Deer Bedding Areas Based on Local Agriculture Practices
Filed under: Ask Grant, Food Plots
I live in south central Kansas in an area with lots of agricultural crops divided by small woodlots and rivers or streams. Our farm consists of around 300 acres and approximately 150 of those are agriculture fields. 100 acres are open hay fields and the rest is made up of small woodlots and rivers or streams. This is a very common lay of the land for the immediate area surrounding us. The crops in our area are dominated by soybeans or corn (they are rotated on a yearly basis).
In your experience, how much does crop rotation such as this affect deer bedding area location? For the sake of this question, let us say you have two 50 acre bedding areas divided by two 500 acre agricultural fields. One 500 acre field is corn but was soybeans last year and the other is soybeans but was corn last year. Would you expect to see deer bedding in this area to switch to the closer bedding area this year, especially during the summer when the soybeans are the hot food source? Or will they use the same bedding area as last year for the most part and travel a little farther to get the beans?
Thanks for your time,
Bret
Bret,
I really like south central Kansas! I’m familiar with the habitat pattern you described and it can produce incredible bucks and hunting opportunities! In reference to your question, if the deer bedding areas are receiving equal amounts of disturbance, etc., then I would expect the deer to use the area closest to the beans during the growing season – if the deer’s home range overlaps both areas. If by chance, a deer’s home range only includes one of the two bedding areas, then your question is answered. Unlike humans, deer rarely explore outside their home range. They simply don’t know what (if any) food, cover, members of the opposite sex, etc., are available outside their home range. They don’t learn about opportunities outside their home range through various communication devices like humans do. I’d use trail cameras to determine the sex/age structure of deer using both cover plots.
Realize this pattern will likely change once the crops ripen and harvest begins. Remember, M.R.I (Most Recent Information) is critical to patterning and harvesting mature bucks.
Growing Deer together,
Grant
