NAHC Food plot Article - bone to pick
just thought I would try and get some opinions on this.
The apr./may '04 issue of NA Hunter (great issue by the way - taken me weeks of "bathroom" reading to get thru it and still not done, anyway..) has some interesting info on food plots. The problem I have is the statement "..clovers engineered for deer differ from those grazed by cattle. Cattle clovers yeild stiff, lignin heavy stems, whereas whitetail clovers have fine, delicate stems." To me this is absolute hogwash. I have seen the new ladino clovers and other grazing varieties and they are about as lush as you can imagine. And I have seen the bare spots in my plot and my pastures where the deer have obliterated the Alice clover. What is so different between a cow and a deer? Yes, deer do browse more than cattle, but they are both ruminants and have similar digestive anatomies.
So after the above statement, they go on to describe every over-priced commercial mix there is (good info, but a bit narrow-minded for me). I just can't see how they can concede that agricultural clovers are "no good" for deer. I don't get it. Am I missing something. Am I wrong about the new grazing clovers. Please tell me if I am. Maybe I am looking at it all wrong (I doubt it, but am open to others insight).