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| Diversity is key when planting food plots where diversity is not a key consideration for farmers |
Although, there are those that would argue that this is
really not all that incredible since many of the same physical abilities are
needed to excel in different sports. Speed, hand-eye coordination, strength,
endurance and so on are attributes common among most sporting activities. But
to reach the professional level in any sporting endeavor, nearly all athletes
find themselves at a point in their career where they realize that to achieve
the highest level of performance they must doggedly practice and focus on the
particular skills their chosen sport requires. Would Aaron Rogers or Tom Brady
have been good baseball or basketball players? Probably, because like most
professional sports figures, Rogers and Brady are natural athletes. But to become
great and to make it to the pinnacle of their chosen sport, they made a
decision to hone the specific skills they needed to push them to greatness.
I have had the fortune of taking some pretty good deer
through the years. To harvest good deer one must work on the game strategy (reading
sign, planning tree stand locations etc.), perfect the necessary skills (making
sure you can hit what you aim at) and have a good bit of luck on your side. But
even with all of these things, there must be good deer where you are hunting in
order to harvest them. This last piece of the puzzle comes as a result of
diligent management. When I tell people that I live in southern Iowa, the
normal response is something like, “well, it’s no wonder you kill big deer, they
are all corn fed.” While admittedly Iowa is a great place for deer hunting, to simply
rely on the agricultural practices around you to produce great deer can result
in “OK” results— let’s call it minor league Single A results. But to get to the
majors where you have good deer year after year on your property, you can’t
just rely on your neighbor’s corn fields. You must approach the management of
your hunting land as a professional athlete approaches the perfection of his or
her skills needed to play at the highest levels.
THE RELATIONSHIP OF AGRICULTURE
AND DEER HABITAT
Unquestionably, deer that call farmland their home derive
benefit from the grain and hay fields planted by the local farmers. When
combined with sound herd management practices, the nutrition derived from
agricultural fields will help produce a deer herd the quality of which typically
exceeds that of deer found in non-agricultural areas. However, I can name
countless examples of properties that, through the use of food plots, have
produced deer that will rival any deer found in the Corn Belt. In fact, on many
of these properties, the quality of deer exceeded that of their farmland
brethren especially when compared to farms that did not practice deer
management. When you target the specific nutritional needs of whitetail deer
and grow food sources on a property that are intended solely for deer
utilization, you can’t help but improve the quality of deer on that property. This
is true whether or not the property is located in agricultural country.
Agricultural agronomics, regardless of the crop, are
dictated by production goals of the farmer. The type of crop planted, the
varieties used, timing of harvest etc. are all decisions that are made with the
goal of maximizing the economic return of the crop. In most instances there is
little or no thought given to how the farming practices will affect the deer
herd. For example, we know that diversification of habitat and food sources are
good deer management practices. But if the rotation calls for planting all the
crop fields to corn, that is what is going to happen even though it does not
offer diversification. Let’s say a farm may have good diversification with
grain crops and alfalfa fields, but because of the high price of corn, the
farmer decides to till up the hay field and plant it to corn also. The farmer
is making these decisions on what to plant/grow in order to maximize the farm’s
income just like any other business owner would do.
One might think that corn would be beneficial to the deer
herd as a carbohydrate source to meet energy needs during fall and winter months.
If the corn was available to the deer herd during the fall and winter it indeed
would be a great source of carbohydrates. The problem is that corn is harvested
between September and November (depending on where you are in the country), leaving
little or no corn left during the most nutritionally stressful winter months.
You may argue that waste crops or grains that were lost in the harvest would supply
deer with a good food source.
Again, it is true that any grain that the combine missed will
be a good food source but most people overestimate the amount of grain left
lying on the ground after harvest. Equipment manufacturers and farmers both know
that waste grains are the same as money thrown away, so equipment is designed
to capture nearly all the grain, and farmers utilize harvesting practices that
will make sure they don’t lose a large amount of their crop. In other words, if
you are going to sell or buy a $300,000 combine you’re probably going to make
sure it doesn’t miss much of the grain. I will admit that there are times when
a field may appear to have abundant waste, but if you went out there with a
bucket and tried to pick it up, you would be hard pressed to find enough to feed
a deer herd thru the winter. Furthermore, deer are not the only animals looking
for waste crops. Turkey, crows, geese, raccoons and a host of other animals are
out picking up the scraps as well.
From a nutritional perspective, some agricultural crops can
supply needed nutrients to the deer herd. Soybean fields for example are often browsed
by deer, and they contain good levels of protein. However, digestibility varies
depending on the maturity of the soybean plant. Corn is sometimes nipped off by
deer when it is very young, but for the most part, deer eat the actual ear
produced by the plant and not the plant itself. Deer require high levels of
protein and other nutrients during the spring and summer months when bucks are
growing antlers and does are lactating. Considering that corn is fairly low in
protein and that the ear is not formed until late summer, a corn field will
supply little nutrition during the vital spring and summer months.
Hay fields, planted to alfalfa or clover can be nutritionally
beneficial to the deer herd. Keep in mind, however, that the varieties used are
designed primarily to be used as hay for cattle. These varieties are designed
to grow and mature quickly and produce large amounts of tonnage. This rapid
growth must be supported by a sturdy plant stem. Because of their large rumen,
cattle have the ability to utilize both the leaf and the stem of a hay crop.
Deer on the other hand, being small ruminants, require a much more digestible
forage and have little ability to digest stems and/or mature vegetation. Therefore,
deer benefit from hay fields mostly when they consist of short vegetative
plants. As the field grows, digestibility decreases along with the benefit to
the deer herd.
