Soilman

Food plots can be different from baiting. Up here in the north, planting turnips, winter rye, or leaving corn standing can all help deer survive the winter, or help a doe carry fawn(s) with better birth weight. Clovers, winter rye, and other crops that are quick to green up help too. They can help deer and other wildlife with a valuable food source at a scarce time, even in farm country. You can also provide habitat for numerous animals and birds besides deer. There is no secret recipe that will draw every deer away from a neighboring farmer's corn, soybeans, or alfalfa. Deer are free to move, and will move off small food plots with too much human traffic. I gun hunt in WI farm country, and don't expect to kill a deer over any small food plot. I plant it for the enjoyment of growing plants, and in hope I can help a deer or two make it through a tough winter. Those deer are free to travel to a neighbors property or to public land. I do think bow hunters, or hunters with large tracts of woods and little farm ground would have more success killing a deer over/near a food plot. I do not think food plots are morally superior to corn piles, since not everyone is fortunate enough to have a place they can grow food plots. I have no problems with baiting if it is done legally, but pointing out there are differences.

halfbakedi420

i think that where it is illegal to bait, hunters there are against baitin...and where it is legal to bait the hunters tend to use that to their advantage and know there is nothing wrong with it.

4evrhtn

I support baiting under a game management program and will supplement feed during the legal times of the year and will start feeding again as soon as I am finished hunting my property for the year.

I am against baiting when it's only purpose is to lure deer for a kill and then the baiting is stopped because the person baiting accomplished their short-term objective. We feed all through the winter and have found this greatly helps the deer- the does during their pregnancy-resulting in healthier fawns as well as enabling the bucks to regain weight they lost during the rut allowing them to produce larger racks the following spring because the nutrition goes to antler development rather than trying to rebuild their bodies after months of lack of food. Baiting for the sole purpose of killing a deer is worse because of falsely raising the carrying capacity and then abruptly shutting off the supplemented feed when the deer become dependant on the feed and need it the most. Starvation during the winter becomes more likely due to this form of baiting.