What food plot varieties do you suggest for warmer climates like central Florida?

By Grant Woods,

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← Grant's Answers — Deer Biology
Question
Hey there! So, I live in central Florida on 130 acres of property. We have lots of Cyprus trees, about a dozen of oak trees, but mostly pine. Water sources usually consist of swamps that the deer meet around. We’ve sat on different food plots consisting of soybeans and wheat germs. Any thoughts or suggestions on good food plots that would work for warmer climates. Also, what would you recommend a good buck/doe ratio for that amount of acreage? Have a couple decent bucks on camera and found some good scraps and rubs but haven’t seen them during shooting hours. Any other suggestions you might have would be greatly appreciated!!

Michael,

Unless there are lots of oaks on neighboring properties stands close to the dozen on your property may be a great location.  Deer love acorns!  Usually there are so many oaks that it’s tough to pattern which oaks are attracting deer.  If the supply of oaks are limited it’s much easier to scout and know where to place stands!

Soybeans are a good choice for warm season plots in central Florida and well fertilized forage wheat should attract deer during the fall and winter.  

Deer herds function well when the adult sex ratio is 1:1. I suspect deer where you hunt range further than your property.  This means your deer management goals need to consider harvest and habitat quality throughout the neighborhood, and not just on your property. For example, if there’s no or limited deer hunting on the neighboring properties then you can have a larger impact on the local herd’s adult sex ratio.

It will be important to you to hunt wisely and not alert deer so they will be more likely to use your property during daylight hours.

Enjoy creation,

grant

January 14, 2016