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.

            By this time, your weed worries in your food plots may be a thing of the past.  Your food plot plantings may be well on their way to providing deer forage this fall.  However, if you’re establishing a new food plot this fall, there is a class of weeds that may prove quite troublesome.   They’re the cool-season weeds that thrive in the same conditions that some of your best food plot crops thrive.

            Cool-season broadleaf weeds can be especially troublesome, especially in areas a little farther south than mine.  (Weeds like deadnettle, common chickweed, and henbit have proven to be especially troublesome.)  Such weeds present particular problems when you’re trying to seed perennial crops in the late summer or fall.  Many perennial crops that are used in food plots can be slow to grow after seeding; this gives the weeds a great chance to overtake your plot. What a waste this would be prior to fall and winter hunting attraction goals for whitetail  or Mule Deer.

            Honestly, the best thing you can do under heavy weed pressure is spray the weeds.  The most effective sprays are pre-emergent herbicides that you can actually spray before seeding.  Obtain a local recommendation for these and be sure that any herbicides you use are properly applied.

            If you’re applying a post-emergent herbicide, take special care that the herbicide you choose won’t affect the variety of crops that may be in your food plots.  Some herbicides, for example, will affect legumes in younger stages but not in older stages.

Of course, replanting may sometimes be an option.  Like anything else that deals with food plots or growing other crops, you may sometimes have to start over from scratch!

For More information on Do It Yourself deer food Plots, please visit our website www.diydeerfoodplots.com/

Let’s take a closer look at rye and ryegrass and their use in deer food plots.
 

   Annual ryegrass (Lollium multiflorum).is a cool-season annual grass commonly used in deer food plot plantings.  It is not to be confused with rye (Secale cereale).  Rye is also an annual grass, but is more commonly grown for grain than for forage.

 If you’re planting for deer forage in a warmer season, rye can be an excellent choice.  A disadvantage in cooler weather is that lower temperatures cause the rye plant to bend over (a condition called “lodging”).  This puts the plant on the ground rather than up in the air.

• Still, rye is a very valuable food source for deer and other wildlife.  In northern zones, some university research has recommended simply seeding rye into forest openings each year in the spring to improve food value for wildlife.
• My experience with the deer food plots on the ranch, however, is to treat crops as annuals with a “harvest” by the deer in the fall and winter.  Annual ryegrass really meets that purpose.  It contains about 16% crude protein.  It is also relatively high in calcium when compared to other common deer food plot crops.
•  As I’ve noted when writing about cool-season grasses, be sure that you don’t select a perennial ryegrass variety.  The perennial version can be aggressive and hard to get out of your food plot.  In addition to avoiding perennial varieties, there are some disease issues in ryegrass that can occur, especially in warmer climates, if it is seeded continuously.  (That’s another argument for rotating crops in your food plot.)
• Annual ryegrass will perform well when seeded into a food plot with a moderate pH (between 5.5 and 7.5).  Another advantage to annual ryegrass is that it is more tolerant to soils that are not as well-drained. 
•  Annual ryegrass is a great crop to use in a crop mix, as it serves as a good “companion” for some clovers and other shorter crops.  It’s quick growing and rapidly establishes, and it can be effectively used as a standalone crop to provide food value in spots where other grasses might not grow as easily.  I like to seed it on our fourwheeler trails to provide some deer cover and forage value on hard-traveled paths.

 For more free information on annual options for deer food plots visit: www.diydeerfoodplots.com/

 Soybeans (Glycine max) are a legume that deer  love to consume.  In fact, you may have acquired the right to hunt near farmland where the owners or managers are hoping your efforts will help manage deer populations that have enjoyed eating soybean a little too much!

            There are two kinds of soybeans used in deer food plot plantings: soybeans used for grain production and “forage soybeans” or soybeans planted to provide green forage in the early fall.  Grain soybeans can be planted from spring through the summer for deer forage, and may especially attract deer if soybeans aren’t widely grown in your area.  Some varieties of soybeans have been bred to be resistant to Roundup™.  If you want to utilize such varieties into a new food plot, that can potentially make weed control a lot easier.

            I like soybeans best in larger food plots.  Whitetail deer will keep the soybean from maturing in plantings of an acre or less, especially if there are not other soybean options nearby.  Soybeans can be used as a source of winter feed, but soybean stems tend to lodge (bend/break) in the winter, making them less reliable than some of the other grains commonly used in deer food plots.

            Be sure to use an inoculant when planting soybeans.  Plantings in areas with nearby soybean acreage for fall and winter browsing should be made in the spring.  Soybeans planted as Annual Forage  legumes in fall food plots can be seeded between mid-August and mid-September.  Personally, though, I prefer other fall forage options.

            Some soybean varieties have been bred to be more ideally suited for forage, but many managers find that grain soybeans are suitable for late summer seeding—and in a new food plot, the “Roundup Ready” option of soybeans that can be sprayed with glyphosate may be especially attractive in the first year.