Yup. Always told myself that the best deer plot would be native plant. It only makes the most sense right??

It's maddening, but the bottom line is 'owners want more and bigger deer on their property'. It's (deer hunting) way too large an industry to disrupt, but if we could somehow lessen the importance of killing "the biggest deer in the history of deer", we'd be onto something. My dad always says that pretty soon deer will only eat corn.

Thank you brother, we do need to help nature heal itself and that starts with planting native vegetation both for the ecosystem , wildlife and the soil health. Us hunters should stop plants crops that only focus on deer and allow the lands to be restored so that all wildlife can thrive.

You are speaking the absolute truth. How did the deer thrive and grow huge racks in the Native Indian and Victorian times without food plots? On native habitat.

Here from Tik Tok - great message keep up the good work!

Companies like Scott’s and ADM have done the same thing with lawn grass. Convincing people to add nitrogen and such when all you need is clover mixed in your grass. Not as "pretty" but safer and less toxic.

Very interesting article. I've watched a lot of the other videos on food plots for deer. But I am more interested in staying native to my area. Hoping to learn more from you on this program. Thanks from Virginia

You're doing a great job!

Wow, I had no idea hunters did this. What the heck? Thank you for explaining how this practice got started.

Corn pile isn’t natural either. Always wondered why states wma’s don’t plant native oaks, persimmon, crab apple, etc…

Here from tictok. I need to be your shadow for a couple weeks and learn some more.

Best deer habitat video ever. Keep it up

food plot is code for bait station.

I've seen whitetails in the middle of cities. I don't think deer need to be managed for. To me it seems that any sort of green space will hold deer but it won't always hold much else.

This man speaks facts

It also comes down to the "jock" mentality. The "jocks" only want a trophy deer to mount so they can have bragging rights. IF people only hunted to provide actual food on the table and not a wall trophy then the whole system would change for the better. Yes, I know this comment will receive a lot of hate and that's fine. It's just facts...

100% accurate throughout

Also if you do it right your foodplot is going to feed almost every animal in that section of woods and you plant diversity so that it meets the needs of the maximum amount of animals.

I don’t hunt but this convinced me.

Here from Tic Toc

Thank you for sharing this info. 😊

Thank you for sharing and bringing the truth to the general public.... Listen up you guys...

Could you talk about how to kill fescue grass and other grasses so I could get the natives back in? I’m in West Virginia

FACTS!! thankyou so much for this video

This is essentially how things were done in the Americas before the Europeans made it over, they planted gardens that were for some food and material crops as well as feeding and attracting wildlife of all sizes. Some were in places that didn't get used for anything, and at least some still maintained their biodiversity into today after nearly a century or two of being untended.

Do you have any book or podcast recommendations on this topic?

I have wondered about this for years and just have not found enough information available until recently and what is good for one area may not work in a area 100 yards away! I hunt with a group that try's as best we can to manage the land we hunt on and the wildlife there. Feeding corn to deer is like giving kids grease or lard and expecting them to survive on it. Not the greatest idea but there are times that it is helpful. There have been many years that the native foods were at a minimum to support the local wildlife and what we brought in, especially after hunting season was enough to keep starvation at a minimum. They don't tell you that because of our effect on the land, starvation is a huge reality for many species. We have put minerals out, planted small patchs, by hand, over wide areas, and bring in corn, different cattle feeds and pellets, and salt and mineral blocks to help them through the first few months of the year. When we hunt, we hunt for food, not sport unless we get too many big bucks for the area to support and then we decide to "cull" whatever needs to be done to maintain a good balance. We always check for the ration of bucks to does, if we have any showing signs of genetic problems or any that have been injured. We get many deer coming into our area that have been shot with guns but many times more that have been shot with arrows and hurt but not killed. This upsets us all enough that these sightings are reported to the local wildlife authorities. There is no excuse for not killing a dear with a rifle. Using a rifle is a assassination as there is little chance of error. A bow is not such a sure thing but my people are very proficient with bows or we would not let them hunt with them. The greatest fear we have is a wounded deer or turkey running off to suffer and die. If this happens, we get everyone together and search until the animal is found. In my state, you can legally take up to 5 deer over the entire hunting season. A true hunter takes what they need, never more and never waste anything. Big old deer with huge horns in general taste nasty and are tough so I have not shot a trophy in 25 years. Probably not going to happen again in my lifetime!

Good stuff man!

ha! quail. i remember those

How do you feel about bushhogging? If it grows up to high, you cant get a shot. Awesome channel. Here from TikTok

Well said, totally correct.

I live in a very dence area that has no openings for little plants and I just found a space that I can open up should I open it up and see if native plants grow there?

You are exactly right! They help themselves to the corn, soybeans, pears, and apples that I grow on the farm. They drink from the streams, ponds, and springs too. 🙂 Just southern Ohio humor.

Got any recommendations for good places to find native seed mixes that are attractive to deer/turkey?

So .. I live on three acres of fescue grass … how do I convert it to native plants. It sounds good but .. I don't know the process for accomplishing this, let alone where I would even get native plants or seed or whatever (i.e. I live in Missouri). Any thoughts or suggestions?

good job sir

I’d love to hear you on the Fist Full of Dirt Podcast with Cuz Strickland. You have a good message and it doesn’t require tractors, implements, fertilizer, lime and that yearly seed bill.

