By Scott Bestul

It’s time to plow under the clover-plot-equals-corn-pile argument. Of the many fresh debates germinated by modern whitetail management, none has proved faster growing or hardier than food plots vs. bait, in which one side insists that planting plots to attract and kill deer is no different from luring them to a mound of carrots or sugar beets. This may sound perfectly sensible…until you soil-test the dirt from which the logic grows.

Food plots are very different from baiting—and better for the health of the deer herd as well as for hunting. And while it’s true that a small plot of lush clover in the middle of otherwise barren woods may be no different from a pile of corn in terms of fair-chase principles, food-plot planting and management provides a long list of tangible and intangible benefits. Here are the main ones.

#1 - Better health
Food in a pile (read bait) forces deer into unnatural concentrations, upping the odds of disease transmission through nose-to-nose contact, a proven vector for bovine TB. Also, because most bait lies directly on the ground, baited deer are more likely to ingest each other’s urine and/or feces, a suspected cause of CWD.

Even a quarter-acre plot adequately spreads out feeding deer in most cases, and because deer typically eat the leaves, fruits, or seeds of food-plot plants, they ingest less dirt, diminishing the likelihood of urine or feces consumption. And since food plots are on the landscape 24/7, competitive feeding, and therefore crowding, naturally decreases.

#2 - Deer behavior
Multiple studies have shown that the continual visits a baiter makes to freshen his pile change deer behavior, making them more cautious, more nocturnal, and tougher for everyone to hunt. Once you plant a food plot, on the other hand, you are more or less done, and deer will visit it as they would any natural food source or ag crop.

#3 - Hunter relations
One of my biggest beefs against baiting is its effect on public-land hunting. Invariably, the baiter draws an immediate, imaginary boundary around his setup and claims squatter’s rights—ratcheting up tensions with other public-land hunters. By default, food plots, which are planted almost exclusively on private lands, don’t create this kind of conflict.

#4 - Habitat stewardship
A hunter may plant his first food plot with the sole purpose of luring a deer for the kill, but before long, something very cool happens to many a food plotter: He finds other ways to improve deer habitat. Of course, not every weekend farmer becomes a land steward, but this evolution is common.

What’s more, food plots benefit more than just whitetails. In a study completed in 2009, University of Georgia researcher Will Ricks inventoried populations of invertebrates, small mammals, and songbirds in and around clover plots located in Pennsylvania, New York, Georgia, and Tennessee. Then he compared them with adjacent forested areas. In each location, the abundance and diversity of nongame wildlife species was greater in and around food plots.

Finally, believe it or not, there are still some places in this country where deer densities are low and food is a limiting factor. Here, perennial food plots—unlike bait—can help increase the area’s carrying capacity and improve deer hunting for not just the planter but eventually his neighbors, too.

Comments (13)

from Roderick K. Purcell wrote 1 year 18 weeks ago

Bait is great on a fishhook. Not so good for deer hunting.

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from dleurquin wrote 1 year 18 weeks ago

Sounds good to me. Now I need to save up and buy me some land. Someday...

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from Hank111 wrote 1 year 18 weeks ago

I dont know how I missed this one. Great points Scott, especially the fact that all wildlife benifit as well as eventually neighbors too.Most anti-food plot guys just dont get the fact that its about timber stand improvement,[creating more natural browse and habitat]as well as growing different crops for year round nutrition. Unlike most neighboring farms that with the high corn prices are bulldozing every fenceline, thicket and timbered hillside they can possibly farm, plus running cattle on every inch after being harvested, leaving NO food for deer or anything else.My opinion, is deer on managed farms are healthier and more able to fight disease. Plus they make it thru winter in good shape, allowing them to reach their full potential growing the next rack.

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from londan817 wrote 1 year 17 weeks ago

I agree food plots help but most plant them to hunt over. Regulate hunting over them, then see how many are planted to help the habitat. They are mostly planted on private land and pull deer from public. I am all for planting food plots to help the enviroment but not for hunting over it's no different than a bait pile when they are used for hunting.

