Food Plots?

[biggamefish]

Do you consider them baiting? Why or why not? 

I consider baiting introducing a source in a quantity that is unnatural like a truck load of apples or a pile of corn, and stuff like deer cane that is almost like a drug and the deer get addicted to it.  

What is your thoughts?

 

[chrisw]

Oh boy, this topic again. In my opinion, if you plant it or place it (plot or pile) for deer to eat and intend to hunt over or near it then it's baiting. I don't care if it's growing or not, it wouldn't be growing there naturally so it's just placed food to me. Period. This topic will get lively I'm sure.


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[growalot]

Some think they are..I suppose I think they could be. This is why I do things the way I do. That is in having dozens of stand and blind sites in what many consider a small area with many different small plots. Plots set up amongst natural browse and mast trees. This giving the deer so many choices and me so many choices that much of the time it's a coin toss as to where either of us may end up. I don't want my hunting to be a sure thing. I just want to have a fighting chance against the local farm crops,large santuary non doe hunting areas and known baiters around me.

[LET EM GROW]

It could be, I consider myself somewhat of a manager for habitat. Therefore my plots are placed and planted mainly for the reason of keeping the herd and other critters healthy as can be at all times of the year. Do I hunt over them? occasionally yes. But my sole intentions for food plots is to supply premium groceries, especially for a late season winter food source. Its a hobby of mine not a reason to kill.. as that's what i consider "bait" to be... any easy reason/excuse to kill any critter or a specific animal..

[Doc]

I consider them a form of baiting if that is the motive for putting them in. No, it is not baiting as in defining a specific spot at a specific distance with a specific stand set-up to cover that specific spot. But it is usually used to attract and hold deer to an area. I believe that there are degrees to baiting. Food plots are way down the list in terms of defining exactly where the prey animal will be standing and bait piles or dispensers are at the top of the list.

However, I guess what really counts is what the law defines as baiting, and food plots are not in that definition.

[stubby68]

1 hour ago, Doc said:

I consider them a form of baiting if that is the motive for putting them in. No, it is not baiting as in defining a specific spot at a specific distance with a specific stand set-up to cover that specific spot. But it is usually used to attract and hold deer to an area. I believe that there are degrees to baiting. Food plots are way down the list in terms of defining exactly where the prey animal will be standing and bait piles or dispensers are at the top of the list.

However, I guess what really counts is what the law defines as baiting, and food plots are not in that definition.

The deer create trails that they use for entering and exiting the plots. The don't just randomly walk out into it. One could set a stand at the entrance trail or exit trail and have the animal at a specific spot at a specific distance. I know they can and will more then on trail but all that is needed is a trail cam or some time watching and you can find the most used routes. Once the deer start coming to the plot the will continue to do so until the food is gone. 

            Using a plot to bring deer into a specific area is no different then using a pile of corn or apples to bring them to a specific area. Only difference is that one is placed there the other is grown. Both are something not natural to the area and used to attract deer. Don't see many clover plots or turnip plots or anything else used in kill plots just growing in the forest naturally.

[growalot]

The only plots I have where deer do not randomly enter are the ones I have put barriers around...The big open field one with a fence along one side...they pop in from ALL directions and even occasionally hop the fence. It all depends on where their wondering through my woods or the run something may have caused them, leads them...or where they end up coming out of the neighbors woods and swamp.

I swear are the deer here the only ones that guys can't set a watch by,as it were? They bed, where ever, they walk where ever...They don't even go down the hill in the mornings and up in the evenings like the use to years ago...but even then it was a guess as to where they'd decide to do that. The one thing apparently is you can see them gather just before dark in the farm fields adjacent to our back line...I seem to be the only one from here to Arkport that has rarely seen that and yes 50-60 all summer long then I dare ya to see a deer there unless it's on a dead run.

[Buckmaster7600]

Yes a food plot is baiting, but why does it matter?

I work with a guy the complains constantly about his neighbor baiting and shooting "the big ones" every year yet every year he plants more food plots. The only difference is effort and a arbitrary law.


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[WNYBuckHunter]

I would consider them a form of baiting, but they are quite a bit different than feeders, piles of food, salt blocks, etc. Depending on their size, they aren't much different than hunting a crop field, orchard or any other food source. 

[t_barb]

how many people hunt over or near ag fields (corn, beans, etc...)?    Is it different?

