and lots of it. Now that some of the U.S. is suffering from higher summer temperatures, less rainfall, and drought or near drought conditions, much of the food available to deer is lower in moisture content than usual and often lower in quality. Deer are under stress and in the warmer parts of the country. The hot summer is the period of highest stress.

Planning is a Must
High quality year-round, cool season and warm season, food plots require planning to offer deer a dependable, highly nutritious food source on a 12 month basis. By now, most food plot growers know that in order to get top crop production on any food plot a soil test must be taken and the resulting recommendations for lime and fertilizer followed. Since most food plots are planted in annual crops for the fall and spring, it is necessary for the warm season crops to be listed on the soil test information sheet as well as the cool season crops. Far too many hunters list only the plants they are going to plant in the fall and omit the spring plants. To get healthy summer crops they must have the proper lime and fertilizer as well. This crop rotation information must be a part of the soil test.

Planning the crops to plant in your food plots for both cool and warm seasons requires some thought and advice from an agricultural expert with experience in the area where your land is available. Just selecting a highly advertised plant mix at a hardware store and scattering it in your food plots won’t produce the food source you want to keep the deer on your property happy. Each crop has certain requirements. Some do well on dry well drained sites while others do well in moist bottomland type soil. Some are hardy during low temperatures, while others do well under drought conditions. Some do well in the warm south, while others do best in the cooler north. Where there are high deer populations, you will want to select crops that can tolerate heavy grazing and keep coming back with new growth.

Consider Perennial Crops
There is a growing interest in planting food plots in green browse perennial plants. You plant this crop one time and, with management, it provides a green food plot on an almost year around basis for five years or more. Crops that fit this category include Durana clover, Ladino clover, Alsike clover, red clover and alfalfa. It sounds like a “magic bean” for food plots, but it isn’t quiet that. The advantages are obvious, plant it once in five years and you have wildlife food. However, it requires some effort. Like annual crops, it requires annual fertilization. It must be mowed to keep weed competition down during the warm months. It does not do well in all sites and regions, and, depending upon weather conditions, it can go through periods where there is little plant growth. Companies like Hunter’s Specialties, Pennington Seed and Whitetail Institute, however, continue working to prefect some of these perennials and they look very promising as long term food plot crops for some regions of the country.

Like the annual crops, the perennials must be selected with care, considering the soil and other conditions of your property.

Consult With County Agricultural Agent
One of the best sources of free advice for selecting both cool and warm season annuals and perennials is the local Cooperative Extension Service county agent. Almost every county in the U.S. has one. Ask at any farm supply store and they can tell you how to find him. Spend an hour with the county agent and you can plan your year around food plot crops and get free advice on soil testing, planting recommendations, and planting dates. Follow his recommendations and your food plots will reflect it. This may be the best free advice you will ever get!

Plan Replanting
On large properties with numerous food plots, the planting dates for planting annual crops can be crucial especially during the late summer plantings. All summer, the deer and other wildlife on your property have counted on the food being in the food plots. Then suddenly you come in and plow up the remaining food and replant a fall crop. This shock period can be reduced by planning your food plots so that it takes place gradually over a period of weeks. You want it so when the last food plots are being plowed up, the first ones plowed are coming back in green growth. The same thing needs to apply to the spring plantings. I never want all my food plots to be non-productive at the same time.

Keep Records
Having worked with food plots for over 40 years I have learned that food plots have their own personalities and you can learn how to get the most out of a food plot by keeping annual records on it. Such facts as how much lime and fertilizer is applied and the date applied need to be recorded as well as when it was plowed and when it was planted, what was the crop and seeding rate? How many bucks/does do hunters see on the plot and the dates? Rain dates and amounts are important. Deer and turkey taken on a food plot, their size and date taken is valuable. Reviewing records such as this, especially over a period of years, allows the manager to see what works best on a specific plot and what changes may be necessary to make it more productive. The more available highly nutritious food that is available on a food plot, year around, the more likely it is going to be in holding those bucks you want to see.

Year around food plots alone are not going to guarantee that your property will attract and hold mature bucks, but when it is a part of a totally managed habitat, you put the odds in your favor.

FOOD PLOT CROPS

Annual Cool Season

• Wheat
• Rye
• Corn
• Chicory
• Ryegrass
• Oats
• Crimson Clover

Perennial

• Durana Clover
• Ladino Clover
• Alfalfa
• Alsike Clover
• Red Clover
• Orchard Grass
• Redland Ii Clover

Annual Warm Season

• Cowpeas
• Soybeans
• Sunflower
• American Jointvetch
• Alyceclover
• Buckwheat
• Lablab

When selecting seeds for your food plots, get seed that is recommended for your area and soil type.

For more advice check out Jay Wayne Fears book the Ultimate Deer Hunters and Land Managers Pocket Reference Guide.

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It’s Time To IGNITE Your Deer Herd With Overload

Rack one

GRAYLING, Mich. --(Ammoland.com)- Successful deer-hunting-property owners understand that the end of hunting season means that true deer season has only just begun.

That’s because they know that, even though the long rut followed by a particularly brutal winter has come to an end, the real whitetail season starts with revitalizing their herd.

