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Three Steps for Planning Your Deer and Turkey Planting
by NWTF
1. Evaluate your Resources
Don't get stuck halfway through a planting and find out you don't have enough money or the right tools to finish the job. Figure out what resources you have available to work with before you start. Asking the following questions will help:
How much land do I own or lease, and how much I can afford to plant?
How much money can I spend on seed, lime, fertilizer and equipment?
Am I going to need special equipment like a tractor or a rototiller?
Can I rent this equipment or contract with a local farmer to help me plow and disc my fields, or am I going to have to purchase equipment and prepare my fields myself?
How much time can I afford to spend working on my food plots?
You also need to evaluate the available natural resources on your property. Test your soil. You need to know what plants will grow best on your land and what kinds of fertilizer you might need. You should also research how much rain the area receives each year, when that rain typically falls and the length of the growing season.
2. Set your Goals
Now that you know what resources you're working with, you should start figuring out what you want your food plots to do for the local deer and turkey populations. Do you want your food plots to provide winter forage or do you want to attract game primarily in the spring and fall? Are you interested in long-term enhancements like improving turkey brood habitat, or are you focusing mainly on bringing in a big buck for next fall?
3. Choose your Plants
Once you've set your goals and evaluated your resources, you can begin choosing what crops to plant. Plant crops that fill a need for the wildlife in your area. First, scout the types of food and cover available on adjacent properties. There's little sense in planting something that's already available next door. Then choose the plants that best fill in the gaps. You can plant annual crops, perennial mixes or a combination of the two.
Annual crops:
Annual crops attract turkeys and deer to your property quickly, but require maintenance and re-planting on a regular basis. Among the best annual crops for wildlife are corn, sorghum, buckwheat, chufa, winter wheat, rye, sunflowers and soybeans.
Corn provides one of the best winter foods wildlife. If you have a good number of deer in your area, plant at least two acres of corn.
Wheat and rye planted in September will enhance your bowhunting and attract turkeys in both fall and spring. Buckwheat should be planted in June to make sure that the seed is falling in September and October.
Sorghum is a good winter food item because the strong stalks hold up well to snow and wind, making the seed available in cold weather.
Beans don't hold up well in tough winter weather, but they will help provide food in the fall. Soybeans are highly sought after by deer and eaten regularly by turkeys.
Many local NWTF chapters sell annual crop seeds through the NWTF's Conservation Seed Program. If you plan ahead and do your shopping in the winter, you might find a good deal on the previous year's seed. For details on this program, contact Cissy Penner, cpenner@nwtf.net or (800) THE-NWTF.
Perennial Plantings
A perennial planting will last for a number of years. Choose seed mixes containing grasses and legumes. Through its Project HELP catalog, the NWTF sells "Turkey Gold Strut and Rut" in a variety of mixes. Its Northeast/Midwest Perrenial Mix features clover, trefoil, alfalfa and annual ryegrass, while the "Special Purpose Strut and Rut" features a mix of clover, timothy and orchard grass. The NWTF also sells Mossy Oak "Biologic" mixes that contain clovers and brassicus.
For more information about the National Wild Turkey Federation and its conservation efforts, please visit their website at www.nwtf.org.
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