Vet Judy

Cool season deer food plot forages are generally considered to be those plants that are planted in later summer, early fall or spring. They are great for whitetail deer, mule deer, turkeys etc. The plants  provide fall and winter deer food when the deer are under a significant amount of stress during the rut.  Those plants that are planted in fall but emerge in the spring are great for giving does additional support during lactation.

When considering using cool season deer forage in your food plots  generally all legumes should have a grain, annual ryegrass or rapeseed (brassica) mixed with them.

The cool season grass ( annual ryegrass)  and grains ( wheat, oats, rye)  have multiple functions in a food plot.

*help prevent erosion

*can compete effectively with deer food plot annual weeds

*grow quickly and therefore provide quick food supply for deer

* are a cover crop for the legumes which means they protect the legume through the winter and early spring when frost risk is high and allow for a good stand in the spring.

Commercial seed mixes for deer food plots generally have legumes, small grains, grasses and/or brassicas in them. It is not essential to use a mix. You can buy seed at a local distributor as well and mix the combinations yourself.

Just remember if you are going to use low till or no till strategies you have to stay with the small seeds as these are the ones that need very little soil coverage. With these small seeds the soil coverage is generally 1/4 inch or so, which lends itself to using a rake (if you are covering manually) or a drag behind an ATV. Very small seeds can also be mixed with sand in your seeder to help with even spreading, especially if they are to be planted as a monoculture (by themselves). 

When planting your food plot feel free to premix as mentioned above, mix your own and spread it that way, or plant as single culture patches. The advantage of planting several types of plants together is especially evident when you need a cover crop for your legumes. I have planted both ways though and had success in either strategy depending on the plot and the deer pressure.

The deer don’t care how the feed is presented so much as they care about their safety when getting to the food and also that it is tasty when they arrive.  

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.

Controlled burning is an effective wildlife habitat management tool.  It can help create the effective cover and transition between cover that your deer prefer.  It may also be a way to manage land areas adjacent to your deer food plots.  And fall is the time to prepare for controlled burns that you may use in the late winter or early spring.

First off, remember: controlled burns are not for rookies.  If or when you choose to use this form of habitat management, be sure to rely on professional advice and follow all local guidelines and restrictions on controlled burns.  Large landowners often find it useful to employ a land management specialist who is experienced in conducting large area burns.  These professionals will ensure that your land is taken care of and that the fire is properly contained.

            But no matter how large an area you’re planning to burn, fall is the time to get ready for the actual burning that may occur in the late winter or early spring.  You may choose to use a disk or other tillage implement to create firebreaks in the fall that will help contain the larger burn later on.  Be careful not to assume that your work in creating firebreaks in the fall is over when you put the tractor in the shed for the winter.  Especially near heavily wooded areas, firebreaks that you create with a disk may accumulate leaves or other flammable debris by spring.

            Also take care that your activity creating firebreaks does not disturb the feeding patterns of the deer in the habitat that you’re managing.

            Like most other aspects of deer food plot management, controlled burning takes careful planning and management.  But when the native habitat springs up after the early spring burn, creating the natural cover and forage that deer and other wildlife crave, you’ll be glad you took the time in the fall to do things right.

For more information on deer food Plots: please visit our website @ www.diydeerfoodplots.com/

            Deer food plot planters are well aware that the best food plots are those that are well planned.  In this fall season, I want to take a look at the flexibility that a fall-seeded small grain like wheat may give you next spring.

As I’ve mentioned in this blog before, wheat can be a most valuable deer food plot crop for winter and fall forage, especially in larger plantings.  But it’s time to review another advantage to winter wheat plantings beyond the food value: as preparation for planting spring legumes.

You have a couple options with the 60-120 pounds of wheat that you seed per acre in a fall planting.  It may be utilized for winter forage, and then fertilized in February to provide standing grain cover and habitat the following summer.  Larger wheat plantings, of course, can also be harvested for their grain value.

But wheat seedings in food plots may be most valuable for the flexibility that they give for frost seeded legumes in the early spring.  You can overseed clover or lespedeza into a wheat planting and provide valuable legume forage in the early spring and summer months.  Other legumes may be appropriate for seeding into a wheat stand depending on your location.

Oats (Avena) seeded for fall forage in well-drained ground is one of my favorite choices for deer food plots. “Forage oats” seem to be very attractive to the deer on our farm. I think this is because oats tend to remain greener longer into the winter—I’ve even seen deer seek out oats from underneath snowcover.

Either winter or spring oat varieties can be utilized for winter and fall forage. (Spring oats have been developed to produce grain when planted in the spring). Spring oats can be planted for fall forage from late July to early September, depending on your region and climate. For forage, plant winter oat varieties about two weeks later than spring oat varieties. In a deer plot devoted solely to oats, the seeding rate will be about 100 pounds per acre.

Oats are also a proven crop to help establish grass and legume seedings. You might consider sowing oats along with alfalfa, a strategy used often by American farmers to help establish alfalfa plantings.

Oats may also be a crop that can be used if you’re establishing food plantings on former pasture ground, especially in climates south of where I live. Frost seeding forage oats into closely-grazed pasture ground in the late winter can result in suitable spring forage for wildlife in the early spring. You could then come in during the later spring or summer and begin preparing the ground for your fall food plot.

For more information on annuals: see  http://www.diydeerfoodplots.com/articles/annual-forages.html