Maybe food plots are grown for the same reason, but wildlife biologists don’t conclude these plots pose the same potential for spreading disease. Steve Schmitt, veterinarian with the Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources compared the disease potential in food plots and bait piles. Food plots attract deer to a larger area than does a bait pile. There’s less nose-to-nose contact in a food plot. Once the food is eaten, no more is grown until the next year. Bait piles, on the other hand, can be replenished daily for months." In my opinion, the risk of transmitting disease is greater from bait piles or feed piles than from food plots. In fact, in Michigan we recommend food plots…in the bovine TB area where it is illegal to feed or bait deer," Schmitt said