Food plots provide quality nutrition for whitetails.

I know it is still spring but with summer right around the corner the big bucks antlers can grow over an inch per day during their growing period which is about 150 days and can even grow a lot more than that during the peak of summer. So now is a great time to get those trail cameras out and get some great early pictures of those big bucks. I moved to Kansas last August and was able to do some deer hunting in Kansas last year but this year I plan on being ready. I am so pumped to be deer hunting in Kansas because I know it is a great state for big bucks. I believe one of the main reasons there are so many trophy whitetails in Kansas is the quality nutrition available for the deer. I have noticed the farmers are plowing the fields getting ready to plant the corn. The more quality nutrition available means more trophy whitetails. Some hunters think genetics make a bucks antlers bigger but good nutrition and letting them get older will make a huge  difference. The key to having a property that provides nutritional needs for your whitetail herd is diversity. Clear-cuts, old fields such as CRP, food plots, and mast such as acorns and apples and pears and persimmons during autumn and soft mass like blackberries  all provide different types of food sources that the deer need at different times of the year. The more diverse your property’s food sources are the more trophy whitetails it will attract.

Quality food means trophy whitetails.

Control burning let’s the native grasses grow better and also provide quality nutrition as well. So diversify your deer property by planting food plots that provide quality nutrition year round, control burn, properly manage old fields and watch those brutes get bigger each year. I dream about owning my own hunting land one day, I would love to be able to manage my own property. That is one really good thing about living in Kansas there is a whole lot of agriculture that provides the whitetails quality nutrition year round. Man I’m getting pumped just thinking about September!

Deer Hunting Big Bucks

• May 5, 2009 -- Downloading and Editing Deer Hunting Videos Of Trophy Whitetails (2)
• July 14, 2010 -- Sweet! Deer Hunting Behind The House (4)
• June 13, 2010 -- Trail Camera At The Top Of My Deer Hunting Checklist (0)
• May 9, 2010 -- Favorite Deer Hunting Big Bucks Video (4)
• April 25, 2010 -- Things That Will Improve Your Deer Hunting Property For Big Bucks (4)
• April 14, 2010 -- The John Breen Buck And Shed Hunting (1)
• April 4, 2010 -- Time To Prepare Your Deer Hunting Food Plots For Big Bucks (0)
• March 20, 2010 -- Shed Hunting Producing Some Nice Whitetail Sheds (1)
• March 13, 2010 -- Headed To Deer Hunting Property To Look For Big Bucks Sheds (1)
• January 18, 2010 -- 15 Year Old Takes Giant Missouri Buck Deer Hunting With Bow (6)

1. Deciding where you should plant

A. When deciding where to plant choose places away from public roads and property lines. This should decrease the chances of poaching.

B. Pick a site that will retain some moisture.

C. Choose a location and a size and shape for the plot

2.Preparing to plant

A. Soil testing tells you how much lime and fertilizer is needed to grow a certain crop to its best potential. Soil testing should be done every two years.

3. Soil Preparation

A. Remove the existing vegetation

B. Apply lime and fertilizer

C. Plow, disc, or till the fertilizer into the soil before spreading the seed gets best results.

4. Decide what to plant

A. What’s the purpose of the plantings?

B. You want the deer to be attracted to the plot

C. You want the deer to be able to easily digest it

D. You want the plot to provide plenty of protein and energy to the deer E. Pick seeds best for your food plot sites, soil, climate.

5. Cover the seed properly

6. Maintenance

A. Weed control

B. apply additional lime and fertilizer

Preparing properly should increase your success deer hunting those big bucks. You will be glad you took the time to prepare your property properly to have the best food sources available for the whitetails where you hunt.

