Plant Food Plots Now

Warm-season food plots for deer are recommended throughout Georgia but are especially important in the Coastal Plain and Piedmont regions where summer nutritional stress really justifies planting a higher-quality forage for deer. Annuals and perennials are available for warm-season plantings, and plant species selection depends upon adaptability, soil type, plot size, costs and objectives.

Trying to improve the quality of your deer and your hunting experiences? Food plots planted in the fall that feature a tower stand in the corner are common on many hunting properties these days, but if you really want to help your deer, you should look to provide nutrition in the summer. A food plot planted in the spring provides valuable nutrition in the hot, stressful months, nutrition that will help antler growth and help ensure healthy deer as fawns are getting their legs under them.

Even at the highest peak of quality in spring, mostly native plants in Georgia do not reach 15 or 16% protein levels, which are below ideal levels for doe lactation, fawn growth and antler growth. A few native legumes—plants in the pea and bean family—have tested with protein levels more than 20%, but these native legumes are not common or widely available to deer on typical hunting properties. Corn, the most common deer food used in feeders, will do you little good after spring green-up. This is the time of year when deer need protein, not carbs and fat provided by corn. As a matter of fact, in many areas, deer rarely eat corn in the spring.

Alas, there is no single plant variety native or otherwise that is suitable for every deer management situation in spring and summer. However, many spring food plot plantings fertilized and limed produce more than 30% protein in the early seedling stage.

These include  the following legumes: red and arrowleaf clovers, soybeans, cowpeas, aeschynomene, alyceclover and alfalfa.

Good advice in selecting a spring food plot planting is to be suspicious of any variety or mixture that is promoted to grow in a broad range of adverse conditions or solve all of your deer nutrition problems in one pretty bag. A survey of Southeastern states a few years ago identified no less than 62 plant species commonly planted for deer. Of these, the following can be planted in spring: corn, oats, grain, sorghum, soybeans, aeschynomene and cowpeas. Soybeans, peas, alfalfa and cowpeas were given the highest respective preference by deer managers as summer plantings. This survey was before the resurgence of buckwheat for deer, and this valuable plant needs to be on the list, as well.

Warm Season Stresses On Deer

The entire state of Georgia has both late winter and late summer stress periods for deer, especially when there are poor acorn crops, spring green-ups that are late and during drought years. Deer benefit from warm-season plantings because even in spring they are often much higher quality—both in protein and total digestible nutrients—than native forages as explained above. Carefully selected, effective warm season plantings supply high quality warm season forage when native range quality is somewhat limited in spring and low in summer.

On southern ranges, including all of Georgia, native forage is low in energy and minerals for at least seven months of the year. Spring and early summer are overlap periods between cool- and warm-season plantings. During this time, native or naturalized vegetation usually supplies high-quality forage for a while, but not always high enough or long enough. Furthermore, this time slot covers the needs for quick recovery of deer body weights after winter, key early antler growth, gestation and lactation of does, fawn birth weights and rate of weight gain. Long ago, a classic study in Michigan found that fawns born weighing 5 pounds or less had only a 10% survival rate while those weighing 7 pounds or more at birth had a 90% survival rate! Shocking!

Warm-season food plots for deer are recommended throughout Georgia but are especially important in the Coastal Plain and Piedmont regions where summer nutritional stress really justifies planting a higher-quality forage for deer. Annuals and perennials are available for warm-season plantings, and plant species selection depends upon adaptability, soil type, plot size, costs and objectives.

There being a perfect percentage of cool- to warm-season plantings is a myth. A general rule for high winter stress areas (such as north Georgia) is 70% cool-season and 30% warm-season plots on your deer property. For summer stress areas (central and southern portions of the state), this can probably be balanced to 50/50. Much depends on the property, the deer herd, the existing habitat quality and the size and distribution of food plots. Remember that red and white clovers often double as cool- and warm-season plots, even though they are classified as cool season.

