Food Plot Management RSS

As a private wildlife consultant I’ve always felt that my true value to clients resides in my ability to serve as a resource on all things wildlife management. This is what drives me to keep up with the latest scientific...

White-tailed deer eat a wide variety of plants depending upon the time of year and which region of Texas they inhabit. In fact, one food habits’ study conducted at the Rob and Bessie Welder Wildlife Refuge, located north of Sinton...

In order to formulate a nutritional strategy (plan) for whitetails, it is necessary to know their seasonal nutritional needs. Biologists and scientists can get into tedious detail on this subject, but from the game manager’s standpoint, it’s really quite simple.From...

Reality. Life. Whatever you want to call it, it has definitely found its way into my world this year. Up until this year I have always had a work schedule that was flexible enough that I could take off when...

Simple is always best. And as we look at the nuts and bolts of food-source management, I hope and believe that you’ll think the whole thing is simple, perhaps even obvious. If so, then it’s got a chance of flying...

Food plots are like many other things in life – you get out of them what you put into them. True, you can haphazardly scratch out a food plot and attract a few deer, but for really good plots, the...

A high quality food plot program does not start or end. It’s a year-round effort, and with some planning you can ensure your short-term objectives are met at the same time you achieve long-term nutrition and attraction goals. I’ve made...

One late afternoon in central Mississippi I was sitting in one of my favorite food plots hidden deep in the pine jungles of leased timber company land. With less than thirty minutes of shooting light a group of does entered...

There are two iconic pictures that always come to mind when thinking of the south: Elvis Presley and pine plantations. It is also ironic when thinking of these two that jungles come to mind: the jungle room in Elvis’ Graceland...

As a professional Land Manager I would have to say that across the board, the most frequent question I receive from future food plotters is “What’s the best choice for a perennial food plot?” To be quite honest, no matter how many...

Ever wonder why the biggest bucks tend to live in our most productive agricultural regions, like the Midwest, Central Canada and the wonderfully productive irrigated alfalfa country of the Plains and Prairies and West. There are huge bucks in these...

Potential Negatives of Supplemental FeedingAlthough there are many positive aspects to a supplemental feeding program, there are also several potentially negative aspects. Thanks to researchers at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, and cooperating landowners who...

You’ve heard the saying, “You are what you eat.” Is that ever true in deer management! Poor food, poor deer – good food, good deer. It’s just that simple. No other area of deer management has the potential to make...

How Many Feeders Are Necessary?A recent study, by Marc Bartoskewitz and Dr. David Hewitt at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, answers this question better than any previous study. They examined supplemental feed use by free-ranging deer on three south Texas ranches with...

If the amount of deer sighting’s and harvests on your hunting property have progressively slowed over the years or dropped considerably in a short period of time, chances are your property is in need of a serious management evaluation. It...

Manufactured Protein PelletsEasily the most common form of supplemental feed provided to deer is the manufactured protein pellet. Dozens of feed companies now manufacture their own varieties of deer pellets. No doubt deer pellets are being provided to deer in...

Does Supplemental Feeding Improve Fawn Production Or Survival?Supplemental feeding is mandatory if you wish to maximize the number of deer on your ranch. Fawn production and survival much like antler growth are directly related to nutrition. If nutrition is limiting...

Supplemental feeding has never been more popular. There are now more ranches and more acres enrolled in supplemental feeding programs than at any other time in history! Look in any hunting magazine and you’ll find pages of advertisements for feeders,...

Protein, digestible energy and minerals…every article in popular hunting magazines and on the web, addresses one or more of these key factors for maximizing the health of the deer you hunt. I agree that they are crucial for decorating your...

Hi, I’m David Morris. Are you tired of seeing mostly does and only the occasional buck … and then, he’s a little fellow? Are you interested in seeing more and bigger bucks WHERE YOU HUNT? If the answer is “YES,”...

Part III - THE PRINCIPLES BEHIND THE CONCEPTNow, we’re going to get down to some of the nuts and bolts of nutritional side of food source management. We’re going to explain how and why it works, layout the seasonal nutritional...