Looking into the legality of food plots.

[d-bone20917]

If you need to ask this question you will never get why I do it. I take and give back to the land. I'm a steward of the land and want the next person who takes over my land to have prime habitat. It adds a new element to my off season low. I get my family involved in all my habitat work. All animals benefit from it. Do I need to go on?

No need to go on. So you just like to plant stuff and don't do it to help your chances with killing a critter. I have a couple of food plots and I'm similar to you in that I really enjoy doing the work and getting my family involved as well. But lets not pretend you aren't planting them to increase you chances while hunting.

[d-bone20917]

It produces a healthy herd not a place to shoot deer. There are no stands within 500 yards of any of my plots.

It doesn't matter where your stands are, the goal of any food plot is to have a healthy herd which increases you chances during hunting season.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Sounds like you've already wasted to much time on it. Def alot more then i have......

Well if you call educating yourself wasting time, then I guess you are right.

[Danny]

what happens to the deer herd if you sell your property and the new owners (not being hunters) discontinue to plant and maintain a plot, do the increased size of deer herd that have been conditioned to your property just die off because the natural habitat does not have enough available food to sustain them? now before you answer remember the point of the food plot was to increase herd size and health. so what happens when the food plot is gone?

Edited October 3, 2012 by Danny

[Culvercreek hunt club]

what happens to the deer herd if you sell your property and the new owners (not being hunters) discontinue to plant and maintain a plot, do the increased size of deer herd that have been conditioned to your property just die off because the natural habitat does not have enough available food to sustain them? now before you answer remember the point of the food plot was to increase herd size and health. so what happens when the food plot is gone?

Since they are not fenced game they would migrate or move to an area with available food/water and shelter. The state is below carrying capacity and if you talk to many hunters there are areas of the state they feel are under populated (from what they feel is ideal)

[Doc]

Since they are not fenced game they would migrate or move to an area with available food/water and shelter. The state is below carrying capacity and if you talk to many hunters there are areas of the state they feel are under populated (from what they feel is ideal)

Actually, if you look closely at some of the posts here, it appears that there are still a lot of places where guys are still thinking that deer populations need some thinning. And actually regardless of what todays population looks like it can change dramatically in year or two. In fact, with the mild winter and the perfect birthing weather this spring, I think the herd is due for a significant spike in population. I do still remember the heavy population densities of the late 80's and early 90's. There were many areas that were way over populated, and so the question that has been posed is probably a valid one.

One of the reasons given by the DEC on one of the documents cited on this forum that regarded deer and moose feeding was their concern about inflating populations artificially through feeding to a point where it exceeds surrounding carrying capacity. Their concern was about the practice of feeding, but I would thing that food plotting could have the same concerns. That's particularly true when people start seeing the level of effort and money that can be involved in a food plotting activity and suddenly and abruptly discontinue the practice. That might place a new, undue strain on local habitat. It certainly is an interesting question at any rate.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Doc. except for High peaks and Catskills I can't imagine the food plotting efforts come anywhere close to the actual agricultural. I have no way of know the numbers but when I fly there is a pile of land in agricultural production and I can't imagine the plots can influence a population boom.. that is 100% conjecture and I base it on nothing but what I see.

[LIHUNT]

No, im just done listening to you. You sound cocky in almost every post you write, have you get always have the last word(type) You remind me of the guy in the song"online" by Brad Paisley. Sitting down in your basment weighting 400lbs and stuffing your face with pizza all while sounding like a bad ass on a hunting forum.

Done with you

[Doc]

Doc. except for High peaks and Catskills I can't imagine the food plotting efforts come anywhere close to the actual agricultural. I have no way of know the numbers but when I fly there is a pile of land in agricultural production and I can't imagine the plots can influence a population boom.. that is 100% conjecture and I base it on nothing but what I see.