Best Plants and Mixes For Food Plots Planted In The Spring

Just like the best cool-season plants for food plots, the best summer plots are made up of legumes including soybeans, cowpeas, alfalfa, alyceclover, red and arrowleaf clover or jointvetch (aeschynomene). These and all spring plots do best in plots at least 2 acres in size. Deer managers must remember, however, that late-summer stress periods are often caused by the combination of drought and deep sandy soils. Almost any food plot planted as a spring/summer supplement is subject to the same drought stress as native planted unless it is irrigated or has deep tap roots.

There may be a single exception.

Alfalfa may be the best plant for deer in arid or drought prone regions for a combination cool- and warm-season forage. It has a deep root system that withstands droughts, maintaining very high production (4 to 6 tons of hay per year) and quality (20 to 30% protein).

However, alfalfa definitely has its drawbacks. It does not persist as well in south Georgia; it is expensive; requires high maintenance; needs soils with high pH (over 7.0); requires highly fertile soil; and it is subject to weevil damage and frequent weed encroachment. Alfalfa is usually managed for hay and not for grazing. Young stands can be easily overgrazed. Contact your local agricultural extension service for advice about alfalfa varieties and suitability in your area. In general, large field commercial agricultural crops of alfalfa are valuable where they already occur but will not be appropriate for a small woodland food plot.

Grain sorghum is an annual which qualifies as combination winter/summer deer food. Grain sorghum is high in fats and carbohydrates and makes ideal late summer/fall energy foods. A tall-growing, bird-resist sorghum (5 lbs./acre) would be perfect for a warm-season food-plot mix, but these are getting more expensive and harder to find every year.

One of the few remaining varieties is Novartis KS989, which can be found at Cooper Seeds. Other tall, resistant sorghum varieties that are more reasonably priced include Northrup King NK7633, Pioneer 83P17, Pioneer 84P80, Advanta AG3101, Southern States SS650 and PennGrain DR. The height of these sorghums (about 5 feet tall) helps with both shading weed competition and providing a strong stalk for cowpeas, beans and aeschynomene to climb on. The bird resistance supplied by increased tannic acid (bitterness) and compact seed heads (often bronze or red) resist consumption by most all animals, especially large flocks of migrating blackbirds in August.

As the mature grain sorghum seed stands in the weather, it gradually loses its tannins and becomes more palatable to deer, turkeys and other animals. In good acorn years, bird-resistant grain sorghum seed may last until winter before it is consumed by deer. In some drought years, deer will jump on the seed heads in August before the acorns fall.

Another annual which qualifies as combination winter-summer deer food is corn. Corn (field type) is also high in fats and carbohydrates and like grain sorghum is a great late summer/fall energy food source. Corn is a highly preferred planting for deer, especially in north Georgia or on irrigated land in southern Georgia. Corn has some disadvantages when planted specifically for deer in small fields. It requires high fertility, herbicides (or cultivation) and pest control.

Roundup Ready (RR) corn, which is resistant to Roundup weed killer, is a great tool for weed control if you have the necessary spraying equipment. You can also mix RR soybeans with a reduced rate of RR corn for a very high-quality compatible warm-season plot. Planted in small fields, corn is subject to heavy depredation by crows, squirrels, turkeys, raccoons, possums, beavers and other wildlife. Deer will also occasionally browse young corn stalks, often causing stunting or death of the plant. Corn is also much more susceptible to drought than grain sorghum.

Larger corn fields and bird-resistant grain sorghum often provide a source of food well into winter if they are not eaten up early. Grain sorghum almost duplicates the food value of corn without some of the disadvantages. Grain sorghum is much easier to grow than corn and is subject to less depredation and insect damage, but it still requires a heavy application of nitrogen fertilizer for proper growth and production.

Warm-season mixes are best formulated by mixing legumes with grasses. The grasses provide efficient use of nitrogen in addition to weed suppression and vertical structure. With this in mind, I recommend grain sorghum mixed with soybeans, cowpeas (catjang is more grazing resistant, iron and clay is cheaper), buckwheat or aeschynomene. A problem with aeschynomene is this seed has gotten very expensive in the past few years. One logical exception to the grass/legume rule would be alyceclover/aeschynomene mix without grain sorghum because of too much potential shade of the alyceclover.