I have been planting plots for over 10 years..   planted about 8 acres this year (clover, turnips, brassica, radish, etc..)...   anyone thinks that plots or food sources suddenly make deal foolish or "easy" is kidding themselves.

75+% of the good bucks I get on camera in August and September never show their faces in October or November.

I have transitioned into planting primarily winter feed, to help the deer get back to health after the rut and that has worked well for me in terms of numbers and quality of deer.

For me, the work around planting and trying to improve the health of the heard is almost as rewarding as a successful hunt.

To each their own!!

[BizCT]

I would like to see NY allow baiting like many other states. This way everyone can legally put out whatever they want

[LET EM GROW]

Why? There is no fun whatsoever in painting the exact place a deer is going to stop within inches, just to be shot, garunteed..

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[Buckmaster7600]

I would like to see NY allow baiting like many other states. This way everyone can legally put out whatever they want

I agree Biz, I wouldn't bait but I would like to see it legal. At least in wmu's where there is over population.


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[BizCT]

Why? There is no fun whatsoever in painting the exact place a deer is going to stop within inches, just to be shot, garunteed..

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Because it's not much different than my throw & grow which makes deer come in every single day. No farm fields near me so I won't planted no till plot, the deer started coming in every single day.

Additionally, many people illegally bait, so it would level the playing field of everyone could bait because then you would need to strategically think about what to put down in order to draw the deer in.

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[Four Season Whitetail's]

20 minutes ago, Biz-R-OWorld said:

Because it's not much different than my throw & grow which makes deer come in every single day. No farm fields near me so I won't planted no till plot, the deer started coming in every single day.

Additionally, many people illegally bait, so it would level the playing field of everyone could bait because then you would need to strategically think about what to put down in order to draw the deer in.

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Agreed.....If its planted for deer and hunted anywhere near it then its baiting for deer. If you are a bird watcher that does not hunt and you plant food plots then not so much. It attracts deer to be killed.

Edited July 25, 2017 by Four Season Whitetails

[BizCT]

Here's the example. Nothing green on the ground except lawns within miles of this. Deer found it right away.


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[wolc123]

I consider food plotting to be better than baiting for many reasons.  The most important one is that it is legal in NY state.   A close second, is that it is a very cost-effective way of putting meat in the freezer and that is always my biggest concern.   Also important, is the fact that corn-fed venison tastes great and is very good for you.  I can grow corn cheaper than I can buy it, so why would I ever want to bait ? 

Our family raised beef on our farm for many generations, starting before the Civil war.   That was hard work and seldom profitable.  There was some fun involved though, and food-plotting for deer maintains all of that, but gets rid of the bad stuff.  Ain't it wonderful, that the deer harvest the crops and care for themselves year round.  No more rushing to get hay in before the rain, dealing with stuck tractors and combines during wet fall harvests, frozen water in the winter, vets, etc..  

Do I consider food plotting baiting?  Definitely not, because it is legal and cheaper.  I do wonder why anyone would want to bait. It  must be some combination of lazyness and stupidity.   Heck, I don't even use bait for fish.   That is also expensive.             

[mattypotpie8S]

I can't say for certain, but I'm pretty sure a food plot of clover,chicory, radish.. or the like, is healthier to deer and most likely beneficial to other wildlife more so than some powder or liquid that have god knows what in them.

[Buckmaster7600]

I consider food plotting to be better than baiting for many reasons.  The most important one is that it is legal in NY state.   A close second, is that it is a very cost-effective way of putting meat in the freezer and that is always my biggest concern.   Also important, is the fact that corn-fed venison tastes great and is very good for you.  I can grow corn cheaper than I can buy it, so why would I ever want to bait ? 
Our family raised beef on our farm for many generations, starting before the Civil war.   That was hard work and seldom profitable.  There was some fun involved though, and food-plotting for deer maintains all of that, but gets rid of the bad stuff.  Ain't it wonderful, that the deer harvest the crops and care for themselves year round.  No more rushing to get hay in before the rain, dealing with stuck tractors and combines during wet fall harvests, frozen water in the winter, vets, etc..  
Do I consider food plotting baiting?  Definitely not, because it is legal and cheaper.  I do wonder why anyone would want to bait. It  must be some combination of lazyness and stupidity.   Heck, I don't even use bait for fish.   That is also expensive.             

