Robert Curtis is a trend setter. The Pennsylvania hunter started using Whitetail Institute products about 15 years ago. And now, a decade and half later, he has a solid deer management program that includes highly nutritious food plots. “I got hold of some of the No-Plow first,” Curtis recalled.
“Then I started planting Imperial Whitetail Clover. If you take care of the Imperial Clover it will last you four or five years.” Curtis manages roughly 1,000 acres of hilly, rough terrain. This mountainous land is blessed with red and white oaks and chestnuts but a large percentage is not tillable. After a lot of hard work, he had two Imperial Whitetail Clover food plots that were approximately four acres each. “Some of the plots were old fields,” Curtis said. “This country used to have real small farms years ago. I made one of the plots with a bulldozer and it was a lot of work. I made another one from an old quarry. This was a mining area and they cut a lot of blue stone around here. There’s not a lot of soil in these mountains. As a matter of fact there is only a couple of inches of soil before you reach bedrock.” Over the years, Curtis has expanded his food plots as the Whitetail Institute expanded its product line. Curtis now has almost 20 acres planted in Whitetail Clover, Alfa-Rack and Extreme. He has matched each food plot choice to the terrain and soil type. He reports all the plots are lush, green and drawing in more deer. “I still have the three- or four-acre clearing in Imperial Whitetail Clover and that one is really nice,” he said. “I see deer in it all the time. I have another three acre plot that’s planted in Imperial Clover. I also have one acre in Alfa-Rack. It’s up higher on the mountain in real dry, rough terrain. Then I’ve got two plots in Extreme. They’re not very big, but they’re doing very well. As you can imagine, Curtis’ mountainous terrain isn’t exactly perfect for growing quality forages. Robert Curtis has worked hard to provide quality nutrition on his rough ground in Pennsylvania. He’s been rewarded “You have to make sure your pH is good,” he said. “The ground around here is real sour, so you have to lime it to keep the pH up. We also mow our food plots twice a year. The deer quality is much better in the area since we started using food plots.” And with the healthier, higher-quality herd comes hunting success. Curtis has shot some excellent bucks because of his food plot management. “I can’t get up in a tree stand because I’ve got artificial knees, so I’ll set up a blind on trails that are leading to the food plots,” Curtis explained. “I rifle hunt and muzzleloader hunt with an old flintlock and I’ve shot a couple of nice 10-point bucks. One of the 10-points weighed 167 pounds field dressed. We guessed him at 3- 1/2 years old. I have them both mounted. A guy from Maine also shot a real good 8-point on the property. “I’ve got plans for three more areas that I’m clearing that I want to plant in food plots. They’ll be in Alfa Rack and Imperial Clover,” he said. Curtis strongly recommends using 30-06 Plus Protein mineral supplements along with food plots. He said the nutrition provided by the supplement has resulted in larger, thicker racks on his bucks. “It’s definitely worth using the supplements along with food plots,” he said. “I have collected a lot of antlers over the past 10 to 15 years, and the same age deer had smaller racks before we started using 30-06 Plus Protein. The racks have gotten bigger and bigger throughout the years as I used Institute products. In fact, one shed I found is huge and I’d really like to have its owner on the wall.” 