Food Plots on Farms???

[BKhunter]

The property we hunt is mostly corn fields and soy beans crops with I would say about 20-30% of the property containing hard woods. One side is also bordered by an apple orchard. Does it make sense to start a food plot for when the farmers harvest their crops? There is so much left out in the fields that I'm not sure if they would prefer a clover, radish etc patch to that. If so any suggestions on what to plant and where to locate it?

[G-Man]

A hidden plot in a secure area will draw deer as they won't enter a open field till after dark. It won't be a feed plot but a pure hunting plot as the deer will just stop on their way out to farm field. Ideally it should have thick cover adjacent to it so the deer feel secure and far enough in the woods/ brush so deer get to it in day light. On the edge of a farmers field isn't as good as deer will still wait for darkness to enter

[BKhunter]

So should this be set back in the hard woods maybe around 50 yards? If so any recommendations on what to plant? Also do I need to till the dirt or are the no till toss and grow packs good enough?

[phade]

Provide them what they don't have. In seclusion, even better. A late season plot is nice. A bit late for this year.

 

The other thing is to make sure that you are spending your time wisely. Food plots in heavy ag to me are a lower priority than having proper hunting technique, access, etc. You know where the deer feed and planting it is someone else's headache. You focus on killing the deer.

[growalot]

I've been watching the deer come out into the farmers field 2 hundred yards from our property all summer...It is a clover / oat field...that he chopped but the oats and clover grew back great...they are older and the oats have seeded and dried...2wks ago  I tilled up a woodland plot which I call a trail plot and planted my own clover oats and WW...it runs the middle of our property front to back  and then splits  about 1 hundred yards up from where the farm field meets their woods and ours. That split goes rt to their field behind our house...The deer are now split...with half of them traveling past 2 of my stands and 2 ground blinds to hit the field at dusk ...behind the house...The rest are still coming out where they usually do..but are feeding towards us instead of away...it's also with in the 500 ft rule of our chicken coop( down at the corner of that field and our home....so the hunters leasing that land to hunt...can't...keeps a protected and good hunting area for me

[G-Man]

the area will need sunlight first and formost, this is usually a long process of removing all woody growth. you can do small plots in the woods(old logging roads) with just a garden rake to remove all the leaf litter. (best done in spring) and putting in clover. 50yrds is ok if the woods dont let you see in that far from field edge.. people love to see deer from a long way away.bad idea, the thicker the better. tough to miss when deer show themselves at under 50 yards. isolated food plots are awesome hunting plots. and are worth the hard work to establish.

[growalot]

here are some pics of plot I mentioned...mind you much thinner than I wanted...due to clover/grain % being miss calculated...and clover is just popping...but also I under estimated the turkeys...Oh well good and bad..I turkey hunt sooooo...

[Doc]

Not everything is about food. There is more to suitable deer habitat than simply things to eat. There are situations where good dense cover may be the thing that is lacking on a property. Perhaps that is a more important add than considering food plots where ample food already exists. Heavy dense brush lots can be more important. I'm sure there are some guys that trash good cover just to put in a food plot. There are plenty of browse kinds of plants and bushes that combine food and cover that can be added to unused land. Cover and browse can be established with little cash outlay and a minimum of effort, and it is a habitat improvement that is self-sustaining.

 

So, when looking to make your land more comfortable and appealing to your local deer herd, don't simply lock into creating food alone. There are other things to consider.

[phade]

I'll take bedding all day long. Let some farmer worry about the food. But Doc already knows that, lol.

[Doc]

I'll take bedding all day long. Let some farmer worry about the food. But Doc already knows that, lol.

Yeah, as long as you still have farmers. Apparently BKhunter has plenty of real live active farming. Around our area, the situation is reversed. We have lots of heavy thick impenetrable acreage and zero farms. Our needs are reversed from his. Somebody in my area would definitely be considering food plots. But I mentioned the brushlots and browse areas as being something that he may consider adding in order to make his property more complete, diverse and deer-friendly.

[phade]

Yeah, as long as you still have farmers. Apparently BKhunter has plenty of real live active farming. Around our area, the situation is reversed. We have lots of heavy thick impenetrable acreage and zero farms. Our needs are reversed from his. Somebody in my area would definitely be considering food plots. But I mentioned the brushlots and browse areas as being something that he may consider adding in order to make his property more complete, diverse and deer-friendly.

