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Evaluating Your Resources for An Effective Food Plot Program
 If you want to attract more deer and grow bigger deer on your property you must develop an effective year-round food plot program. In other words, you will need to grow and maintain a significant amount of high-quality (year-round) food plots that will greatly enhance the nutritional plane on your property. In short, you must begin “farming for deer” not just planting a few small plots each fall to attract and harvest deer.
In order to get the most out of your property and your investment you must be willing to commit the time, money, and effort necessary to develop and implement such a program. To do this, you will need to develop a comprehensive deer management plan. This management plan will address several key management components such as nutritional management, habitat management, herd management, and harvest management. This overall deer management plan should also include a thorough evaluation of your current resources, goals, and objectives.
First of all, you must evaluate what you have to work with and what you’re trying to achieve. In other words, you must take a hard look at your current resources including: available land (native habitat, water sources, and your neighbor’s), wildlife resources (deer population, deer quality, other wildlife, etc), financial resources (money, time, equipment, personnel, etc.), and expertise. All of this information will help you determine the best food plot program for your particular property based on your goals and your available resources.
Whenever you evaluate your land/habitat resources, you will need to determine critical information such as: How much total acreage do I manage? How much open land? How much tillable land? How much crop land? What is the quality of my native habitat? Amount of annual hard/soft mast production? Are there any water sources on or near my property for irrigation (if needed)?
Many managers forget to look at their neighbor’s situation whenever they evaluate their land and natural resources. However, your neighbors and their resources can have a huge impact on your overall management program. For example, if your adjoining neighbor is a farmer (not a hunter) who plants large acreage of high-quality crops such as corn, soy beans, and/or alfalfa each year, you can take advantage of this situation and you may not have to plant as many food plots as a result. On the other hand, if your neighbor is a serious deer hunter and hunts deer heavily, you may want to locate your plots as far away as possible from this “bad” neighbor.
Next, you will need to evaluate the wildlife resources on your property. You will need to determine how many deer are on your property through some type of deer population census. This will help you to determine how much acreage (in terms of quality food plots) that you will need to feed your deer herd in order for them to reach their full genetic potential. You will also need to evaluate other wildlife on your property, which may compete for food with your local deer herd. This may include other wild game animals such as elk, antelope, wild hogs, exotics and non-game animals such as cattle and sheep.
Another important factor to consider is your financial resources. If you are like most managers, you have a limited budget and/or resources to work with. Therefore, you will need to determine how much money you have to invest in your overall food plot program. This will help you determine how many acres you can plant and how much you can spend on products such as seed, fertilizer, lime, herbicides, etc. When evaluating your financial resources you will also need to consider things such as equipment and personnel available to get the job done. Ask yourself - Do I own the equipment needed for planting/maintaining your plots? Do I have to rent equipment? Do I have the personnel available? Will I have to hire someone to plant/maintain my plots? Don’t forget about fuel costs and annual maintenance costs for running this equipment.
Most folks starting out in a serious food plot program tend to forget one of the most important considerations when evaluating their resources. This is the EXPERTISE of knowing when, where, and how to use the RIGHT products and the RIGHT equipment! If you don’t have the knowledge to develop and implement a comprehensive food plot program you will need to seek professional advice and/or hire a consultant. Otherwise, you will waste a lot of time, money, and effort with little results. Remember: If you want to have an effective food plot program and reach your management goals, you must plant and maintain your food plots the RIGHT way using the RIGHT products and the RIGHT equipment.
After a thorough evaluation of all of your resources, noting both the pros and cons, you can then set some realistic management goals. Once you set these goals, you will be ready to develop a food plot program to help accomplish your goals for attracting more deer and growing bigger deer on your property.
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