Where have the deer gone?
 

I need some help here. During the off-season, I planted a clover plot and a brassica plot. The clover plot held deer every day ( around 15 different deer). They disappeared the second week of October and have not returned. Shouldn't acorns be gone by now for them to return to plots? FYI I am hunting in Georgia, and I hunt once or twice per week with very few hunters around me . Any ideas why they are not coming back at all?

If you are in an area with producing oaks there will still be acorns and they are preferred to green food. The digestive process of deer start to change in winter to digest bark and buds and other foods along with whatever s available. When the preferred foods run out, the deer will be in your food plats of the food is available.

great acorn crop this year, they don't need grass.
RR

I know weather plays a huge role of what I see every year

My property is located among thousands of acres of woods. I have about 14 acres of fields that are all planted for deer, with a mixed variety of stuff. Most have clover, chickory and alfalfa. One field I turn every year for Oats in the fall. In all fields I seed turnips, beets and radishes between the clover/chickory/alfalfa in August. My point is there is always food available no matter the temps. Further, it’s stuff they love...but...the remaining 100 acres are hardwoods and loaded with red and white oaks. It’s the predominate tree. When the acorns are in the fields get quiet(er)...and given how prevalent the acorns are they can virtually lay down and have them dropping around them. They will eat them over everything else. Once done, the fields fill up...but the key is making sure u have crops that work all year. Clover gets crappy after a number of freezes...so does chickory. They go to the most nutritious, palatable and available source and for me my goal is to make that my place to the extent I can.

When you say you seed turnips, beets, and radishes between them in August, do you just seed on top of these fields with the fall seed? or do you literally seed them between the others, like in rows? May sound stupid but I am new to food plots so I am learning!

Not stupid at all. I’ll run my disk w the disks straight’ish or use a steel drag and just run over the clover etc. it exposes dirt, and while it sounds like it would do a lot of damage it really doesn’t. Then I just broadcast seed the field with turnips/beets/radishes. Since they shouldn’t be buried you don’t have to re-drag and the seed falls between the clover and onto the exposed dirt. I seed them a little lighter than if the field was only turnips...I’m just trying to add another crop not have them take over. I’ve been doing this for 5 years and I’ve never had it fail.