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We have reached the time of the year when the freezing toes and fingers from last winter have started to fade from memory. We remember the hunts of December and January from our air conditioned homes and forget how desperately we wanted to be warm that day around Christmas when the deer weren’t moving, it was raining, we were tired and probably had to go to the bathroom.
While the warm weather does not remind us of those cold days, it should remind us that it is time to start growing those bucks of next season.
In the past, a winter food plot was all you needed to attract deer to your stand. It stands to reason, attract the does and the bucks will come. Winter plots are important to the deer hunter, but they also provide needed nutrition for the deer.
One of the latest things to come out of the whitetail industry is summer food plots. The more savvy deer hunters out there have been planting soybeans, iron and clay peas for years.
These guys know that what we are trying to do is resurrect the good ol’ days when farmers growing soybeans, corn or peanuts planted almost every available piece of ground. These crops provided food for what few deer were out there. They provided high quality protein for antler growth and milk production. Over the years, such row crops have declined and been replaced by pine trees or pastures. Last time I checked, while a whitetail buck will savage a pine seedling, he’s got to be absolutely starving in order for him to eat it, regardless of the protein content. Bahia grass will take care of a cow just fine, but there aren’t many deer out there that will make a diet of it.
This decline in commercially planted crops is what has brought summer food plots to the forefront of the whitetail world.
There are many excellent summer food plot products on the market and any of them are better than nothing at all. In order to decide what might work best for you, check around and see what is working for other folks in your area. The local feed and seed store is usually the best place to start.
The next thing to do is to fully understand how the digestive tract of a deer works and the similarities and differences between deer and cattle or goats and sheep.
Basically, sheep, goats, cattle and deer are all ruminants. This means that they all have a four chambered stomach, called the rumen, that allows them to digest forages through microbial action. These “rumen microbes” turn plant matter into materials that the rest of the digestive tract can breakdown into individual nutrients. This is where the similarities end.
The main difference is in the size of the rumen. In cattle, it is a huge organ that has a capacity of 50 to 70 gallons. Its size allows the cow to consume vast amounts of forage of various nutritional qualities. We can talk about percent protein all we want, but it comes down to the pounds of protein the animal can ingest in a given period. Because a cow can consume more pounds of forage, it can deal with plants containing less protein than a deer can. The rumen size of a deer is a fraction of the size of a cow’s and therefore requires forages with a higher percent protein in order to get the pounds of protein it requires to maintain itself, antler growth, reproduction or milk production. This is why a forage containing 11 to 12 percent protein will work for a cow; however. a deer would need a forage containing 23 to 35 percent protein.
In beef cattle, or any animal for that matter, their nutritional needs vary with their stage of production. In cattle we can control these stages to coincide with the best time for us to provide the nutrition they need. Deer’s production stages follow the guidelines of Mother Nature, not ours. That means we have to provide the nutrition and tailor it for the deer.
We also need to know how much protein the deer needs and when. We then must select forages that will supply those needs in the right amounts at the right time. Many times there is no “silver bullet” that will fill the bill all by itself.
After deer season ends, the bucks are trying to recover lost weight and the now abandoned hunting green field will usually fill the bill for the buck. Does nutritional needs are fairly low at this time. More than likely the doe has weaned her fawn and is no longer producing milk, her developing fawn is almost microscopic in size and so is not pressing her for nutrients and, once again, the old plot is doing just fine for her. Some people like to supplement at this time to help the bucks recover and this is a great, if your budget will allow. The buck is trying to rebuild his fat supply and wear and tear of muscle and bone. This requires energy and protein. The food plot usually can handle the energy portion so a little supplemental protein can’t hurt.
As spring ends and the buck recovers his weight and his antlers drop, his nutrient requirements decrease somewhat. He is now growing antlers and his requirements are going to increase.
During summer, the buck and doe’s requirements increase sharply. The buck needs protein for antler growth and the doe needs protein for fetus growth and then milk production.
During late winter and early spring, clovers are an excellent supply of 25 to 30 percent protein. As the weather starts to warm up, most clovers tend to decline in production and begin to mature. This maturation leads to a decline in digestible protein. This opens the door to annual summer legumes, such as soybeans, iron and clay peas and cowpeas, and summer food plot blends.
These summer legumes are annuals and will supply large amounts of forage all summer long. They generally contain 30 to 35 percent protein. July and August is when a buck’s needs jump. His antlers are large and are growing fast. This growth is fueled by protein, so make sure that whatever you plant will supply him with a lot of protein during this time period.
There is a lot of talk out there about perennial summer forages and when it comes down to it, a perennial cannot supply the pounds of forage that an annual can, whether it is a summer or winter annual.
The best thing about summer legumes is that they can extract their nitrogen needs from the atmosphere through a unique arrangement they have with a bacteria call rhizobium. These bacteria are unique to each type of legume and you will need to inquire as to whether or not the legume you have selected needs an inoculant. Inoculation is an inexpensive source of the bacteria needed by your legume. (Attention gardeners, your peas and beans can benefit by inoculants as well!) Be sure to select a legume that can withstand heavy grazing pressure as well. We have all seen how quickly deer can wipe out a garden. You can handle this pressure in one of three ways:
• Fence off the plot – use high fence, electric fence or a Plotmaster to keep the deer out of the plot until the plants are strong enough to withstand the grazing.
• Overwhelm the deer with food - plant a large enough summer plot that the deer just cannot eat it all.
• Seed selection – selection a variety that can handle grazing early or a blend that offers the deer one thing to eat while another is growing.
Your seed dealer should be able to advise you as to what summer food plot seeds work in your area.
One last thing is to be patient. If you have never planted summer plots before, don’t look for record racks the first year. You might get lucky, but it generally takes a couple of years before you start to see real results. Also, don’t get discouraged if it seems that the deer aren’t eating what you have planted. For some deer even a soybean is a foreign species around here and they will be reluctant to eat something if they don’t know what it is. Eventually they will try it.
Remember, let those little bucks walk and someday you’ll be able to talk about the big racks on your deer!
Ralph Ricks is Manager of the Quality Cooperative Inc. in Greenville. |
