Barry,

Thanks for the kind words! First, I always want to base my fertilizer recommendations on the results of a current soil analysis. This tells me how much Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K) are available to the plants (and other micronutrients based on the type of soil analysis). For soybeans planted for deer, apply enough fertilizer to bring the amount of available P and K to 75 and 125 pounds per acre, respectively. It’s not necessary to add N to soybeans as they produce an excess — a great feature of soybeans and other legumes!

These levels are a bit higher than many universities recommend for production beans. But remember that those recommendations are based on the farmer making the highest return on his investment, not necessarily the highest quality forage and beans. I want deer to express their maximum potential in fawn production and antler growth – two indicators of overall health. In addition, food plot acreage is limited, so I need each acre to be as a productive as it can be. Given my mission, I want each plant to be as productive and healthy as possible. Therefore I base my fertilizer recommendations on maximizing quality, not economic return.

This process begins with insuring the best nutrients are available because plants are simply nutrient transfer agents. That is to say they transfer available nutrients from the soil and air to the consumers (deer). With this known, I use an organic fertilizer (Antler Dirt) that includes many more nutrients than simply N, P, and K. I also use a natural mineral supplement (Trophy Rock) to further ensure each deer has access to all the trace minerals they require.

It’s critical to reiterate that plants are only nutrient transfer agents — they can only transfer the nutrients that are in the soil and air to the deer.

Growing Deer together,

Grant