Yeah you're probably right, but not that long ago, we had a brief discussion on food plot sizes, and I was surprised at the acreage that some guys are putting in for food plots. I mean there was talk about having more than one 20 acre food plot. Man that is a pretty huge feeding operation. And today, special seeds and crops are put in specifically to attract deer and cater to their sweet tooth. Some of that stuff sure does beat the farmers bland old corn and alfalfa .... lol. Actually, down our way in southern Ontario County, farming has all but disappeared. The tiny fields of the valley bottoms and the hilltops are suitable only for food plots as the farmers have long ago headed for jobs in the city. That is the situation all around our area and any place that consists of tight little valleys. And then of course there is the Catskills and Adirondacks that you mentioned. As a state wide phenomenon, it probably is not a big issue. As a series of local situations, maybe it is. I just thought the question was interesting and probably merits a bit of thought rather than simply discounting it out of hand. Apparently the DEC has thought about it a bit as noted in their comments regarding the practice of "feeding".

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I agree there sure is a ton of $$$ poured into them.

[ants]

what happens to the deer herd if you sell your property and the new owners (not being hunters) discontinue to plant and maintain a plot, do the increased size of deer herd that have been conditioned to your property just die off because the natural habitat does not have enough available food to sustain them? now before you answer remember the point of the food plot was to increase herd size and health. so what happens when the food plot is gone?

Do you hunt??

[Doc]

I agree there sure is a ton of $$$ poured into them.

On TV, I have seen food plotters with tractors that some full-time farmers would be jealous of....lol. Much equipment is purchased specifically for food plots. That stuff isn't cheap ... even used. And then there is the seed. Some of this specialty whitetail seed gets a bit pricey. And lets not forget fuel. My gosh, I get all twitchy when I fill up my zero-turn mower these days .... lol. And then there is the time spent.

Having said all that, I do understand. I went through the farmer thing. Had the critters, and the tractors and all the fitting equipment and the hay lot, and I loved every minute of it even though I never made a dime. But I do understand that it all is just plain fun and when you get all done, there is a huge sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. But just like me, I would imagine there are a lot of plotters that simply get tired of it and stop the whole thing rather abruptly. Priorities change and that large expense to repair one or more of the tractors or implements has to give way to new furniture, new car or a dish washer or something and the plot simply fades away. So the question about what happens to the deer that have become dependant on that food source takes on a bit of realism.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

But just as many have done before you and since you there is probably a group of plotters packing it in and some new ones starting. If everyone in an area stopped at one time, like a new law banning food plots, I can see maybe an impact then. Maybe that is playing into the stance for allowing it. A big economic plunge could also strap the plotters since it is pretty costly

[Danny]

what you have to realize the bigtime shows with all the equipment are farming the deer for clients paying big bucks $$ for big bucks, probably earn more more than the farmer growing corn

[SplitG2]

It's pretty simple...if you don't like food plots don't plant them! We hunter's always have issues with each other. United we must be to continue this sport.

[Doc]

what you have to realize the bigtime shows with all the equipment are farming the deer for clients paying big bucks $$ for big bucks, probably earn more more than the farmer growing corn

But the funny thing is that some of the normal home-spun food plotters are spending fortunes on farm equipment too. How much do one of those Kubota 4-wheel drive tractors go for. I know of a couple of guys locally that have bought those brand spanking new.....ouch! Plows, discs, drags, seeders, etc., etc. believe me I have done the same thing (for different reasons). Well, I was operating with an old 1950 8N and an old tricycle style Case and not anything that was brand new, but I had a full line of tilling equipment and even way back then and buying everything as broken down used stuff, it was no cheap thing. I'll tell you when I was on one of those tractors plowing or discing or whatever .... it was a great feeling! It was all fun and if there had been anyway that I could have bought a brand new tractor, nothing would have stopped me. So, I understand all of it, and maybe more than most because it did take me back to my youth on our farm, and the activities that I was always involved in. But like a lot of guys, it all eventually got replaced by more practical items.

Yeah, those guys on TV can probably justify it with actual money that they are making from their commercial hunting operations. But a lot of guys who get into these food plots are spending a lot of cash as well. And most of them aren't making a dime, and it is all cash out the door. So for them it is a lot easier to justify shutting down the food plot operations when the time comes. And I have to believe that it does leave a heck of hole in the local habitat.