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from GrantHarland wrote 1 year 17 weeks ago

On our property we do large food plots, gravity protein feeders, and corn feeders. Is this article considering gravity and protein feeders as "baiting." If so, do you think that this form of deer feeding alongside large food-plots has a positive or negative impact on deer health and growth?

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from srlarson wrote 1 year 17 weeks ago

I'll spin this a different way, I hunt Western MN, prairie and Farm fields......when crops are gone you can dump all the corn you want isn't going to bring deer, beside Illegal in MN...there are thousands of acres of picked corn/bean fields around.....We planted a food plot for after harvest, green choices for food.....been the best draw we have seen. Food plots have their place and are great management tools.

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from khoff5190 wrote 1 year 16 weeks ago

While food plots are better than bait in most cases, in areas of over population where baiting is legal it could be the better tool to bring deer into an area but still limit carrying capacity. On the east coast in recently developed suburban areas I feel like this is true.

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from Big Country wrote 1 year 16 weeks ago

I feel like this is a one sided article. Evry one around here has feeders and that's how it's done. Food plots are much better if you have the means, time, money, and land to do it. but I havent found many deer leases from farmers and ranchers around here that say oh yeah go ahead and plow that spot where my cows could eat and fence it off just for deer. So food plots are good but bait is just fine to. Like someone said already, when you start telling people they cant food plot anymore they will stop. See how many of them are for the deer that aren't being hunted

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from mstrass73 wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago

I own 80 acres of mostly woodland with two small fields. We have about 6 acres of food plots now and they have added value to not only deer population numbers, size and year round health, but also really helped the turkey population, dove, squirrels, even crows are more abundant in the area. We have a mix of corn, soybeans, clover, oats and winter wheat depending on the time of year and the section we plant in. We have something for the wildlife to graze on year round. We also started to manage our woodlands better as a result and food plots are just a part of the overall management of our property.

The plots really do benefit all animals and of course come deer season we have a couple of our dozen or so stands overlooking the plots. I don't see it as baiting any more than a farmer that hunts over a commercial corn or soybean stand. We have both planted to manage our resources and land in different ways, but the principal is the same.

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from 8Crow wrote 1 year 14 weeks ago

Excellent post, Scott!! I see disease (CWD especially) as a real threat to the future of our deer herds and I also see baiting and game farms as the two biggest culprits.

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from Sanjuancb wrote 1 year 14 weeks ago

Today's Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation newsletter stated the following:

"Effective in July, the use of bait will be unlawful on all lands owned or managed by the Wildlife Department. What is considered baiting was clarified as the placing, depositing, exposing, distributing or scattering of shelled, shucked or unshucked corn, wheat or other grain or other feed."

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from ray cummings wrote 1 year 13 weeks ago

Food plots planted to hunt over are still baiting! They take deer from surrounding public land amnd give the landowner an unfair advantage. As I stated in another blog "if piling bait in a small area is detrimental to deer, why does the D.N.R. (Michigan)limit the area we can spread bait over? They limit the amount of bait which is OK but demand that it is kept in a small area. It seems that if the "experts" are right and piled bait is a cause of CWD that the D.N.R. would know that and act accordingly.

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from tater0937 wrote 1 year 11 weeks ago

Ok so I think that food plots are a good thing and for all of you who think that it is the same as baiting don't forget that the land owners are the ones who feed the wildlife 90% of the time it is not season. Farmers and ranchers have just as much right to hunt as anyone. As far as saying that food plots draw deer away from public land is unfair. There is no difference in that and a farmer changing his crops.

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from Roderick K. Purcell wrote 1 year 18 weeks ago

Bait is great on a fishhook. Not so good for deer hunting.

+3 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from londan817 wrote 1 year 17 weeks ago

I agree food plots help but most plant them to hunt over. Regulate hunting over them, then see how many are planted to help the habitat. They are mostly planted on private land and pull deer from public. I am all for planting food plots to help the enviroment but not for hunting over it's no different than a bait pile when they are used for hunting.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from dleurquin wrote 1 year 18 weeks ago

Sounds good to me. Now I need to save up and buy me some land. Someday...

