Vet Judy

The good news is that food plots made for whitetail deer are also great for turkeys.

In general the wild turkeys use cool season food plots in late winter and early spring when the growth in these types of plots is green.

Warm season food plots are generally used through early to mid summer and provide insects and other invertebrates key to the turkey diet. 

Grain plots are especially coveted by the turkey in the fall and winter.  So consider adding corn/grain sorghum (Milo) to your warm season plots and plant in strips at least 50 feet wide. Generally 7lbs/A of corn and 8lbs/A of Milo are advised. 

The added advantage of using corn and grain sorghum strips is in the fall the deer may use them for protected travel routes and if carefully planned these pathways can help you funnel deer travel. If the corn is partially knocked down and left unharvested deer will often eat the corn in the later fall and early winter too depending on available forage options and conditions in your area.

corn

            corn harvest is right around the corner in most places.  corn is a common crop in many deer food plot plantings and habitat management—both as a crop planted specifically for deer, and as a row crop that is planted on farms and ranches for grain.  Take time this fall to remember a few things about managing corn stands.

            First of all, the extent that deer utilize corn grain for food is heavily influenced by the acorn crop.  If your area is experiencing a normal to heavy acorn drop, standing corn may not be as critical for a food supply later on.  The strips that you plan to leave standing around the cornfields could possibly be reduced in width.  However, if you planned to leave strips of standing corn on field edges during the winter, it’s still a good idea to leave them.  They provided valuable cover and field borders for winter deer habitat.

            Second, the state of the local corn crop can help you judge the overall deer forage situation.  Dry or cool conditions that may have hampered the heat-loving corn plant’s growth (remember, corn is a grass!) in the summer may also have affected other warm-season grasses on your property.  That’s important to keep in mind for next year’s management and planting.

            On many of our landscapes, corn is such an important crop that it has become part of the annual landscape.  Be sure that you treat it and manage it as such in your fall food plot mix.

See our article http://www.diydeerfoodplots.com/articles/8-steps-to-successful-food-plots.html  for tips on successful food plot strategies and other free resources.

Wondering what to do with fall planting annuals: visit our website and look at article: http://www.diydeerfoodplots.com/articles/annual-forages.html