Back to the Basics

10 Steps For A Successfull Food Plot and Deer Management Program

By Brad Herndon

“Frank, I think we did a great job,” said Roger as he leaned against the wheel of his small Ford tractor. “We got the ground turned over good, used the disk to level it out and got a good scald on the seeding I believe.”

“You’re right,” replied Frank. “And by taking the disk and really burying the clover seed in the ground, we made sure it will all come up when the next rain hits.”

Conversations similar to this one have been made many times between deer hunters who are planting their first food plot. But sadly, the stand of clover Frank and Roger watched grow from their beautifully prepared food plot field was spotty at best.

“Well, Jed,” Bryan drawled as he gazed over their food plot full of newly emerging clover. “I guess we didn’t mess up like Frank and Roger next door did on their clover job. We did our planting just the way you’re supposed to. And we really poured the fertilizer on it too. I’ll bet we have every big buck in the county in our laps come November.”

Unfortunately, Jed and Bryan’s clover field didn’t turn out to be much either. Oh, it looked great when it first came through the ground, but from then on it didn’t grow too fast. In fact, since Jed and Bryan had too many whitetails in their region, by the time hunting season arrived what little clover they did have had been eradicated by the deer.

Like the first conversation, the conversation between Jed and Bryan is another one often overheard around the food plot campfires. There are reasons both plots failed and a seasoned food plot manager will quickly figure out what caused their dismal crops. This is true because they may have made similar mistakes themselves. Yes, anything new we try can be a disaster if we don’t follow tried-and-true guidelines. With this in mind, I’m going to list 10 steps that will guarantee you a luscious first food plot even if you’re new to the quality deer management game. And along the way you’ll see how Frank, Roger, Jed and Bryan made major mistakes despite their good intentions. Here are 10 steps to successful food plots and producing quality deer:

1. Check Your Pocketbook

Yes, planting food plots for the whitetails in any region costs money. You need to determine how much cash you have to spare since it will determine the crops and acreages you plant. For example, if you have unlimited resources you could plant both annual and perennial crops for your deer. Annual, by the way, means the crop comes up in the spring, grows to maturity, then dies out. Corn, soybeans and wheat are both well-known annuals. Perennial, meanwhile, means the crop produces year every year; therefore it is more cost efficient. Imperial Whitetail Clover, Imperial Alfa-Rack and Extreme are all perennials. 

2. Decide Where The Food Plot(s) Will Be Located

This is an important decision. We have two one-acre food plots on one of our leases. One is south of a strategic inside corner in a field, while the other plot lies about one-quarter mile north of the inside corner. When deer are out traveling about, they go from one food plot to the other, in the process cutting through the inside corner, right where we are waiting for them.

One of our plots is long and narrow and butts right up to the edge of the woods. The other plot is placed in a long, narrow finger field that runs back to a point. Both locations are positioned next to timber, which makes the whitetails feel safe while feeding.

If you hunt in hilly regions, if at all possible plant the plots on higher ground where the wind is easy to use to your advantage. The soil may actually be more fertile in the valleys, but the wind swirls terribly down in low gullies in the hills. While several deer come in to the plots down low, most of the time they are going to get a scent of human. Spook the deer often enough near a food plot and they’ll start waiting until after dark to hit the food source. Then you’re done.

Always remember that placing food plots on the ends of natural funnels dramatically improves the odds of success.

It’s also a good idea to locate plots so they are hidden from view of any roads. This way other hunters don’t know the size of the bucks you’re growing. And since people like to watch deer in fields, you also avoid creating traffic jams on the roadways.

The location of food plots can mean the difference between success and failure many times, so be sure to give this step careful consideration before making planting decisions.

3. Determine Your Soil Type

For the inexperienced, this step may seem unnecessary or difficult. Dirt is dirt, one may think; it’s just different colors. Nothing could be further from the truth. Actually, there are literally thousands of different types of soils, and certain plants will do better on one type of soil than it will on others.

It’s extremely easy to identify what type of soil you have. Each county has a Natural Resources Conservation Service office. They are a branch of the government and are there to help people manage their land in various ways. This includes providing soil data about each county. By showing them on their soil map exactly where your food plots are located, they then can tell you – for free – what type of soil you have and what plants will do best on that particular type of soil.

For instance, going back to our example in step 1, the two buddies leasing the 200 acres had made a decision to plant a perennial crop, either clover or alfalfa, since it was a good value for the money they had available. Without knowing what type of soil they have, they could plant the wrong crop and experience a failure. For instance, Imperial Whitetail Clover does best on moist soil. If the two buddies were hunting high land that was dry and well drained, clover wouldn’t do nearly as well as Alfa-Rack because alfalfa thrives on this type of soil. Your can readily see how important it is to know what type of soil you have.

4. Take A Soil Test

Not getting a soil test may be the most common mistake made by those planting their first food plot. For example, although Jed and Bryan had a good stand of clover come up and had fertilized the soil heavily, their clover didn’t amount to much as it matured. This could have occurred because of two reasons. First of all, they could have planted the clover on extremely dry soil that was not suited for the clover. Or, more likely, they probably didn’t do a soil test on their plot, which may have indicated lime was needed.

Taking small samples of soil from various places within your plot carries out a soil test. This soil is then mixed together and a cup or two of it is placed within the soil test kit bag. On the side of the bag, you simply mark what product you want to plant, clover as an example, and the lab will tell you exactly what you need to do to your soil to assure a top-notch crop.