Deer Hunting Big Bucks

• December 11, 2008 -- Deer Hunting Food Plots For Big Bucks Whitetail Rut All But Over I Think (3)
• June 13, 2010 -- Trail Camera At The Top Of My Deer Hunting Checklist (0)
• May 9, 2010 -- Favorite Deer Hunting Big Bucks Video (4)
• April 25, 2010 -- Things That Will Improve Your Deer Hunting Property For Big Bucks (4)
• March 20, 2010 -- Shed Hunting Producing Some Nice Whitetail Sheds (1)
• March 13, 2010 -- Headed To Deer Hunting Property To Look For Big Bucks Sheds (1)
• January 9, 2010 -- Sun Goes Down On Another Year Deer Hunting In Kansas (1)
• December 20, 2009 -- Big Whitetail Bucks Hit By Cars Every Year And My Last Chance Deer Hunting This Season (6)
• December 7, 2009 -- Deer Hunting And Some Coyote Hunting In My Sunday Best (2)
• December 1, 2009 -- Deer Hunting Big Bucks Bottom Of The Seventh (0)

Hunt trails leading to and from food plots for late season success.

Learning the whitetails feeding habits can help you figure out where to set up to get a shot at one of the big bucks after the rut is over and food becomes critical for the deer to survive the harsh winter.

I like to look for trails leading to and from food plots or crops and set up down wind of these trails. I like to get close to what I believe is the bedding area, but not too close that I let the deer know that I am there. That is why it is important to make sure the wind is in your favor and be as quiet as possible to avoid being busted by the whitetails.

Yesterday was the last day of rifle season here in Kansas. But I still plan on doing some serious deer hunting.

Locate food sources for great late season deer hunting.

I haven’t been able to harvest a whitetail this deer season but I’m not giving up just yet. I plan on setting up on the trails that I have found leading to the corn fields where I am deer hunting. If you have food plots on your property just find the trails leading to and from them and get close to the bedding area in the transition area. The big bucks can lose up to 30 percent of their body weight during the rut. So once the rut is over they start feeding like crazy to replace the fat they lost to get ready for the tough winter months ahead. If your property doesn’t have food plots or crops look for acorns or grasses, if the frost has taken it’s toll on the grasses and the acorns are gone the whitetails turn to browsing on maple, red and white oak, cedar, sumac, basswood, apple.

It may be late deer season, but that doesn’t mean it is over yet. If you are having a tough time harvesting a big deer like me, don’t give up just yet.

It only takes one hunt to make a great season, if things haven’t worked out for you this year the way you had hoped, don’t let it get you down. The main thing is to keep trying and be persistent. Persistence pays off, hard work pays off. I have a friend that harvested the biggest buck of his life many years ago on the last evening on the last day of the season. It was New Years day and I had already given up on getting a trophy whitetail that year but he hadn’t, he was in his stand right before dark on the last day of the season and just before dark he shot the biggest whitetail of his 55 years of hunting. So even if the rut is over and my chances don’t look too good I’m not giving up just yet. I look at it like each time I go and don’t see anything the better my chances get at harvesting that buck of a lifetime. And food sources are going to be the way I plan on getting that monster.

Deer Hunting Big Bucks

• 5

By watching food sources during the summer you can figure out the deer feeding patterns.

Big bucks increase their body weight quite a bit during the summer months into October. You can use binoculars or a spotting scope during the summer months to watch deer feeding. It is important not to disturb the deer so using a spotting scope is a great way to monitor the deer feeding without them ever knowing you are there. By monitoring the food sources during the summer you will be prepared to pick a great spot to get that trophy whitetail once it is time to go deer hunting.

Figuring out deer feeding patterns during the summer months will help you find great locations for deer hunting.

In my opinion the deer prefer acorns over any other food source. I know there are people who disagree with me but that is my opinion. So around late July or early August it is a good idea to start looking for acorns and if you have acorns dropping in a funnel area that should be a hot spot for whitetail activity.

If you have corn on your property the whitetail activity probably won’t be heavy in the corn until it starts to mature in late September or early October.

Glassing fields can reveal great places to hunt once bow season rolls around. You want to locates fields where there is lush food sources available ( such as clover and alfalfa) and field edges with thick cover nearby are a great place to look.

Another great place to scout is where there are fruit trees or an orchard. Whitetails just love the sweet taste of apples, pears, persimmons, etc. You want to look for trails leading to the trees and setup on the downwind side. If hunting an orchard it is best to setup near the trees bearing the most fruit or even better on the trails leading to it. Look for trees with the most fruit on the ground with the most droppings.

By focusing on areas that have food water and cover and glassing these areas during the summer you will be able to choose great stand locations and increase your odds of harvesting a trophy a trophy whitetail this upcoming season.