[tughillhunter]

If you are planting to attract deer , Its bait, plain and simple ,, Tipping the odds in your favor....Plant it over twelve years or not .. Farm fields are not planted to attract deer ,, Food plots are loop hole in the system...Gardens are planted at my house for my table.

if it was bait, then it would be illegal.

[bubba]

I am guessing they would still eat the corn from the farm next door as well as the natural foods that eat all summer. My plots are for winter food. If I stopped them, I am sure the deer would starve the same as they did before I planted plots. So I am a bad guy for wanting to not find dead deer carcasses all over my property in the spring?

[Bowshotmuzzleloader]

I am guessing they would still eat the corn from the farm next door as well as the natural foods that eat all summer. My plots are for winter food. If I stopped them, I am sure the deer would starve the same as they did before I planted plots. So I am a bad guy for wanting to not find dead deer carcasses all over my property in the spring?

Did you ever look at it like, you my upseting the natural balance in your area?? By keeping a percentage of your area heard alive you may be killing other species like , Lynx , bobcat , fox , weasle, raccoon, small birds, crows , turkey vultures, Hawks, and so on.. By not letting nature due its due course and balance itself.. Not trying to provoke a arguement ,, there is just there another view.. Maybe not seen..

[bubba]

have you ever hunted where there are food plots? I mean food plots not pretending an agricultural field is not a food plot? I doubt half of what I plant gets eaten. Have you ever hunted in the northern zone in particular the adirondacks? When I was younger, I did and still do. If you saw two deer a season that was good. I do not travel to where the deer are plentiful. I make my own plentiful deer. If the local herd of deer eat 5 or 6 acres of food upsets the natural balance, it was pretty fragile to start with. I mean it is not even feasible when next to me there is well over 700 acres of corn and alfalfa they feed on all summer and early fall. The small part my plots add to it is minute at best. I get three tagsa year my buck tag a bow muzzle either sex and a bow muzzle antlerless. No dmp's no nuisance permits. So when regular season opens, I have one tag for one buck. How dare I try to get a nice one.

Edited October 4, 2012 by bubba

[Bowshotmuzzleloader]

Like I said not trying to argue but seems you go both ways,,, If your food plot does so little how does it save so many on your property ... So I am a bad guy for not wanting to find dead deer carcasses all over my property???

[bubba]

Well now it seems that you are only trying to pick apart every sentence. When someone says I am not trying to start an argument, it usually means they are trying to start an argument. You do not answer any of my questions and want to as I said pick apart what I say. Your points are reaching at best. I am seriously wondering if you are actually a hunter, or one of the new trolls popping up. On that note, I am done with this thread. If you hunt good luck hunting over your not a food plot food field.

[Bowshotmuzzleloader]

have you ever hunted where there are food plots? I mean food plots not pretending an agricultural field is not a food plot? I doubt half of what I plant gets eaten. Have you ever hunted in the northern zone in particular the adirondacks? When I was younger, I did and still do. If you saw two deer a season that was good. I do not travel to where the deer are plentiful. I make my own plentiful deer. If the local herd of deer eat 5 or 6 acres of food upsets the natural balance, it was pretty fragile to start with. I mean it is not even feasible when next to me there is well over 700 acres of corn and alfalfa they feed on all summer and early fall. The small part my plots add to it is minute at best. I get three tagsa year my buck tag a bow muzzle either sex and a bow muzzle antlerless. No dmp's no nuisance permits. So when regular season opens, I have one tag for one buck. How dare I try to get a nice one.

Have you ever hunted where there are food plots ?? Answer NO

Aricultural Field not pretending is not a food plot??? Answer Yes

Not Sure what other questions you asked me..?

Im not a troll, I am a very serious hunter...

Seems you dont like to be challenged Good BYE

[bubba]

Oh I love being challenged. Look back at my posts. But I prefer being challenged by someone who has something intelligent to say. You frankly are boring. But I must ask if you have never had any experience with food plots, what do you base your opinions on?

[burmjohn]

If we are baiting better go call the DEC. Just dont hunt near those fields, acorns, or any food source.

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