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Hank111 wrote 1 year 18 weeks ago

I dont know how I missed this one. Great points Scott, especially the fact that all wildlife benifit as well as eventually neighbors too.Most anti-food plot guys just dont get the fact that its about timber stand improvement,[creating more natural browse and habitat]as well as growing different crops for year round nutrition. Unlike most neighboring farms that with the high corn prices are bulldozing every fenceline, thicket and timbered hillside they can possibly farm, plus running cattle on every inch after being harvested, leaving NO food for deer or anything else.My opinion, is deer on managed farms are healthier and more able to fight disease. Plus they make it thru winter in good shape, allowing them to reach their full potential growing the next rack.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from GrantHarland wrote 1 year 17 weeks ago

On our property we do large food plots, gravity protein feeders, and corn feeders. Is this article considering gravity and protein feeders as "baiting." If so, do you think that this form of deer feeding alongside large food-plots has a positive or negative impact on deer health and growth?

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from srlarson wrote 1 year 17 weeks ago

I'll spin this a different way, I hunt Western MN, prairie and Farm fields......when crops are gone you can dump all the corn you want isn't going to bring deer, beside Illegal in MN...there are thousands of acres of picked corn/bean fields around.....We planted a food plot for after harvest, green choices for food.....been the best draw we have seen. Food plots have their place and are great management tools.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from khoff5190 wrote 1 year 16 weeks ago

While food plots are better than bait in most cases, in areas of over population where baiting is legal it could be the better tool to bring deer into an area but still limit carrying capacity. On the east coast in recently developed suburban areas I feel like this is true.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from mstrass73 wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago

I own 80 acres of mostly woodland with two small fields. We have about 6 acres of food plots now and they have added value to not only deer population numbers, size and year round health, but also really helped the turkey population, dove, squirrels, even crows are more abundant in the area. We have a mix of corn, soybeans, clover, oats and winter wheat depending on the time of year and the section we plant in. We have something for the wildlife to graze on year round. We also started to manage our woodlands better as a result and food plots are just a part of the overall management of our property.

The plots really do benefit all animals and of course come deer season we have a couple of our dozen or so stands overlooking the plots. I don't see it as baiting any more than a farmer that hunts over a commercial corn or soybean stand. We have both planted to manage our resources and land in different ways, but the principal is the same.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from 8Crow wrote 1 year 14 weeks ago

Excellent post, Scott!! I see disease (CWD especially) as a real threat to the future of our deer herds and I also see baiting and game farms as the two biggest culprits.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Sanjuancb wrote 1 year 14 weeks ago

Today's Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation newsletter stated the following:

"Effective in July, the use of bait will be unlawful on all lands owned or managed by the Wildlife Department. What is considered baiting was clarified as the placing, depositing, exposing, distributing or scattering of shelled, shucked or unshucked corn, wheat or other grain or other feed."

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from ray cummings wrote 1 year 13 weeks ago

Food plots planted to hunt over are still baiting! They take deer from surrounding public land amnd give the landowner an unfair advantage. As I stated in another blog "if piling bait in a small area is detrimental to deer, why does the D.N.R. (Michigan)limit the area we can spread bait over? They limit the amount of bait which is OK but demand that it is kept in a small area. It seems that if the "experts" are right and piled bait is a cause of CWD that the D.N.R. would know that and act accordingly.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from tater0937 wrote 1 year 11 weeks ago

Ok so I think that food plots are a good thing and for all of you who think that it is the same as baiting don't forget that the land owners are the ones who feed the wildlife 90% of the time it is not season. Farmers and ranchers have just as much right to hunt as anyone. As far as saying that food plots draw deer away from public land is unfair. There is no difference in that and a farmer changing his crops.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Big Country wrote 1 year 16 weeks ago

I feel like this is a one sided article. Evry one around here has feeders and that's how it's done. Food plots are much better if you have the means, time, money, and land to do it. but I havent found many deer leases from farmers and ranchers around here that say oh yeah go ahead and plow that spot where my cows could eat and fence it off just for deer. So food plots are good but bait is just fine to. Like someone said already, when you start telling people they cant food plot anymore they will stop. See how many of them are for the deer that aren't being hunted

-1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

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All submitted comments are subject to the rules set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.