Planting supplemental food on a minority of the available acres is just that. A supplement. The bottom hole in the bucket will always be the greater habitat at large. Improve the habitat “while” providing the early supplemental food. Food plotting without proper habitat management is just a larger, more expensive feeder. The quail is the canary in the coal mine, manage for them and everything else will improve. Only problem is, they require large continuous tracts to maintain viable populations. No matter how perfect I make my parents 40 acres for quail, I will never be able to restore the area’s numbers.

I'm in. I'm going to look for some examples of a fairly mature native food plot. Do y'all think I'll find many?

Preach!! 👏👏👏

If you're not careful in the act of "improving" the site you're decreasing the resilience to drought and disease.

So if you have property that has a bunch of food plots what should be planted? Has been planted with rye, maybe wheat, turnips, clover, etc blends for years.

My wildlife biologist said they don’t need food plots all they need is cover and food. Food being the cover.

Good video

💯

As a hunter I agree with everything he's saying. First off: it's much more rewarding and just downright beautiful to hunt a natural habitat that looks like it did hundreds of years ago, hunting TRUE free range deer than it does to put up food plots or feeders (which, in most cases we have already unknowingly destroyed the deers native habitat and food supply, meaning they solely depend on our feed to survive.) This leads to more deer not surviving the winter, or starving to death in prime foraging season (spring time, when nobody is hunting and most aren't feeding either) on my ranch I have 80 acres set aside where I do not allow excessive undergrowth, any non native plants or species to be introduced, and I also manage our naturally occurring fruit and nut trees and the native grape vines and dewberries to ensure that they continue to thrive so the deer have food sources year round. This is a much more healthy way of managing hunting land

Preach on it!

I hope this message spreads

Deer are like weeds, you can grow them anywhere you got soil.

How does this not have more views

100 percent correct all you modern hunters...

I have 40 acres, which was controlled burned in February. How do I kill the newly emerging privet and convert this into native plants?

I live within the GWNF, 99.99 percent of the bucks I kill on the NF are near or in logging cuts. The only habitat 3 feet and below is where they cut.

Then thin the crap out of your timber and get more sunlight on the ground. Then watch what happens.

I can definitely see your passion for native plants and trees. But to let your food plots grow up to produce more native food thinking its better is not realistic if your hunting deer. Most of that food is not palatable in late winter and becomes a dead zone for deer. Here in West Tn this year the food is slim for wildlife. We had no acorns this year and it has hurt my 200 acre farm. Woody browse, saw briars and my food plots is it. I would like to see big Ag fields around here turn back into savanna’s . Monoculture has taken over. All this praise for farmers when most get rich off GMO soybeans and corn. Corn that feeds cattle which is the beef most of you eat. It’s mixed with all kinds of farm animal food. No one talks about that. People wonder why there sick and die so young. Soybeans are the worst and heavily sprayed and are a Monsanto gold mine as well. I could rant in this all day. Most farmers are killing you and making you sick with their huge Ag fields of death. So let’s talk about turning corn and soybean fields into native plant Paradise and then maybe food plots can switch over to.

More food plots the better

Has no idea that this is done. Just so wrong. Greetings from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

I call it antler obsession. It’s making hunting unobtainable for the common folk. Literally becoming a rich man’s game here in the midwest.That’s the truth. I disagree that we don’t need food plots. We can use them in sync with native areas and it complements the ecosystem-benefitting all wildlife (when done correctly).AG monocultures and hunting access/recruitment are the biggest problem we have.

They don't need it but it's good for them. The reason you plant food plots is so that you have available food source while the ag fields and most native species are harvested or die out

Preach on brother your followers are listening!!

Deer hunters dont plant food plots to manage wildlife. They do it to draw in the bucks 😂

I believe Dr. Grant Woods is the best for a more balanced system of foodplots. His new summer and fall release foodplot blends attract a diversity of wildlife.

Man. I just bought some land and you are talking my language. I need your help.

We ALL know who's doing... XYX.... Yeeaa sorry I don't have a clue 🤷‍♀️ please could someone enlighten me 🤣

Why do we feed everything corn? Corn isn't good, things only like it because it's sweet, and it's not good for the health of those who eat it. I don't want corn fed beef, much less wild venison that's been eating corn.

I usually love your videos but I’m noticing that you frequently describe indigenous stewardship methods without any acknowledgment or reference to them. It’s just really striking that you advocate for native everything but don’t mention native peoples.

There’s no wildlife because every Tom Dick and Larry has a dog in their back yard running everythang off. 90 million dogs, no telling how many cats. It’s America’s golden calf. Wake up America!

To be fair, most hunters clear the land for those food plots from generally unproductive closed canopy forest. I don't usually see hunters transitioning areas that are already productivity grasslands into food plots, because they know those areas are already doing what they want. Supporting game.

The funny thing is it’s common sense, these wanna be hunter’s crack me up wasting so much money on bs , it’s like fishing I’ll out fish 99 0/0 of people with a zebco 33 vrs your $$$$ don’t matter