Bull Sh-!t a bag of corn feed corn cost 10$, used properly you should be able to fill your tags with no more than 2 bags. you have 10$ in fuel to till your fields for corn.


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[nybuckboy]

Food plots serve 2 purposes. To provide a high quality food source in your area to keep deer in the area year round and to keep more deer around the area so you have more opportunities to harvest deer.  It's not really any different then sitting on a well traveled game trail that leads to the edge of bean field or corn field and intercepting the deer on their way in or out.  I like to provide late season food source to help them get good protein and build their fat for the winter as well.  In my area the closest crops are a mile away and having food plots with clover, alfalfa, winter wheat, winter peas and turnips will not only help them but give them a reason to live in my area closer to where I hunt.

[wolc123]

9 minutes ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

Bull Sh-!t a bag of corn feed corn cost 10$, used properly you should be able to fill your tags with no more than 2 bags. you have 10$ in fuel to till your fields for corn.


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A problem that I see with bagged corn, is that it does not come with the free "cover" like you get from the stalks on a food plot.   That might make filling them tags a little tougher.   On good years , my boneless venison costs under $1.00 per pound, after subtracting all food plot input costs.  You are on track on one point though, fuel is usually my biggest cost.  Not so bad this year though, with off-road diesel back under $2.00 per gallon. 

[Buckmaster7600]

A problem that I see with bagged corn, is that it does not come with the free "cover" like you get from the stalks on a food plot.   That might make filling them tags a little tougher.   On good years , my boneless venison costs under $1.00 per pound, after subtracting all food plot input costs.  You are on track on one point though, fuel is usually my biggest cost.  Not so bad this year though, with off-road diesel back under $2.00 per gallon. 

You don't use fertilizer when you plant corn?


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[wolc123]

5 minutes ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

You don't use fertilizer when you plant corn?


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That is always my second largest input cost.  I can usually get by with just a light application of 15-15-15 starter along the rows with the planter.   Most of the nitrogen needed for decent yields is banked in the soil from old white clover plots.  Corn is the heavy hitter, when it comes to putting meat in the freezer, but 3/4 of my plot acreage is always in clover.  That also feeds the deer at night (they don't like to leave the cover of the corn by day after the guns start going off).  Eliminating the need for lots of synthetic fertilizer, thanks to all that clover, also eliminates the need for lime.   

My herbicide cost is minimized by applying it only on the corn rows, where the fertilizer also goes and where the weeds would otherwise grow the thickest.  Finally, I have not paid for any corn seed since we got rid of the cattle.   I cultivate, but use no herbicide between the corn rows, planted at 36" width.  That enables the clover to bounce back on it's own, the year after the corn, often without the need to reseed.         

[Buckmaster7600]

That is always my second largest input cost.  I can usually get by with just a light application of 15-15-15 starter along the rows with the planter.   Most of the nitrogen needed for decent yields is banked in the soil from old white clover plots.  Corn is the heavy hitter, when it comes to putting meat in the freezer, but 3/4 of my plot acreage is always in clover.  That also feeds the deer at night (they don't like to leave the cover of the corn by day after the guns start going off).  Eliminating the need for lots of synthetic fertilizer, thanks to all that clover, also eliminates the need for lime.   
My herbicide cost is minimized by applying it only on the corn rows, where the fertilizer also goes and where the weeds would otherwise grow the thickest.  Finally, I have not paid for any corn seed since we got rid of the cattle.   I cultivate, but use no herbicide between the corn rows, planted at 36" width.  That enables the clover to bounce back on it's own, the year after the corn, often without the need to reseed.         

I don't know how much you are planting but with fertilizer over 10$ a bag and fuel over 2$ a gallon it wouldn't take a big corn plot to have 100$ in it and that's 10 bags of feed corn.


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[wolc123]

5 minutes ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

I don't know how much you are planting but with fertilizer over 10$ a bag and fuel over 2$ a gallon it wouldn't take a big corn plot to have 100$ in it and that's 10 bags of feed corn.


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4 acres should last me thru the end of Southern Zone late ML season, if I can control the coons.  They will wipe out small plots in a hurry, but fortunately are about the easiest fur-bearer there is to trap. I am going to start digging holes as soon as the corn starts to tassle (NY state DEC requires burying or burning the carcasses of crop-damaging coons taken before trapping season opens).   4 acres made it that far for me last year, even with the record drought we had last summer.