I wonder if a little pressure made the deer become more nocturnal or if they found a more appealing food source that may have less pressure. We plant a mixture of rye, wheat and oats each fall in about 55 food plots and have good results throughout the winter. This fall make a wire cage about 4 x 4 foot by 3 foot high with a top on it and place it in your food plot. You can get a good idea about the amount of grazing your plot is getting because the protected area won' t be grazed down. You need to take a couple of stakes and drive down around the cage to keep the deer from tipping over your cage. I planted a plot a couple of years ago with Buck Blend Oats only and the oats couldn' t get ahead of the deer. They literally kept it mowed at ground level.