 

Most definitely.

 

A bag of 10-10-10 is cheap and one of the most effective items to buy (and a chain saw) to improve the land. A small native browse-filled field with some 10-10-10 laid on it makes one heck of an unidentifiable food plot. Same goes with dressing some soft/hard mast trees.

[growalot]

That is true with out a doubt...that said I think having specific "zones" on a property is very important...we have the open woods...the thick rose and brush engulfed swampy area...open woods with thick elderberry cover and food...gullys...the hinge cut ...open field and the woodland plot/ brush and oak flats......I tell you now...biggest buck I've shot...second most buck and turkey brawls have taken place right here...First pic is the same area as the last pic...last winter and just today  second pic you can see the trees they bedded next to....deer are in here everyday ...and that includes bucks

When I want to catch a deer on the move...a good buck...give me a more open woods that he has no problem maneuvering his rack through and can see potential danger...for that deer will give the best shot op ...but hey everyone's experiences differ...has worked for me for years

[growalot]

Back to what G-man was taking about...I use several of these trail plot to connect one plot to another...I maintain bramble... hazelnut... apples...oaks...honey suckle and dogwood bushes along the sides...this has them being able to move freely and feed before open fields or bedding areas...

[G-Man]

i will agree with doc and phade to a point, if the farmer chops his corn and thats what all the fields are, the land becomes a stubble waste land free of food. todays harvest techniques do not miss much crop.(part of reason for lack of phesant as well) a food plot in farming areas is utalised heavy under these circumstances. Cover is also extreemly important (especially if included in a scantuary area) . but as to the original question yes putting in a food plot will be of benifit especially after crops are harvested. just watch any hunting show from the mid west ...the deer pour into the food plots because one the corn is cut the deer lose 80% of their cover and 90% of their available food. they dont tell you that but thats why they see all these big buck in open food plots... no food elsewhere, another reason you cant compare ny to states like iowa...

[landtracdeerhunter]

The property we hunt is mostly corn fields and soy beans crops with I would say about 20-30% of the property containing hard woods. One side is also bordered by an apple orchard. Does it make sense to start a food plot for when the farmers harvest their crops? There is so much left out in the fields that I'm not sure if they would prefer a clover, radish etc patch to that. If so any suggestions on what to plant and where to locate it?

It's all about food. Plants are maturing, dying back, and deer are looking for protein and carbs. They find something green, they show!

I'd bet you plant something that  not in the area, comes up quickly, you'll draw deer. The question is what can be planted that will come up well enough after the crops are harvested. I'd shoot some oats in. They like cool wet weather and will grow into November , certain years. Deer like sweets just as well as the of us, LOL.  Give it a try, what do you got to loose?

Edited September 20, 2013 by landtracdeerhunter

[growalot]

BKHunter...want to update you on that woodland trail plot in first pics....Before putting that in the deer were accessing the farm field on the hunting lease next door and re-entering it to leave....as the plot started to grow this started changing...now the deer groups have split...some still access that field off their woods..... but I now have 3 groups of deer using that trail to access the field at different spots...... one being directly under one of my older stand and two follow the trail up past the house to one of the gullies we have that starts at our driveway...they cross 30yrds in front of the house...then feed back past the house and down to the trail under my stand...the  other night a group ....with at least one nice buck.... popped out of one garden that borders that gully and trail , just to walk down the drive and across the street to our land and the sweetcorn/pumpkin /HR plot......I took these pics at 8:55 this a.m. ...sorry for quality...but had to close the screen...4 yellow jackets apparently like hazelnut coffee....

I planted that plot with the purpose of changing the deer movement....getting them to travel from our place on the north side of the road...to our land on the south side of the road...keeping them pretty much in the middle of our place and it has been what I consider a great success for a few years now....Good luck...

[BKhunter]

growalot..... Thanks for the update. I can thing of some great places to place these trail plots and also some other good locations to plant plots back in the woods as a staging area before the deer head out into the open fields. This has been really helpfull. Looking foward to next year when I can set the plots up properly using this info. This year I threw some instant grow plot mix in a small clearing in the woods about 75 yards back from the thick field line. Once it sprouts up I want to slap up a trail camera and see what comes through. I guess I will get to do that next weekend when I can get up there for Bow season which can't come soon enough.