Where to plant food plots?

[connorfagen]

Hey y’all, family recently purchased a new 150 acreage in sw mn and was wondering if anyone could give any tips on potential food plot locations or ideas to improve the habitat for a herd to develop large bucks, the trails were there and the large grass strip is a runway both will stay, I know it’s just the aerial but anything helps, thanks yall

 

[westbranch]

Looks like an ideal travel corridor and nice thick cover with that creek bottom. Assuming it is surrounded by corn/soybeans for miles I wouldn't worry about food plots. On 150 acres you will be more limited by hunting pressure from neighbor's and surrounding area's overall deer population. With all of that cover you I would think there are already quite a few deer there.

Figure out some good access points and stands for multiple wind directions so you can hunt it without blowing it out.

 

[Mallardsx2]

Make six 4-acre food plots with multiple access points and hinge cut every tree on the place that doesn’t produce an acorn. Make it so thick that you can’t even walk through it.

Plant 500 sawtooth oaks seedlings in tubes on there asap.

 

[338Sh00ter]

Get a regional biologist on site (they typically come for free). The ones in IN and WI I’ve worked with recommend native forbs and cool weather grasses, shrubs, stuff that feeds them Feb-April (winter weakens, spring kills). The native savannah and shrubby prairie is also fantastic for pheasant, grouse, quail, turkey, owls, songbirds, etc. Good luck, we’re 6 years in and love it!

 

[asarver]

Good idea for regional biologist involvement above!!

 

[TexanSam]

Looks like an ideal travel corridor and nice thick cover with that creek bottom. Assuming it is surrounded by corn/soybeans for miles I wouldn't worry about food plots. On 150 acres you will be more limited by hunting pressure from neighbor's and surrounding area's overall deer population. With all of that cover you I would think there are already quite a few deer there.

Figure out some good access points and stands for multiple wind directions so you can hunt it without blowing it out.

You might do more harm than good tilling up nice tall grass that wildlife use for cover.

 

[connorfagen]

What if I just did some WI no plow in areas without growth?

 

[Mallardsx2]

I would do something like this:

PURPLE=TRACTOR/ATV TRAIL
GREEN=FOOD PLOT
YELLOW=PLANT SAWTOOTHE OAKS
RED DOTS=STANDS
HINGE CUT AS MUCH TIMBER AS YOU CAN OR SIMPLY GIRDLE TREES OR GET A LOGGER TO REMOVE EVERYTHING BUT THE OAKS. MAYBE YOU CAN WORK A DEAL WITH HIM TO BUILD THOS ETRAILS FOR YOU....
LEAVE THAT CORN STANDING

Drop trees across ALL of the other interior trails so nobody is tempted to drive on them.



Having that ATV trail around the permiter on that much land will be a very good thing. You can monitor your land and torch your neighbors morning sits.....

You know, the dipshit who hunts right on the line....You can even park right next to his stand if you want.....

It would cost a little bit of money to do all this but a week with a D6 and you would have it 100% completed.

 

[Steiny77]

Put food plots on the interior of your farm where they can't bee seen from neighbors or the roads, so deer can feed undisturbed.
If you have high deer density you will want big food plots as they will mow down the small ones before they get a chance to develop.

It's better to keep any hunting over food plots to a minimum as you will soon educate the deer and they will only use them at night. Hunt the travel corridors where they filter to and from the plots.

The more you can hunt the exterior perimeter of your property without going into the interior sanctuary, the less you will disturb the deer and it will hold better quality deer.
A perimeter trail is nice for access, then you hunt which side is best for the wind direction.

 

[TexanSam]

What if I just did some WI no plow in areas without growth?

There's usually a reason why nothing is growing there.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

What if I just did some WI no plow in areas without growth?

Everything in that mix is good except rye grass. You dont want grass, you want grains.

Late for this year to plant anything obviously.

@Mallardsx2 's suggestions seem pretty solid. Where I'd deviate:

1. You can have too much food/cover if it makes deer use all of your property. You want some places that deer generally avoid for access and blowing your scent into. Focus a little more on stand locations that will blow your wind into no mans land where deer will seldom go instead of surrounding your stands 360 degrees with places deer want to be. Add habitat or impediments that will steer their travel paths where you want them and not where you dont (like downwind or to your access paths).
   1. can use timber cutting and fences to steer travel a bit.
2. I'm not sure sawtooth oaks are hardy enough to make it in MN. I wouldn't even try where i'm at in central MN but there are some hybrid oaks (i'm a fan of schuettes) that should grow a little faster than your typical white oak/bur oak/red oak.

Not sure what grass strip you're talking about being a runway?

I'd consider some switchgrass on tops for more bedding cover.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

To elaborate more, access is everything. How can you hunt your property without alerting deer to your presence?

Start with looking at the areas that you can access and hunt without them being aware and then add food and cover to manipulate how they use the spots adjacent to the good access points such that it will make them killable from spots where you dont alert them to your presence.

Just adding food plots isn't helpful if you're going to blow your scent into them, their bedding areas, or blow them out when you're going to/from those spots. Its OK or even preferable to have spots they spend a lot of time that you never go near or cant get to without blowing them out. They'll come out to the edges if there's good stuff there too.

It's fine if you want to keep all those trails against the creek/river but i'd advise staying the F off em leading up to and during season unless you're retrieving a deer and in that case make sure you do it with an atv/truck/tractor that they'd relate to as normal agriculture occurance.

https://www.whitetailmasteracademy.com/ <--- I've never joined but i've listened to enough of higgins content to think it'd be worthwhile for someone who is newer to whitetail habitat management before they spent a bunch of time/money on their property.

 

[westbranch]

I did some quick searching and it looks like this property is covered by a RIM conservation easement. You'll want to be sure all activities fall under the habitat management plan. Can you have food plots outside of the tillable in the NE corner?

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I did some quick searching and it looks like this property is covered by a RIM conservation easement. You'll want to be sure all activities fall under the habitat management plan. Can you have food plots outside of the tillable in the NE corner?

Oof. Yeah that definitely could impact what can be done.

 

[connorfagen]

Everything in that mix is good except rye grass. You dont want grass, you want grains.

Late for this year to plant anything obviously.

@Mallardsx2 's suggestions seem pretty solid. Where I'd deviate:

1. You can have too much food/cover if it makes deer use all of your property. You want some places that deer generally avoid for access and blowing your scent into. Focus a little more on stand locations that will blow your wind into no mans land where deer will seldom go instead of surrounding your stands 360 degrees with places deer want to be. Add habitat or impediments that will steer their travel paths where you want them and not where you dont (like downwind or to your access paths).
   1. can use timber cutting and fences to steer travel a bit.
2. I'm not sure sawtooth oaks are hardy enough to make it in MN. I wouldn't even try where i'm at in central MN but there are some hybrid oaks (i'm a fan of schuettes) that should grow a little faster than your typical white oak/bur oak/red oak.

Not sure what grass strip you're talking about being a runway?

I'd consider some switchgrass on tops for more bedding cover.

the grass strip runs through the trees from the north west ish corner down through the center