Deer Hunting Big Bucks

• July 14, 2010 -- Sweet! Deer Hunting Behind The House (4)
• June 13, 2010 -- Trail Camera At The Top Of My Deer Hunting Checklist (0)
• May 25, 2010 -- Diversify Your Deer Hunting Property For Trophy Whitetails (0)
• May 9, 2010 -- Favorite Deer Hunting Big Bucks Video (4)
• April 25, 2010 -- Things That Will Improve Your Deer Hunting Property For Big Bucks (4)
• April 14, 2010 -- The John Breen Buck And Shed Hunting (1)
• April 4, 2010 -- Time To Prepare Your Deer Hunting Food Plots For Big Bucks (0)
• March 20, 2010 -- Shed Hunting Producing Some Nice Whitetail Sheds (1)
• March 13, 2010 -- Headed To Deer Hunting Property To Look For Big Bucks Sheds (1)
• January 18, 2010 -- 15 Year Old Takes Giant Missouri Buck Deer Hunting With Bow (6)

If you want to improve your deer hunting doing these five things will help your property tremendously.

If you lease or own your land there are some things that you can do to improve your deer hunting tremendously. Here is a list of 5 things you can do to improve your deer hunting property.

1.Food Plots- In my book having food plots is the number one thing you can do to improve your hunting property for big bucks. Whitetails eat five to eight pounds of food every day for each one hundred pounds of body weight.

One of the best ways to improve your deer hunting property is to add food plots.

Food plots provide quality nutrition at the times of year when the deer need it the most. During fawn bearing, antler growth, and winter when food is scarce. Providing good nutrition will improve the overall well being of your deer herd.

2.Control burn- Every year around February or March we control burn our hunting property. We plow fire breaks and clean the brush out from around our deer stands, then we wait for the conditions to be right and then burn. We have to obtain a permit to be able to burn. You need to make sure you have the proper permit when burning. Each state may have different requirements so be sure to check with the proper authorities in your location.

3.Plant trees and shrubs- Some of the popular trees and shrubs are saw tooth oak, wild plum, crab apple, persimmon, honeysuckle, Hawthorne, dogwood, apple, pecan.

4.Supplemental feeding-High protein is very good for antler growth. During the winter supplemental feeding can help deer survive the harsh winter. We have three feeders on our hunting property. They are a great place to set up trail cameras. You can see that trophy buck up close and watch him grow. We’ve had a nice 150 class buck on camera for several years. He has outsmarted us so far though.

5.Managing the herd-Buck to doe ratio is important. With a one to one being ideal. One to three is acceptable. Increase your doe harvest and decrease your buck harvest depending on the ratio of your herd. Protect your yearling bucks. Let bucks grow to three and a half years old at least, with five and a half being preferred. Impose size restrictions on bucks. Set a width and number of points restriction. A lot of clubs have restrictions of as wide as its ears and eight points or better.

You can really improve your hunting property by doing these five things. If you hunt public land then you don’t have to worry about this stuff. In some states the public land is being managed very well to ensure a healthy deer herd. With some really nice bucks being harvested.

Deer Hunting Big Bucks

• April 4, 2010 -- Time To Prepare Your Deer Hunting Food Plots For Big Bucks (0)
• March 16, 2009 -- Deer Hunting Food Plots And Finding Sheds (3)
• March 4, 2009 -- Start Preparing For Spring Food Plots For Deer Hunting (0)
• December 11, 2008 -- Deer Hunting Food Plots For Big Bucks Whitetail Rut All But Over I Think (3)
• July 14, 2010 -- Sweet! Deer Hunting Behind The House (4)
• June 13, 2010 -- Trail Camera At The Top Of My Deer Hunting Checklist (0)
• May 25, 2010 -- Diversify Your Deer Hunting Property For Trophy Whitetails (0)
• May 9, 2010 -- Favorite Deer Hunting Big Bucks Video (4)
• April 25, 2010 -- Things That Will Improve Your Deer Hunting Property For Big Bucks (4)
• April 14, 2010 -- The John Breen Buck And Shed Hunting (1)

Food plots are essential if you are serious about deer hunting big bucks.

