Food plot plan, what do you think?
I would like to hear any opinions, suggestions or warning about our food plot project we have planned this spring. See attached arial photos.
My Dad, uncle and I are planning to add a food plot to the property that we hunt. The property is about 80 acres total. The wooded area is about 120 yards deep and creates a natural funnel for the deer moving from one larger wood plot to the other on the east and west of us. There are a few oaks on the property but most is dead ash thanks to the emerald ash borer. With all the dead ash the under growth has taken off and the wooded area is very thick and brushy. There is really not much food for them in the woods. We would like to change that. The property has irrigation ditches on the west, east and south side which are always filled with water unless it is supper dry in the summer.
This year the farmer did not plant anything in our field due to a very wet spring. So we are not seeing very many deer this year. We want to change that for future years. We want to make our land a deer destination.
There are power lines that run through about 100 yards off the west side of the property. The plan is to round up the area that is under the power lines and clear all the undergrowth. The clearing is about 30 yards wide. We don’t plan on tilling and will plant a perennial pasture mix and 10-10-10 fertilizer. Not sure exactly what yet. Any suggestions? The local grain elevators sell a clover mix.
The secondary food plot will be along an irrigation ditch that the deer like to hang around near when the field is full of corn or soybeans. We think it will be a nice spot when the deer come out to feed in the field at dusk.
There is a lot of hunting pressure during the 2- week gun season from Nov-15-30 from all the property on the west, east and south. Not so much during archery Oct 1- Nov 14, muzzleloader Dec 1-18, Late doe Dec 19- Jan 1.
As you can see from the photos there is a lot of farm land around us. Usually corn or soybeans but always changing what is grown from year to year. Apple orchards to the west. There are no hay/pasture fields anywhere close to us. Once the corn and soybeans are harvested there is not much food around other than what was left in the crop fields. Also we hunt in one of the highest deer densities in the state. Deer management is not possible due to all the other hunters around. I hunt to fill the freezer. The Apple Orchards take 20+ deer a year with varmint permits.
Thanks for reading and let me know what you think of our plan.
Last edited by patman75; 12-12-2011 at 06:21 AM.