In the past year we've done a ton of dozer work on our 800 ac North MO farm which has taken out some deer habitat which I believe has poorly influenced deer numbers on the property. To add to that we have also seen signs of disease such as blue tongue and CWD. We still are seeing a decent amount of deer but not near as much as we used to. I am interested in putting a food plot in a little 2 acre plot that sits on some creek bottom land tucked back behind some timber. Within the next week I am going to pull soil samples and get the info back on that before next spring. As i am new to planting a food plot, I am curious as to what has worked best for everyone. My goals for this plot are to
1) establish an attractant for more deer to come into the area
2) create a nutritious plot for quality herd growth as well as antler growth
3) create a plot I can hunt over during Oct-Nov.
Your input is appreciated

Plant winter (grain) rye:

http://www.growbrutebucks.com/info.php?id=46

How much acreage out of the 800 acres is in ag production and what is being planted? timber? thick bedding cover?
Layout of the land, pinch points, natural funnels play a key figure in determining food plot location as well. But for a quick answer I would say 1 acre of perennials (clovers and chicory) 1 acre of a fall mix ( brassicas, winter rye grain, winter hardy oats, winter wheat). These would pretty much cover you year round and have different times of attraction.

Good move to get the soil test up-front. I'd suggest that you research the Mo. state's ag college's web site. Probably a lot of area specific information. related to food plots for wild game.

How much have y'all bull dozed? The food plot will attract them to your property but you need something to hold them there. Something that they can stay in and hold the deer in. Reason why your probably not seeing as many deer is just like you have said you have bull dozed a lot of their habitat so they have probably gone to the neighboring land.

Here are a few more thoughts. One crop we started experimenting with 2 years ago is Sunn Hemp. I had never heard of the stuff before then, but one of the guys I hunt with had. I have stated on this forum in other postings how this crop seems to have zero down sides as a warm weather food plot. It is difficult for me to explain how shocked I was personally at how the deer stayed on this crop but at the same time were not able to ravage it. The smaller plots took a beating but held up well, always staying about 1' high. The larger plots had small areas that made it to full maturity .... 5' - 6' tall but I'd estimate 90% of more of these plots were kept eaten back. Just covered up with foot prints. The only drawback I can see is that this crop goes belly up first frost. And I mean deader than a hammer. Plus sides .... very high (over 30%) in protein and puts nitrogen back into the soil. and makes a pile of organic to be disked back into the soil. It matures rapidly and is drought tolerant. The seeds are easily broadcast and (as is our case) very easy to use in a grain drill or one of the "Do-All" style planters.

You might want to try an acre of two of Sunn Hemp up your way just to see if it'll duplicate what it has for us down this way. Seed is about $2/lb. where we buy ours. We planted about 10 acres last summer and plan to double that this year.

If you have CWD on your property are you sure you want to plant food plots that will concentrate the deer on the food. The disease is spread from deer to deer through urine and feces on and in the ground, the prions also will go through the roots of the plant and and become part of the plants in the food plot. Something to think about.

Hello! I posted this on another thread and thought it might help you too. I've had this book for years called Wildlife & Woodlot Management by Monte Burch and I still refence it to this day. It's a great book and as I mentioned, it has helped me a great deal over the years. I'm sure you could pick up a copy somewhere like eBay or Amazon.