Having food plots to provide the deer with quality nutrition year round is essential for growing mature whitetail deer. Soon the big bucks will be growing their antlers and trail cameras on food plots are a great way to see your bucks develop their antlers every step of the way.

Now that spring has arrived the longer days and more sunlight will trigger the hormones that will cause the big bucks to start growing their antlers.

I saw this article I thought I would share.

Get The Big Bucks, With The Big Antlers

When hunting for the big bucks, you need to know a few things first. An interesting subject I would like to talk about is Antlers and Antler Growth, and how they are connected to capturing that prize buck.

Once a year, a buck sheds his antlers and soon produces new ones. Starting as early as the middle of March, new antlers will start to take form. Longer, sunny days, and the spring season stimulates hormonal production, beginning the yearly process once again. These outgrowths of the skeletal system compose mainly of calcium, phosphorous, and other minerals, growing from the pedical, atop the skull, and are attached to the base(burr) of the antlers.

Growing antlers are the fastest form of bone growing, and are covered by a soft velvet. The velvet is actually a hair covered membrane, interlaced throughout with blood vessels that transport and deposit the minerals used to build the antlers. These vulnerable antlers continue to grow into September, when the bone finally hardens, and the velvet is rubbed off. While some bucks begin stripping the velvet from their antlers when the blood supply is still active, others may wait until the velvet has completely dried. After the velvet is removed, antlers begin to deteriorate from the effects of sunlight and moisture. Deer will chew on antlers, as will rats, and squirrels.

Nutritional intake plays a huge role in the development of antlers, as does genetics. Once the body has met all of its’ nutritional requirements, the antlers take in additional nutrients. Large quantities of food must be available for optimum antler growth.
Supplemental planting is of some benefit, but to stay healthy and strong, and produce a nice rack, deer need nutritious forage throughout the year.
To ensure an abundance of quality food for the deer to eat, herd numbers must be kept within the carrying capacity of the land, quite often requiring the harvest of antler-less deer. As the first couple of years tend to be spent taking in nutrients to grow the body, the older bucks that need less, will produce larger racks.

Many factors affect the development of antler growth (nutrition, genetics, age, and herd management), and paying close attention to your hunting grounds can increase your chances of catching a trophy buck more and more each year.

By: Andy Fidler

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Andy owns Deer Hunting Expert which provides information and articles on whitetail deer hunting

Deer Hunting Big Bucks

• June 13, 2010 -- Trail Camera At The Top Of My Deer Hunting Checklist (0)
• May 9, 2010 -- Favorite Deer Hunting Big Bucks Video (4)
• April 25, 2010 -- Things That Will Improve Your Deer Hunting Property For Big Bucks (4)
• April 4, 2010 -- Time To Prepare Your Deer Hunting Food Plots For Big Bucks (0)
• March 20, 2010 -- Shed Hunting Producing Some Nice Whitetail Sheds (1)
• March 13, 2010 -- Headed To Deer Hunting Property To Look For Big Bucks Sheds (1)
• January 9, 2010 -- Sun Goes Down On Another Year Deer Hunting In Kansas (1)
• December 20, 2009 -- Big Whitetail Bucks Hit By Cars Every Year And My Last Chance Deer Hunting This Season (6)
• December 7, 2009 -- Deer Hunting And Some Coyote Hunting In My Sunday Best (2)
• December 1, 2009 -- Deer Hunting Big Bucks Bottom Of The Seventh (0)

When shed hunting a great place to start looking is around food plots and feeders.

I haven’t been able to go shed hunting this year but I would really like to soon. The big bucks should have dropped their antlers already. These are some before and after trail camera pictures I wanted to share with you, of one of the big bucks we have on our deer hunting property.

Trail cameras are a great way to know when the big bucks have shed their antlers on your deer hunting property.

Do you use a trail camera to help you figure out the big bucks on your deer hunting property? When you go shed hunting on your property where do you start out? I like to start in food plots and on trails, and near feeders and trails leading to and from them. Looking for that trophy whitetails rack is another fun part of deer hunting.

