If you plant them they will come!!

Summer plots are up and growing. There are a lot of deer tracks in the plots. It is important to build exclosures in your plots so you can properly moniter plant growth vs. deer consumption. Sometimes people think their plot just isn't growing when in reality the deer are keeping it mowed down to the ground. This is a sign that you don't have enough food planted to support the local deer herd. Don't overlook this step, they are easy to build. You need a couple fence posts or wooden stakes and a roll of chicken wire, put the stakes in the ground and make about a 3' circle with the chicken wire, if it's short put a top on it. The idea is to have the plants get the same sunlight and rainfall as the rest of the plot without the deer getting to them. These are extremely informative to a deer manager.

We are now focusing on preping our Fall food plots. Right now they are either dirt, weeds or left over Rye from last Fall's planting. So we are mowing them down and spraying them with Round Up to get rid of the weeds. If you don't have a sprayer, you also have the option of summer fallowing your food plot, meaning that every 2-3 weeks you till it to knock the weeds down. Fall planting begins the first week of August, so it's right around the corner!

Finally!!!

Well, we have finally gotten the chance to get out and work some ground. We have had a tremendous amount of rain this spring in Michigan and it's put us and the farmers well behind schedule.

In the last week, we were able to get out and do some brush hogging, disking, rototilling, fertilizing, and seeding. We use a simple 4 step process for most of our summer plots; 1. We till (either disk or rototill) 2. We spread the seed and fertilizer with a broadcast spreader 3. We drag the seed in using a harrow and an atv 4. We cultipack the plot to insure the proper seed to soil contact. These are the 4 most important steps. Optional steps include spraying Round Up 2 weeks before tilling, adding Lime and Mowing your plot if you're starting with a grass field or brushy area.

We have planted: 1 Acre of Red Zone by Antler King (soybeans, buckwheat and peas)

1 Acre of Green Patch Plus by Biologic (wheat, clover, and brassica)

.5 Acres of Round Up Ready Soybeans (see picture below and right, 7 days after planting)

.5 Acres of Power Plant by Whitetail Institute (soybeans, peas, sunflowers)

These mixes are all designed to provide a ton of forage and protein throughout the summer while antlers are growing and Does are feeding fawns.

I hope you all have had time to get out and plant some foodplots. It's not only fun, but very rewarding when you see deer feeding on the field you planted! I'll try to keep up with pictures as our foodplots start growing, so check back often.