Food Plots For Whitetails

February 19, 2011  
Filed under Garden

Did you ever notice that it seems like every time you view a hunting show on Television, the TV personality is hunting giant whitetails on some kind of plush food plot. This does very little for my hunting lust, in terms of wowing me with their skills as Pro hunters are concerned. And, often times I think they could get a primate to do their jobs. Please don’t let me lead you astray, I believe that growing a food plot and harvesting whitetails is a great thing. It’s just that I consider pro hunters to be deer authorities and to be impressive to me with their hunting knowledge. The current hunters today are much more skilled and prepared to put a commitment into scoring a large buck. So, food plots are what you are looking for to be successful. They help the deer and they help hunters be much more discriminating about the deer that they take.

Springtime all over North America, like many points on the planet, is a period of fantastic foliage growth. As spring awakes and the weather becomes more clear, many types of plant life comes up and the land starts to become plush and green again. This rebirth produces many of the protein plant foods for deer to eat. Actually, over the spring and early summer, most deer do not need additional food sources at this point. So, after the summer warmth has subsided, many naturally found plant sources have gone and are not desired anymore, this is precisely the worst time of the year for the whitetails. This time is when deer are biologically rebuilding for the colder months when they will have little protein that their bodies will need to make it through. This time of the season is also when the does have been bred and they are carrying their youngsters. If you possibly could provide a protein replacement at this time, you are providing 3 or more big objectives. First, the health of the deer herd will be improved upon and more deer will live through the hard winter. The second of these is that the does will produce a superior milk for their little ones, which will also add increased value to the herd through the wintry months. Lastly, the bucks of the herd will develop larger antlers. This is probably the most interesting aspect to the deer hunter.

Wild life expert, Grant Higgins of Fresh Tracks Wild Life Management services says that deer need a minimum diet of 14 pct protein and that the the best possible number is 16 pct. There are many plants that will help this in the fall, generally dependent on the area and the ground in that location. As usual, have your pH tested and other insufficiencies by your local agriculture expert. They will create a report that will advise you on things you might need and what you may not. The are a few principal grains that many industry professionals recognize for the fall and they are Oats, Rye and Wheat grains. These tiny grains will stay alive very well into the wintry months and offer nutrients which will be becoming tight. Furthermore, in the Northern states, that have huge oak forest, acorns will be by natural means be made, which deer will use until they are purged. So, unless you see a lot of action in you food plot early on, search the forest for acorns. Acorns are huge with protein and are located in the safest locations for natural cover. Many times plot managers believe that their crops are doing poorly or that they are not flourishing. This may be do to high deer density in your area. The deer may eating your small plants before they are able to grow. Furthermore, southern located plots managers must be leery of wild hogs consuming their plants. Wild boars can do plenty of wear and tear to a food plot, so managers must do whatever they can to keep them out.

A great deal of researchers agree that, when you can manage it, numerous food plots are the ideal plan. Regrettably, nearly all individuals don’t have 10 or 15 acres or so to mess around with. Add to that, they don’t have any of the required resources to do such a huge adventure. So, should you be not one of several privileged people that do, and can only come up with 1 crop, please take into account a fall food plot. Like I said previously, the summer is a normally a great time for nutrition. So, some crop variety in late fall and early winter is a good thing.

Whitetail Deer Food plots, in my mind, will continue to become a lot more popular. As public and private hunting lands continue to shrink as a whole, more hunters will start buying their own hunting land and growing it to the max. I think that this will be an excellent for the hunters, the deer and several other critters that can experience some benefits for the more nutritious foods that plots supply. If you decide to try your hand at producing your own food plot, try to make it as fun as you can. Bring in your wife and the youngsters making it a team project. Throw up some game cameras and search through all the pictures together and give amusing names for the different deer that you see a lot. This might end up being a yearly activity that your whole family will enjoy for a considerably long time.

Learn more about Food Plots for Whitetails. Stop by Ben Mellott’s site where you can find out all about Cheap Deer Food Plots and what it can do for you.