Being a habitat consultant as my profession I get pleasure of just the site of our efforts. We do not plant to only kill deer or big game but to go listen to the quail and pheasants at daybreak. To see that cottontail hop around. My bigest pleasure is watching wildlife rather than just killing. Believe it or not the soil and forage deer eat provide all the nutrition they ever need, however corn, beans, brassica, etc. just give them a different taste with high energy. Main thing is just controling herd size which is a good reason to have a late winter food plot so you can pile up some tasty does.

The major reason I and many other hunters develop plots is to provide nutrition in a more balanced fashion over the year. The winter, early spring and summer periods are hard times for deer, especially in non-agricultural areas. By providing food plots with varied plantings during this time you help bucks recover from the rut and help does with developing fetuses maintain body condition. Summer plots provide nutrition at a time when natural forbs have become tough and woody giving deer and especially fawns a quality food source to continue an even growth pattern.

By maintaining plots with varied forages (annuals and perennials) a stable base of nutrition is built year round for your deer. Healthier deer handle disease and parasite pressure better and grow bigger antlers (no matter what, we all appreciate a large set of antlers). Food plots provide timely, high quality forages which help does produce healthier fawns. Healthy fawns grow faster which helps them cope with extremes in temperature and predator pressure more effectively.

Food plots also provide for other wildlife including small and nongame species. They do so not only with forages but also by becoming homes to insects that provide food for birds and some small mammals. They produce seed which are also utilized by birds and small mammals of all types. They may also provide additional cover and nesting habitat for these same animals.

Deer feeding in food plots are able to maintain a healthy balance of micro flora in their rumen and gut. This is critical in helping deer continue to digest natural browse effectively. Heavy supplementation with high carb sources such as corn or deer chow can skew rumen micro flora to such an extent that deer have difficulty in digesting natural forages and browse, thus decreasing health. Forages also provide balanced nutrition and not just carbs and fats.

Feeding deer at a feeder site places deer at great risk of spreading or contacting a disease especially diseases like EHD/Blue tongue. The same can be said for food plots which are too small. (A practical size for a food plot is 1/4 acre or larger)

It is also quite an investment in time, effort and money to establish and maintain a quality food plot. There is also a certain amount of agronomic knowledge and weather related luck required. Ground must be tilled correctly, soil amendments applied and used correctly. I disagree that not everyone can afford to maintain quality plots. What I see spent on corn will easily maintain a food plot with cash left over.

Proper forage selection is also important and critical to success. Seed must then be planted correctly. Rain fall is needed at the right time (this is where the luck comes in). Management such as top dressing with additional nutrients around the year requires knowledge and effort to keep plots healthy and productive.

Placing a feeder and keeping it filled is not rocket science, but does require some effort and definitely money. It is not dependent on rainfall and management. When it is empty the food source is gone.

Plant a food plot, the gift to wildlife that keeps on giving!