Feeding is more important now than ever to produce big bucks and prevent infant mortality. They know that without a herd of healthy deer roaming their property, there’ll be just an occasional immature buck crossing within range come hunting season. The best of them know right now is the time to condition their herd, and they do it with Overload from Rack One.

The Condition Phase of the IGNITE Whitetail Hunting System is designed to do exactly what it says: condition your herd. This phase is targeted towards the herd as a whole, not just the bucks. When it comes to staying healthy, conditioning the deer is a major step that many people overlook completely.

“To ensure the health of the herd, we suggest using the Condition Phase IGNITE product, Overload, from the time the rut ends until either the snow melts in the north or when deer start to shed their velvet after growing season,” said Casey Keefer, co-owner at Rack One. “Overload is a premium 20-percent protein deer pellet that can be fed in gravity feeders, trough-style feeders, or spin-cast feeders. This pellet contains all the necessary nutrients that deer need to get their bodies back into peak condition after a long and stressful breeding season.”

Rack One Overload Deer Feed

Having whitetail in peak condition allows a few different things to happen. In terms of a buck, Overload will pack the weight back on his body after the rut. Regaining weight that has been lost during the rut is a crucial aspect of how long that specific animals’ antler-growing season will be. In addition to its 20-percent protein content, Overload has a guaranteed analysis of nine-percent fat content with a six-percent fiber content to ensure your bucks can rapidly bulk back up.

“If a buck doesn’t put its weight back on and heal his body after the rut, when it comes time to shed his antlers and begin growing new ones—usually about the time spring foliage is beginning to appear—everything he eats will be directed to his body in order to gain weight instead of going toward antler growth,” Keefer said. “These are just the natural steps his body must take to ensure he is healthy again come that shed/grow time. This time is critically important to put mass on his body, so his body can immediately focus on antler growth when that process begins.”

For the herd’s whitetail does, there is no phase that is more important to the health and vitality of does than the Condition Phase. Every whitetail herd must have a certain number of healthy, breeding does in order for the herd to grow and succeed. Overload provides does with all the nutrition—fat, protein, etc.—that they require to return to good health after the rut. This is another extremely important aspect of herd management for a few different reasons.

First, if a doe is able to immediately begin recuperating after the rut, she will be much more likely to maintain a healthy pregnancy. If a doe is not healthy, her body will naturally abort that pregnancy in order to survive. This leads to a higher rate of mortality, which will decrease the number of deer in the herd in the future. This creates what is commonly referred to as a generation gap.

“Overload doesn’t just stop there,” Keefer said. “If the does are able to sustain a pregnancy throughout the winter, the real work begins the minute they give birth. For the first few months of life, fawns are completely reliant upon their mothers to survive. Eating every three to four hours for weeks on end, nursing fawns can in fact, drain the life out of a doe—and that’s especially true if there are twins. We’ve shown that does eating Overload during this time gives them the proper nutrition to support fawns throughout the fawning season into the summer, when fawns will begin to wean off the does and browse for natural forage.”

If a doe has twins, the minute her body begins to lack in terms of health, she is very likely to abandon one or both of her fawns just to survive, and once again, decreasing herd numbers. Whether it’s does or bucks, decreasing herd numbers will affect your hunting plans for years to come. When too many bucks die off, the buck-to-doe ratio gets thrown off, and a healthy herd can become decimated rather quickly because of the lack of breeding. Likewise, when too many does die off, the buck-to-doe ratio will slide to the other extreme, and the natural mortality will increase due to fighting and competition to breed the fewer number of does.

All in all, the Condition Phase is one of the most important chapters of the Rack 1 Ignite Whitetail System. By using it properly, hunters and land managers can ensure their herd remains healthy and in good balance, thus leading to more successful days in the field come fall.

Rack One’s scientifically engineered IGNITE Whitetail Hunting System provides 365 days of complete whitetail nutrition and attraction for your herd. The IGNITE system addresses the evolving needs with a comprehensive line of products that contain tailored levels of nutritional supplements such as protein and fat. This system is comprised of four specific phases—Condition, Grow, Scout, and Hunt. After the rut ends, it’s time to rebuild your herd health in the Condition Phase with Overload, the post-season calorie-consumption feed that helps your bucks recover from the strenuous schedule of fighting, chasing and breeding. As your deer herd stabilizes, the Grow Phase begins with Xcellerator, which is packed with the minerals and nutrients that promote herd health and growth while maximizing antler development among the bucks. When it’s time to set out the trail cams, it’s also time to begin the Scout Phase with the protein and fat-packed Chaos. In Hunt Phase, you’re ready to reign in those deer with Rut Fuel and Acorn Crush, the extremely powerful premium attractants that bring the deer to the foot of your stand and keep them there.

IGNITE your deer herd now with this year-round Whitetail Hunting System. Remember, success in this business is measured in inches. Don’t come up short.

About Rack One
Headquartered in Grayling, Michigan, Rack One LLC is a family-owned and operated company with a combined 60 years of devotion to the hunting industry. Check out all of Rack One’s fine products at your local retailer or online at www.huntrack1.com. For more information, contact: Rack One, 7756 Arcari Trail, Grayling, MI 49738; or e-mail info@huntrack1.com.

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