I hoping someone with some experience and knowledge of food plots can help me decide on what type of crop to plant and provide tips etc.   My folks recently bought quite a bit of land in southern MO and it has 20 acre clearing in some 100 acres of timber and my Dad was thinking about putting a food plot in it.  The property already has a decent deer population but I figure a food plot might bring more in and make them easier to pattern come hunting season.  Well my dad's bday is coming up and so is planting season so I would like to be able to help him plant a crop.  But I have no idea where to start or how to choose the vegetation, I want something low maintenance that will last but will also attract the deer.  Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Do you want late sasson plots or year round plots? Year round plot you can't go wrong with clover mix. Late season plot Whitetail inst. Pure Attraction is great.  Another great product iis Whitetail Inst. Power Plant

20 acres you better have some farming tools.I would call the Whitetail Inst.There will be a few choices and they can explain everything to you and answer any Questions.Thats the first thing I would do,the second thing is take soil samples.There is more to larger food plots than just throwing out some seed.Good Luck.

Andy,

sent you a p.m. with a link to Missouri Whitetails forum on food plots and habitat.

Tom

20 acres is a pretty big area.  You are going to have room to put in several different types of food plot areas.  You should contact your dnr and see if there is a biologist that can provide some input.

Thanks for the responses.  I did not mean to imply to use the whole twenty acres for food plots I was just giving detail to the property.  It has a couple of acres of blueberries now and a few acres are going to be used for softwoods.  But I would like to put in maybe a few acres of a year round crop and also some for the late season.  

non-typ thanks for the link that site has some good info.

I imagine that the Ozarks are not too unlike the mtns of east TN.  The University of Tennessee Knoxville Ag-Extension has a great book on food plots by Dr. Craig Harper.  I am a UT grad and a forester, and I have heard Harper speak though he joined UT after I left.  He is great, and I would recommend this book for anyone in the mid south or SE!

Hugh in TN

MDC plants alot of beets on Drury-Mincy CA and it is pretty rocky and sloped there. You might look into beets.

20 acres is enough for many food plots and corn, beans and clover are hard to beat. Don't need no fancy, high priced seeds, either-just buy what the local farmers plant. Get the soil tested and fertilize to bring it up to what the soil needs for the crop you are growing on it.

I second HugeBull and Kelly's statements.  First step is a soil test.  Second step is good soil prep.  Third is the seed, and I don't think you have to buy the crazy high end seed with a picture of huge buck on the bag. Plant a variety of items that will mature during the growing season, and also plant some that will overwinter and provide forage during the hunting season.  One of the best resources I've found is from the University of Tennessee.  Their foodplot    web page  has all the information you need. PM me if you want more info or if the link won't work for you.

Thanks again guys.  I have a couple sources to do my homework and i expect it will be good times seeing the progress of these plots

Check the soil ph and lime as soon as possible.  I would start out with buckwheat in mid to late spring. Till that in to the ground in late summer. Then plant a mixture of rye, oats and red clover about the beginning of September.

Next year your field will be ready for a perennial like clover, alfalfa or annuals such as corn and beans. Lime again if needed. If you don't want to spend a lot of money on lime and fertilizer, go back to the buckwheat, rye, oats and red clover again. If there isn't much agriculture in the area, the deer will tear it up.

If you have any local Pheasant Forever or National Wild Turkey Fed. org.s down there check with them for seed. We get round up ready corn and beans, also sorgum and milo every year free of cost. We usually plant about 6 to 7 acres. You ususally don't have to be a member