Furthermore, most agricultural hay fields are a combination
of legumes (alfalfa, clover etc.) and grasses such as orchard grass, timothy
and so on. Grasses tend to not be preferred by deer as they lack the more
highly digestible leaf of a legume and are higher in fibrous compounds that
deer have difficulty digesting. Cattle, with their large rumen, can utilize
grasses very well and in fact a legume/grass hay is typically more preferred
for cattle than a straight legume crop.
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| The Imperial Winter-Greens and Whitetail Forage Oats in the foreground will still be available long after the corn field in the background has been harvested. |
HOW FOOD PLOTS WORK IN FARM
COUNTRY
I have had many people ask me how food plots would work when
their hunting property is surrounded by agricultural fields. Why would deer
come to a food plot when they have all the food they want elsewhere? The answer
is that your success of drawing and holding deer in the midst of thousands of
acres of farm fields is a matter of variety selection, food plot location, plot
management and human pressure. Plot location is important in that if deer feel
secure using a food plot, they will use that plot more than a neighboring field
where they don’t feel as secure.
Security comes from being close to escape cover, so a plot
that is surrounded partially or completely by cover will greatly encourage deer
usage. Human pressure also affects the amount of usage your food plots receive,
again due to a matter of security felt by the deer herd. Minimizing human
pressure by strategically planning food plot locations and stand locations along
with using sanctuary zones on your property will greatly increase deer usage on
your food plots. Choosing the right food plot varieties is also a major key to
drawing and holding deer on your property. Merely borrowing varieties from the
agricultural sector, whether or not they have been renamed as “deer food plot seed,”
will probably not give you the desired results.
One may argue that planting corn or soybeans in food plots,
even though they are agricultural crops, will draw deer to those plots. I don’t
disagree that corn and beans will attract deer, but deeper thought into that plan will reveal
a few problems. First, remember the goal is not just to draw deer onto your
property during the fall, but rather to encourage deer to use your property all
year long. Something different and more preferred by deer can help accomplish
this goal. Year-round, attractive food sources will increase the odds your property
will become a core area or home range. Furthermore, just attracting deer is not
the total goal. We are also trying to provide nutrients that will maximize the
quality of the herd. In order to accomplish this, the property must contain
food sources that provide needed nutrients throughout the year, not just for a
specific time frame. Corn and beans can be part of your food plot program, but should
be only that— a part of the total plan.
The backbone of my food plot program is perennial legumes.
Being perennials, these food plots provide a consistent food source year after year
and are the main source of spring and summer nutrition. The products I
incorporate in my perennial food plot program are Imperial Clover, Alfa- Rack
Plus and Extreme, with soil type determining which product I use in a specific
location. Why wouldn’t I use a standard hay variety red clover or alfalfa? They
are certainly readily available and competitively priced although not
necessarily always cheaper. I use the Whitetail Institute perennials because
they are designed specifically for whitetail deer. In fact, unique to Whitetail
Institute perennials is that they contain certain varieties that are
genetically developed specifically for whitetail deer. What this means to me as
a property manager is that the perennials I am using in my food plot program
contain traits that trump agricultural varieties in both attractiveness and
nutrition.
In southern Iowa, I have hay/alfalfa fields all around me,
and I even have alfalfa fields right on our farm. Deer consistently use my food
plots more aggressively than the hay fields because of the variety
characteristics we discussed early in the article. The Whitetail Institute products
are designed to be heavily leafed, thin stemmed and remain vegetative for a
long period of time. Furthermore, Whitetail Institute perennials are higher in
protein and digestible energy than commonly used hay variety perennials.
The second part of a good food plot program in farm country
is the utilization of annuals. Where the contribution of perennials is more
broad based, annuals are used to pinpoint specific food source management goals.
For example, I plant several acres of Winter-Greens, soybeans and occasional
corn for a late fall/winter food source when my perennials go dormant in the
winter. These plots are primarily designed to supply carbohydrate- sourced
energy. Since my neighbors have typically harvested their crops by then, it is
important to make sure you plant adequate acres of winter food as you will
likely have most of the deer in the area visiting your plots. I also use
annuals such as oats and wheat or blends such as Pure Attraction to target
certain time frames such as mid to late fall. These annuals also work well in
rotational programs when I’m transitioning fields out of perennials. As you can
see, I have a great diversity of food sources on my property. Diversity is
critical when it comes to whitetail habitat and most agricultural operations
lack diversification. One year the fields may be planted to all corn, the next
soybeans or even some of both; but compared to my farm, the neighbor’s farms
are like a pitcher that only has a fast ball.
CONCLUSION
Peruse the Boone and Crocket or Pope and Young record books
and it becomes very apparent that farmland deer are the benefactors of good soil
and agricultural crops. But with some management strategies targeted toward a
deer’s needs you can raise your game to a whole new level. If you have ever
wondered how people consistently produce great deer on their property while
neighboring properties only occasionally achieve these results, the answer is
most often a specifically designed management plan. Of course that is easy to
say and what else would you expect me to say since we are talking deer
management. I can back this statement up, however, using my own farm as an
example. In the past four years I have harvested a 150, 162, 170 and a 193 and
I can tell you it is not because I am some mystical deer hunting guru. I simply
have put a management plan in place that consistently produces a quantity of
quality deer that are above average even in farm country. For comparison,
before I started managing my farms, I had harvested one buck more than 150
inches in the previous 10 years of hunting.
