MATT PETERSEN – North Carolina


My first memory of planting a food plot took place about 20 years ago when I was about 10 years old. This strong and cherished memory took place with my Paw Paw, Buck Saul, on a small piece of property near our family farm in north central North Carolina.
This memory is filled with my first smell of fresh turned moist dirt, the sounds of a small international tractor pulling a light disc harrow, and Paw Paw letting me ride with him and steer the tractor. I can still remember Paw Paw telling me how much the deer loved the clover we were planting and how much better it was at attracting them than a corn pile. After the field was smoothed and it was time to spread the seed I still remember seeing the Whitetail Institute buck right there on the seed bag. At age nine, I’m sure I was thinking wow what a buck! That small plot of Imperial Whitetail Clover led to my Paw Paw taking at least one, if not two bucks each season for many years. That experience with the Imperial Whitetail Clover, as well as seeing the results of all the bucks taken off the plot, exposed me to the magic of food plots.
Over the years, I tried different seed from various companies, along with my own blends, and the results kept leading me back to Whitetail Institute products. Whitetail Institute has everything you need to give deer and other wildlife an abundance of food that is attractive and nutritious to allow them to thrive. My passion for wildlife led me to start my own wildlife and land-management company, Petersen’s Wildlife Management. The central service our company provides is food plot installation, and we use Whitetail Institute products on all our farms. Simply put, they are the best! After over a decade of a Whitetail Institute food plot program on our small farm the results have been better than we could have ever imagined. We grew the biggest buck ever taken in our area this past year. He was killed by a neighbor and at 4-1/2 years old scored 178 inches (photo 1). I also killed my best buck to date this year, a 3-1/2-year-old that scored 135 inches (photo 2). We also had two other bucks taken by a neighbor that scored 139 at 3 1/2 and 141 at 4 1/2. All these bucks fed on Whitetail Institute plantings their whole lives. Bottom line — Whitetail Institute products work, and they will allow your deer and other wildlife to reach their full potential. Also the Whitetail News is a great resource for beginners and experts to learn and stay on the cutting edge of the art of food plotting and whitetail nutrition. Lastly, the customer service and troubleshooting Whitetail Institute provides is second to none. Thanks, Whitetail Institute, for what you do!