Opening food plots??
 

I have 3 food plots that were put in this year in northern Michigan. All three are surrounded by a duel electric fence.

My question is:
when should I open my food plots to the deer?

depends on how big they are or small and what they are made up of?
and how large your population is on things that will eat them on you
High deer numbers? can mow a small plot fast
its hard to say not knowing all the details

deer will find NEW food fast, if other foods are not so easy or close by
like I said a lot of variable's

a week before season will get them in it IMO
but do you want to save them for the rut, or??

They are about 100 yards x 100 yards.

Turnip and brascka in plot 1

Sweet yellow clover and bird eye truffle in plot 2

Sunflower soy bean Lando clover in plot 3

I want to be effective for the season opener. Oct 1st

100x100 x3 is more than enough to open them now and get the deer migrating onto your plots. This time of year those clover plantings will really get them coming. As will pretty much everything else you have planted. Get them in now before the Acorns start dropping if you have any Oaks close by.

don't know where your at
but keep his in mind, clover after a few frost or colder temps will pucker up[ and NOT be much of a draw to deer
the turnips/brassicia will actually be mostly bitter till they GET a few frosts on them, , the frost/cold tempos tend to change the chemical structure of them and makes them sweeter for deer and things to eat them
soybeans> they draw deer when green leaves, and then when dry
at my farm I can loose an acres of beans in about 2 weeks or less, it will be picked clean(lots of deer there though)
so, pending here your at, keep this stuff in mind, as different temps and times of yr, is when things draw deer best
clover will be the stuff they maybe hit first on you, as won't be long and it won;'t be much to draw them at all!
next will be beans and sunflower seeds IMO
and turnips and brassicia's last?

a week before season would be maybe where I would open them up at

Did you fence them in to keep the deer out, or do you have a neighbor with troublesome cattle?

Deer and bear out.

Must be one heck of a fence system to keep the deer out. Only extremely tall fencing would work in IL. I've never tried to fence deer out of a plot.

I've seen deer dig through snow to get to clover.

I would think with plots that size, you'd be fine taking down the fence two weeks or more prior to your season opener.

I agree or he has lower deer numbers and decent food else where
the one farm I managed had a 8 ft deer fence all around it, and deer used to jump it as if it wasn't there
but there was also a excessive amount of deer, property was surrounded by a private property that didn;'t allow hunting and numbers were off the chart, was nothing to see a 100 plus deer in the filed come evening time
I used to plant 17 acres of food plot there, and it was a challenge to keep things growing, they mowed stuff like unreal

come winter was even worse, I think the place drew deer from 20 miles away being the only farm in about 10 miles or so, in a largely wooded forest area?
thus why the deer fence was installed on the crop field there?

I'd need a electric fence burred 2 ft and 10 ft tall to keep things out 100% LOL