Vet Judy

whitetail deer are selective feeders. They are known to feed selectively in a home range where foods they like exist. Fortunately, for us (deer food plotters) they will even give up large amounts of available forage in favor of tastier items and will move to an area where these better items are available.

Why plant food plots? Well the simple answer is nutritional help. Did you know that whitetail survival is dependant on good nutrition? The buck needs at least 16% OR MORE protein in his food in order to reach maximum breeding ability as well as fertility. His antler growth will also be shorted by poor nutrition. Now here is the catch. Native forages generally have 13% protein levels. The same applies to the does. Does under nutritional stress will decrease number of fawn from the normal 2 and may even have no fawns depending on how bad the situation is out there. So it is easy to see why adding foot plots can encourage quality of deer as well as number of deer.

Here is another important peice of information for you deer lovers. Native forage is limited in production to somewhere between 100 and 500 lbs of feed/acre on average. Deer forage from food plots can reach levels of 10,000lbs/acre of forage. WOW is that impressive. This is another good reason to put your food plots in this year.

It is now fall, but it is not too late for planting for planting fall food plots for your local whitetail deer. There are lots of varieties of fall planting options available to deer managers. The idea is to get started, offer better nutritional quality and quantity than what is available out there. All wildlife in the area benefits when deer lovers plant good nutrition for the animals we love to see.

For more free resources see resources page on www.diydeerfoodplots.com 

            Kale is not for every deer food plot.  But in the right climates, with correct crops complementing kale in the food plot mix, kale is another brassica all-star.

            The biggest advantage for kale (Brassica oleracea) is its cold tolerance.  It can take temperatures down to 10F—way below freezing.

            Kale’s cold tolerance, though, is often accompanied by a big stem, and that stem is not necessarily a preferred deer food crop!  That’s just the first reason to use a stemless or “marrow stem” variety of kale in your food plot. 

            The other reason to use stemless, or marrow stem, kale in your deer food plot is that marrow stem varieties only take about three months to reach maturity.  (Stemmed varieties can take five or six months!)  That timeframe, combined with kale’s cold-hardiness, means that it is possible to plant kale along with your other food plot crops in the late summer.  Kale is a cool-season crop, though, so avoid summer seedings in areas where the summer heat is more intense.

            That’s just about the complete story on kale.  Be sure to establish it as you would any of the other brassicas:

·         Plant in a plot location with good soil drainage

·         Use a soil test to determine that you soil pH is between 5.3 and 6.8—amend the pH as needed.

·         Sow seeds ½-inch deep in 6 to 8-inch rows

            Brassicas also like to be planted in a moist seedbed, so keep that in mind if you’re planting in an area where drought is common.

For a complete nuts to bolts summary of deer food plots, everything from location strategy to making your own mixes see Deer Food Plots Made Easy.

brassica’s  are a good choice for fall and winter deer food plots. They produce large amounts of quality deer food during the time of year when perennial forages and native plants are limited in both production and quality. Seeding your brassica crops in the summer can attract deer late into the fall and early winter.

Food plots are used extensively by Deer Management groups. Good deer managers use brassica’s in their food plots because they realize the value of the brassica group. The specific varieties that Deer Management specialists commonly use are kale, rape, and turnips.

The leaves of these plants are bitter until hit by a heavy frost. Deer managers capitalize on this deer behavior to get outstanding deer attractant factor in their food plots in late fall and early winter during hunting season. Deer will be seen to eat the leaves first and then dig out the roots later in the season as the snow covers the plot.

Here are a few facts about the varieties of brassica crops used by deer managers.

Kale (brassica oleracea): Varieties with a high leaf to stem ratio are preferred by deer. If planted in the spring the stemless is ready August through September. The stemmed variety takes longer and is usually ready October through December.

Turnips: (brassica rapa):All parts of this plant are eaten by the deer. It can be late fall planted and the deer will eat the leaves first and then dig out the roots later. Choose a variety with a high proportion of leaves to provide a better deer attractant.

Forage Rape (brassica napus):  This variety is tolerant of adverse conditions such as cold, heat and drought. It is often planted in mid to late July.  The dwarf types are best when using them as deer lure.

brassica crops are often used by game managers to attract deer to their food plots, especially in the fall and early winter months. They are strong nutritionally and provide good grazing during times of the year when the native plant choices have deteriorated. So, consider brassica species when you want good fall and early winter grazing for your deer.

Planting Food Plots is beneficial to the deer herd and can supplement the herd when times are tough. Deer Food Plots Made Easy provides a complete and simple guide for the DIY crows who want more information on how to use deer food plots.

I had a client email me with the following question regarding food plots for deer and corn:

Just want to know if there is any difference in corn for the deer. I have a four row corn planter , and plan on planting  5 acre in central Michigan. The choice is sweet corn or field corn. Are there any other types of food plots  that will attract deer and keep them in the area.

I thought I would post the response here, in case any other deer food plot growers have a similar question.

Cow varieties are best. Avoid sweet corn and white corn.

Consider using an annual if this is your first plot, rather than corn, this will allow you to get the weeds under control in the first few years of the plot. I would plant corn though as a transition along the edge of your plot, especially if there is no natural transition zone. Just a thought.

Disadvantages of corn:

-not cheap to plant

-higher fertilizer needs

-fussy about pH , like 6 to 7

-doesn’t tolerate drought too well ( I don’t know about you, but we didn’t get the usual snowfall this year)

-needs very good weed control

-ideally should be planted in plots over 5 acres  as deer can consume 2-4 acres in a short time and totally ruin the advantage of having a plot

Advantages of corn in food plots:

-good winter attractant

-considered candy to deer (if you can keep them from destroying it before you need it)

-best mixed with sorghum (grain or forage), soybeans, cow peas or American jointvetch .

corn for deer food plots can be used in combination as well. Some of the combinations  people like are:

-corn with sorghum

-corn, cow peas, and soybeans

-corn, jointvetch, and cow peas (the jointvetch can tolerate heavy grazing)

I would consider keeping your plot a little simpler to start, until you have success under your belt. If you still want to go ahead with corn, keep it to the transition zone. If want to go for the corn plot in spite of some of the disadvantages go combination planting as listed above.

Check out the following links to see more information on food plot annuals and also successful food plot recommendations for those planting new plots or others wanting to revive their old ones.

http://www.diydeerfoodplots.com/articles/6dfs678.html

http://www.diydeerfoodplots.com/articles/7bv78nn.html

As spring approaches many people will be succession planning their food plots and giving some thought to location strategies, plant selection and weed control. Feel free to email me a question at any time jmcfarlen@diydeerfoodplots.com. Sometimes I am swamped with questions, especially at this time of year, but I will get back to you as soon as I can. You can also check out the resource page at http://www.diydeerfoodplots.com/resources.html for more good strategies and suggestions.

Have a great winter day out there today:)

Dr. Judy