It will soon be time to plant those spring and summer food plots. Have you gotten your soil samples yet? Getting soil samples before you plant your spring and summer food plots and applying lime accordingly can improve your spring and summer food plots tremendously. I have seen plots that barely produced at all, but when soil samples were done and the correct amount of lime put out they showed great improvement and were lush and green! Get out and get those soil samples if you want to be sitting over a nice green plot come deer season.

Now that spring is here the does will be giving birth soon. After a gestation period of about 202 days. Some will give birth to twins usually one buck and one doe. During the summer bucks and does will be busy eating alot of their favorite foods in their region. Sometimes eating 10 to 12 pounds of food a day. During the summer they eat a lot of grasses, clover, alfalfa, and berries. As the days become longer the incresed daylight will cause a change in the bucks growth hormones causing his antlers to grow. I can’t wait to see the big bucks start growing their antlers.

Deer Hunting Big Bucks

• April 14, 2010 -- The John Breen Buck And Shed Hunting (1)
• March 20, 2010 -- Shed Hunting Producing Some Nice Whitetail Sheds (1)
• July 14, 2010 -- Sweet! Deer Hunting Behind The House (4)
• June 13, 2010 -- Trail Camera At The Top Of My Deer Hunting Checklist (0)
• May 25, 2010 -- Diversify Your Deer Hunting Property For Trophy Whitetails (0)
• May 9, 2010 -- Favorite Deer Hunting Big Bucks Video (4)
• April 25, 2010 -- Things That Will Improve Your Deer Hunting Property For Big Bucks (4)
• April 4, 2010 -- Time To Prepare Your Deer Hunting Food Plots For Big Bucks (0)
• March 13, 2010 -- Headed To Deer Hunting Property To Look For Big Bucks Sheds (1)
• January 18, 2010 -- 15 Year Old Takes Giant Missouri Buck Deer Hunting With Bow (6)

Deer Hunting can be a year long process, now is the time of year to find big bucks like this ones sheds.

Why not enjoy deer hunting year round? Now that spring is upon us it is time to get out and find those big bucks sheds. Getting out in the great outdoors looking for deer sheds can be a lot of fun and a great way to get some much needed exercise. But with turkey season coming up you may want to wear some fluorescent orange while out looking for deer sheds. The big bucks should be shedding their antlers by now. A great place to start looking is in food plots and on trails leading to and from them. It can be great to find a big boys sheds that you have on trail cameras that you have been deer hunting.

For all of nature spring is time for birth. With a gestation period of around 202 days does will give birth around the end of May or Early June. Does that are 2 1/2 may have twins. If you are serious about quality deer management now is the time to start preparing to plant spring and summer food plots. Getting soil samples where you are planning on planting is one of the most important things you can do to ensure that you get the best results out of your food plots.

Getting soil samples where you plan on planting food plots will ensure the best results out of them.

When you get the results back from your soil samples you can lime them accordingly. You will get the best results out of them if you put out the recommended amount of lime on each one. When deer season rolls around you will be so glad you got the soil samples and have beautiful green food plots for the deer and they will attract more deer and make it easier to pattern the big boys feeding patterns.

Spring is a great time to get out in the great outdoors and find deer sheds and improve your hunting property for big deer.

Deer Hunting Big Bucks

• April 4, 2010 -- Time To Prepare Your Deer Hunting Food Plots For Big Bucks (0)
• July 10, 2009 -- Improve Your Deer Hunting Property By Doing 5 Things (2)
• March 4, 2009 -- Start Preparing For Spring Food Plots For Deer Hunting (0)
• December 11, 2008 -- Deer Hunting Food Plots For Big Bucks Whitetail Rut All But Over I Think (3)
• July 14, 2010 -- Sweet! Deer Hunting Behind The House (4)
• June 13, 2010 -- Trail Camera At The Top Of My Deer Hunting Checklist (0)
• May 25, 2010 -- Diversify Your Deer Hunting Property For Trophy Whitetails (0)
• May 9, 2010 -- Favorite Deer Hunting Big Bucks Video (4)
• April 25, 2010 -- Things That Will Improve Your Deer Hunting Property For Big Bucks (4)
• April 14, 2010 -- The John Breen Buck And Shed Hunting (1)

Spring is almost here. Have you gotten your soil test for your spring food plots? It wont be long before it is time to go deer hunting.