A very good warm-season seed blend is Rackmaster Deluxe Spring/Summer mix, which is available at any Pennington seed dealer. It includes sorghum, buckwheat, cowpeas, soybeans and sunflowers. If deer wipe out the soybeans and sunflowers early, the sorghum, cowpeas and buckwheat still remain available through the summer. Its only drawback is the grain sorghum is short-growing WGF sorghum instead of a tall sorghum variety.

Timing Your Plot’s Production

Many land managers are interested in a food plot that combines a bowhunting hotspot with providing quality nutrition during the late-summer stress period for deer. Continued production in the food plot is critical, since rapid growth translates to high palatability and attractiveness for deer. This requirement lends itself to the use of warm-season mixes as opposed to stand-alone seed varieties. You do not want deer to wipe out any species, but if they do, you have a back-up species in the mix. Well entrenced spring-planted plots of peas or beans including cowpeas, soybeans or spring-planted plots of aeschynomene and or alyceclover or mid-summer plots of buckwheat  or cowpeas will serve this dual purpose well. Any warm-season plot should be planted as soon as soil temperatures and conditions will allow in spring in order to provide for ample growth time before the most stressful part of the summer season arrives in June, July and August.

Plants Deer Like The Best And Plants With The Best Nutrients

Palatability, digestibility and nutrient content are three different measures of vegetative quality which often go hand in hand. The most preferred (palatable) species also have the highest digestibility (lowest cellulose) and nutrient content (protein, fats, carbohydrates). This is where legumes excel because nitrogen (N) is the main component of protein, and legumes, with the help of soil bacteria, make their own N from the air. Grasses (corn and sorghum) on the other hand must get their N from the soil where it is often limited, and N fertilizer is required for optimum growth. Young, tender leaves grow vigorously, are full of protein, highly digestible and low in fiber. As leaf growth slows and the plant matures, fiber builds, digestibility wanes, protein declines and palatability decreases. Beginning with a peak of the big three in early spring, a gradual decline occurs through spring and summer until finally overall quality is at its lowest annual cycle until seed production, then dormancy or death of the leaf in the fall. Decline in quality is accelerated or accentuated by drought, low soil fertilizer and heat. Decline in quality is slowed by continuous deer-grazing pressure for plants that put on new growth.

Can you use the most palatable species, such as peas or beans, in small plots of less than 2 acres? Warm-season species like soybeans, cowpeas and lablab can be wiped out by heavy early grazing pressure within 30 days after planting. Catjang pea (also called Oklahoma game bird pea) is a legume that is more early grazing resistant than the others, but everything has its limits. However, there are new solutions for the age-old problem of deer liking these peas and beans too much.

First, consider adding buckwheat to your mixes. It is not likely to get wiped out by deer, and it also frees up phosphorous in the soil for companion plots to use. Buckwheat can also reseed itself once or more in summer.

Other weapons against overgrazing are the Plotsaver repellent system or Milorganite fertilizer applied at 300 pounds per acre (uncovered). Both work well to protect young seedlings from early overgrazing for the first 30 to 45 days.

Adaptability To Site And Climate

There is nothing more frustrating or more preventable than planting the wrong plant species on the wrong site. A classic example is alfalfa planted in bottomland with a high water table. Alfalfa’s deep root system is vulnerable to drowning and loss of an entire crop when roots are flooded by water. Another classic mistake is planting arrowleaf clover in the high mountains where it will surely be killed by winter freeze out. A third is planting of birdsfoot trefoil in south Georgia where it will wither and die in hot summer heat. Something as simple as mixing legumes with too heavy of a rate of tall grain sorghum (10 lbs./acre) is an adaptability error as the tall sorghum will inevitably shade out the slower, lower growing legumes.

There is no substitutes for a good food-plot management program which includes at least 1.5% of your acreage in high quality agricultural food plots. Agricultural deer management includes identifying the most stressful seasons, usually late winter and late summer, and planting productive high-quality crops which fill the void created by low-quality native vegetation.

An integrated management system that includes both warm- and cool-season food plots has the potential to increase deer numbers or condition—especially antlers—and help create a total quality deer management program.