Almost always (it depends on the part of the country where you live) the tester will recommend the application of a certain amount of lime to the plot to correct the pH of your soil. The what? You may say. The pH measures the alkalinity or acidity of your soil. Numbers go from one to 14, one being extremely acidic, 14 being extremely alkaline. Most soils in the United States are too acidic, and this prevents plants such as clover from absorbing the nutrients it needs from the soil regardless of how much fertilizer is applied. By liming properly, your plants can absorb all the nutrients in the soil and reach their full potential.

Commercial lime can be purchased in all states, usually at a reasonable rate at farm supply stores. In my area I have to order a full truckload of lime to get delivery. A truck holds 10 or 11 tons of lime and it runs $8 per ton. I had all of my food plots limed last fall for $88. The truck arrived at my site, spread the lime and was gone in one-half hour. That’s as cheap and as easy as it can get. Keep in mind though that commercial lime may run much higher in some locations.

Pelletized lime can also be used, but it’s time consuming to apply and expensive. It’s not recommended unless the plots are not accessible by truck.

Another thing the soil test results explain is the exact type of fertilizer needed for the plant product. Some managers just apply a common fertilizer to their soil, such as 12-12-12. While this may work in cases, you're often applying the wrong type of fertilizer. For instance, clover produces its own nitrogen, and a fertilizer with a high-nitrogen content does little to help the clover and only promotes weed and grass competition.

Get your soil test and do it right. Your pocketbook will thank you. Soil test kits are only $9.95 from the Whitetail Institute of North America.

5. Prepare The Soil Correctly

The perfect way to prepare the soil in your food plot is to have your own tractor, plow, disk, roller and seeder. This way you can break up the soil, level it with the disk until it’s fine and even, and roll it for light compaction before seeding. Then you simply seed the plot, roll again to push the seed lightly into the soil and sit back and wait for a good rain.

 Yes, this is ideal, but most of us don’t have this equipment. I don’t, so what I do is pay a local guy who lives near my plots $25 per hour to work up my plots for me. He’s a hard and quick worker, so this works well for me. I have him do everything except seed the plot. I use an over-the-shoulder hand seeder that has a variety of settings, and it does an excellent job.

Some food plot managers use an ATV to work their plots. With the many fine attachments now available, a pretty decent job can be carried out using an ATV, especially in loose soils. In hard-to-get-to locations, some hunters use Round-Up to kill out the vegetation, then work up the soil with a disk or even a rake. It may surprise you how well this works since it gets the seed in contact with the soil. Of course you still need to apply the lime and fertilizer.

6. Plant The Seeds According To Instructions                                           

Once the liming, fertilizing, and soil preparation is all done, it’s time to do the seed planting. Simply put, follow the instructions on the bag. Remember at the first of the article how Frank and Roger used a disk to bury their clover seed, just to make sure it all came up? Well, clover seed should never be placed deeper than 1/4 inch or most of it will never come up! By thinking deeper was better, they created a funeral plot, not a food plot.

Actually, I place all of my Imperial Whitetail Clover seed directly on top of the ground without any compaction and it does great. The trick is to seed right before a rain; and as the rain pelts the soil, it splashes dirt around and covers the seeds just right.

Another mistake those new to deer management make is seeding too heavily. If one bag is good, two is great, they reason. It isn’t true. If you apply too much seed, the plants are overcrowded and produce less forage. You can plant a little more than recommended if you are in doubt, but don’t go wild.

7. Maintain Your Food Plots

As plants such as alfalfa and clover grow, they become larger and more fibrous and are therefore less palatable to whitetails since they are tough. By mowing roughly the top third of the mature plants off, two objectives are achieved. First, the plant shoots become tender once more and will hold deer on your property better. And secondly, weeds are controlled.

If you have a problem with excess grasses in your Imperial Clover and Alfa-Rack plots, Vantage is a great herbicide that will rid the plot of the grasses and will not harm the Imperial Clover or Alfa-Rack in any way.

8. Use Exclusion Cages

To find out just how well the crops are growing and also how much the deer are using the food plots, place an exclusion cage in each plot. Use sturdy wire to build cages approximately three feet in diameter and three feet high. It may surprise you how much food the whitetails are consuming – one more reason you need to use high-protein food plot products such as Imperial Whitetail Clover, Alfa-Rack, and others.

9. Keep Your Deer Herd Under Control

This is as big a part of a food plot management program as anything is. Let the deer numbers get out of control and you’re courting disaster. Native forages can be overbrowsed and so will the food plots. Shoot plenty of does every year. Buck movement will increase with fewer does. If deer numbers get too low, the numbers will pop right back up in a year or two. When it comes to deer – as difficult as this is to accept – too few are always better than too many.

10. Don’t Shoot The Little Bucks

If you’re not used to seeing trophy bucks, your inclination may be to shoot a nice 2 1/2-year-old buck when he comes waltzing by. Don’t do it! If you maintain quality food plots using Whitetail Institute products, within several years (and maybe the first year) it is likely you could have much better quality bucks on your land. 

In closing, be sure to closely follow each of the steps I have listed for the most successful quality deer management program possible. Skip a step and your hunting will suffer. Take it from all of us “experts” who write for Whitetail News, for most of us were Frank, Roger, Jed and Bryan when we started planting food plots.