Preparing food plots for year round use on your deer hunting property will improve your odds for a big buck like this one.

I think one of the most important thing you can do to ensure good food plots is to get soil test done for each of your food plots and lime accordingly.

Getting soil test and applying lime accordingly will help food plots tremendously.

You need to take the time to do soil test if you are serious about growing big bucks and quality deer management.

Improve quality deer management on your hunting property by getting soil test and providing the deer with good quality nutrition year round.

When you get the right amount of lime on the plots you will be amazed how much better they do. Having good healthy plots can really attract more deer to your property. And the more does that are attracted to your property the better chances are that big bucks will be following those does right onto your property. We have been planting quality plots on our deer hunting property for several years now and every year the deer hunting seems to improve for big bucks. If you are serious about quality deer management there are a number of things you can do to improve your hunting property and in my opinion none improves your quality deer management than good quality plots. Why even waste the time planting them if you are not going to get a soil test and make sure they are done right. You might get lucky and plant your plot somewhere where the PH level is already good for planting plots and doesn’t need any lime, but 9 times out of 10 your soil needs something. So take the time to get those soil samples, you will be so glad that you did when your plots are luscious and beautiful and attracting deer from properties surrounding yours.

Deer Hunting Big Bucks

• April 4, 2010 -- Time To Prepare Your Deer Hunting Food Plots For Big Bucks (0)
• July 10, 2009 -- Improve Your Deer Hunting Property By Doing 5 Things (2)
• March 16, 2009 -- Deer Hunting Food Plots And Finding Sheds (3)
• December 11, 2008 -- Deer Hunting Food Plots For Big Bucks Whitetail Rut All But Over I Think (3)
• July 14, 2010 -- Sweet! Deer Hunting Behind The House (4)
• June 13, 2010 -- Trail Camera At The Top Of My Deer Hunting Checklist (0)
• May 25, 2010 -- Diversify Your Deer Hunting Property For Trophy Whitetails (0)
• May 9, 2010 -- Favorite Deer Hunting Big Bucks Video (4)
• April 25, 2010 -- Things That Will Improve Your Deer Hunting Property For Big Bucks (4)
• April 14, 2010 -- The John Breen Buck And Shed Hunting (1)

Supplemental feeding can provide the deer essential nutrition during the cold winter months when it is needed the most.

We have several on our deer hunting property. Several years ago we started practicing supplemental feeding. Since that time I would say that the health of our deer herd has improved and the size of the trophy bucks has gotten bigger each year. There are many contributing factors and aspects of quality deer management, using a deer feeder is just one way to help the QDM on your property. There are many different types of feeders out there on the market, in many different price ranges. Or you can make some great ones fairly inexpensive yourself.

There are many different opinions on supplemental feeding.

Supplemental feeding programs are very common in clubs practicing QDM.

There have been some cases of chronic wasting disease in some states that possibly linked to the deer eating out of feeders and spreading it that way. I know that the DNR is keeping a close watch in every state and taking precautionary measures.

We have a deer feeder in several locations on our hunting property and you can tell that it has definitely changed the deer feeding patterns. They have to depend on the acorns and browse less and now they use the feeders and food plots more. Although I believe that a deers favorite food is acorns, especially White Oak acorns. I think since we started feeding the deer and created more food plots the deer population on our property has increased tremendously. It seems like the deer are coming off of the surrounding properties to the abundant food sources on our property. This past deer season we harvested a lot of does and probably needed to harvest more than we did. It seemed like there were does everywhere. I think for that reason we didn’t see as many mature bucks but we also logged less hunting hours this past year. There are many opinions on buck to doe ratio but I believe if the food sources are abundant the carrying capacity of the land for deer increases and having a more abundant deer population can be a great thing if you like seeing a lot of healthy deer while deer hunting.

Deer Hunting Big Bucks

• 5

Food plots for deer hunting can tremendously improve your hunting property.

Improving your deer hunting property is a year round job. If you want to improve your deer hunting property make sure to do your homework and get soil samples. If you are serious about quality deer management you need to take your planting seriously. With a little preparation you can improve your property tremendously. And will provide those trophy bucks with quality nutrition year round.

