We own a 50-acre woodlot in rural Maine. It’s overgrown farmland with 60-plus-year-old second growth mixed stands of mature pine, maple, oak etc. Other than acorns, there is not a lot to attract deer from the surrounding properties. Hunting during the past 10 years had really gone downhill. A friend had been planting food plots with good results and recommended Whitetail Institute’s Imperial Whitetail Clover. Two years ago, we cleared two half-acre plots.
The results from the soil samples I sent in to the Whitetail Institute’s soil testing lab were quickly returned with instructions for the proper amounts of lime and fertilizer to apply. We prepared as instructed and planted Imperial Clover. The land was extremely acidic, so the first year before the lime completely kicked-in, the clover came a little slow, but the deer still hit the clover that grew. The next year the plots filled in thick and green. It was impressive. And boy did the deer love it. We have trail cams set up, and filmed six bucks, along with the does and fawns, which feed daily on the plots. This year, we cleared five acres and planted four in Imperial Whitetail Clover and one in Pure Attraction. The deer are here to stay. As I write this letter we have 18 inches of snow covering the ground, and the food plots look like sheep pens. Soon after the first frosts, they started eating the oats and brassica in the Pure Attraction and are still digging through all that snow to get at the clover. This past November rifle season my 16-year old son shot this 140-inch buck in the first half acre clover plot we planted the year before. I’m not sure if he or I was more excited. It surely was rewarding to take such a nice animal from our land. The buck weighed 202 pounds field dressed, and his shoulder mount will grace our home to remind us of that special morning. Before we started planting Whitetail Institute products I was becoming discouraged with the hunting on our land but now I’m obsessed with the plots and watching the results. Good food and cover is the key to having deer in an area. It’s only been two years now, but I can already see the results, and it can only get better. Thanks to Whitetail Institute and its products.
The results from the soil samples I sent in to the Whitetail Institute’s soil testing lab were quickly returned with instructions for the proper amounts of lime and fertilizer to apply. We prepared as instructed and planted Imperial Clover. The land was extremely acidic, so the first year before the lime completely kicked-in, the clover came a little slow, but the deer still hit the clover that grew. The next year the plots filled in thick and green. It was impressive. And boy did the deer love it. We have trail cams set up, and filmed six bucks, along with the does and fawns, which feed daily on the plots. This year, we cleared five acres and planted four in Imperial Whitetail Clover and one in Pure Attraction. The deer are here to stay. As I write this letter we have 18 inches of snow covering the ground, and the food plots look like sheep pens. Soon after the first frosts, they started eating the oats and brassica in the Pure Attraction and are still digging through all that snow to get at the clover. This past November rifle season my 16-year old son shot this 140-inch buck in the first half acre clover plot we planted the year before. I’m not sure if he or I was more excited. It surely was rewarding to take such a nice animal from our land. The buck weighed 202 pounds field dressed, and his shoulder mount will grace our home to remind us of that special morning. Before we started planting Whitetail Institute products I was becoming discouraged with the hunting on our land but now I’m obsessed with the plots and watching the results. Good food and cover is the key to having deer in an area. It’s only been two years now, but I can already see the results, and it can only get better. Thanks to Whitetail Institute and its products.