Before planting deer food plots be sure to get a soil sample.

Trophy Whitetail Deer: Use An Agricultural Approach

When creating your deer food plots, your vision should always be to create the type of deer habitat essential for holding those trophy whitetail deer year-round. Part of that vision likely includes food plots.

Success comes from approaching the project from a farming perspective and treating the planting of food plots like an agricultural crop. Simply tilling the corner of a field and tossing some deer food plot seeds around isn’t likely to result in much success for you. It is also important to use crop diversification as well which gives you variety and safety for your investment.

For example, on our ranch, we just don’t rely on a single crop for our deer food plots. We generally use many different varieties such as chickory, clover, soybeans, rapeseed and brassicas as part of our annual planting and maintenance plan. Time has proven that using an agricultural approach will provide good deer habitat and hold our whitetail deer around from spring fawning through the tough winter months. So our goal is to have our whitetail on a few different locations on our ranch throughout the year.

Last year we scoped out a good location and there was an existing grass field there with nearby cover. Given our crop rotations we were also lucky enough to have a bordering field that was to be planted into corn to help us with a transition zone.

So the very first thing we did was commit that spring and early summer for strictly weed control and cultivation. In the spring we let the grass grow about three to five inches, then we sprayed the field with Roundup: in mid May.

After burndown, we tilled the field. It is important to note that the objective here is to deal with weeds and re-growth in a continued sabotage strategy so you get the best soil conditions for your crop with less weed competition.

The less time spent in this phase the weaker your outcome will be. We actually sprayed this particular field three times, but generally we get away with twice. Each time we waited a few weeks for re-growth, sprayed and then re-tilled. We are able to clean up the field with way, but every time tilling occurs there are new weed seeds exposed. This is why it may take several different treatments depending on the condition of the field you started with.

Now this is the time to get your samples for soil testing in your new deer food plot. This gives you time to apply lime and determine what your fertilizer needs are going to be. Don’t overlook the benefits of a soil test. The addition of lime can sometimes mean the difference between success and failure. Inappropriate pH of your soil could mean you are putting valuable fertilizer money down the drain. On average we do a soil test every 2-4 years, depending on what has been planted etc. Due to the number of acres on our property we tend to rotate soil testing areas to make it more economical and still get the benefits.

After our weed control was done, it was the end of July and conditions were perfect. We were ready for late summer planting. Weather will always dictate how good the planting will be, but you should get weed free growth for a fall or winter food plot.
There are as many opinions on what to plant as there are choices, but the thing we like the best for easy start up and rapid growth is rapeseed. This is an annual (only grows for one year). We also did brassicas around the outside edge.

You may favor chickory in your area. This is an easy one too. We like these easy crops because then next spring we can still deal with weeds before starting to putting in our perennial crop such as clover.

So, that is a taste of how you can easily get started with your deer food plot, even if you’re a relative novice. We hope that has been helpful. There is always more to learn.

By: Judy McFarlen

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Dr. Judy McFarlen, is the author of DiyDeerFoofPlots.com a Canadian Veterinarian with 20 years experience. She lives in Alberta, where some of the largest trophy whitetail deer are found.

Deer Hunting Big Bucks

• July 14, 2010 -- Sweet! Deer Hunting Behind The House (4)
• June 13, 2010 -- Trail Camera At The Top Of My Deer Hunting Checklist (0)
• May 25, 2010 -- Diversify Your Deer Hunting Property For Trophy Whitetails (0)
• May 9, 2010 -- Favorite Deer Hunting Big Bucks Video (4)
• April 25, 2010 -- Things That Will Improve Your Deer Hunting Property For Big Bucks (4)
• April 14, 2010 -- The John Breen Buck And Shed Hunting (1)
• April 4, 2010 -- Time To Prepare Your Deer Hunting Food Plots For Big Bucks (0)
• March 20, 2010 -- Shed Hunting Producing Some Nice Whitetail Sheds (1)
• March 13, 2010 -- Headed To Deer Hunting Property To Look For Big Bucks Sheds (1)
• January 18, 2010 -- 15 Year Old Takes Giant Missouri Buck Deer Hunting With Bow (6)