During the past two decades, there’s been a huge increase in the percentage of hunters and landowners that plant crops for the purpose of attracting deer or providing them with a source of quality forage. Unfortunately, many of these great sportsmen seem to focus primarily on the plant, and not the plant’s purpose. Whether to attract deer or provide them with quality forage, plants fulfill this mission by being nutrient transfer agents.
That is to say, plants transfer nutrients primarily from the soil to the deer. The only way this transfer can occur is if the nutrients are in the soil! Sportsmen tend to assume there are nutrients in the soil, especially if the plot is located in an area that produces agricultural crops. This assumption is usually not true. Even in areas with good quality soil like Iowa, successful farmers add nutrients (fertilizer) to the soil annually so the crops can transfer these nutrients from the soil and convert them into forage or grain. Farmers that don’t add the appropriate amount of fertilizer don’t produce a good crop.
The same is true with food plot farmers. The ones that don’t insure there are adequate nutrients in the soil don’t produce a crop of deer that express their full genetic potential. It is food plot planting time throughout much of the whitetails’ range. However, just as important as selecting and planting the appropriate seed for the mission is to ensure the plot has the appropriate type and amount of nutrients available. For crops to be nutrient transfer agents there must be nutrients to transfer.
My 2011 turkey season was one of the best I’ve had. It was one of those years where I just happened to be hunting in the right place at the right time on several occasions. I truly believe the success of many of those hunts would not have been possible without the help of my Nikon Monarch binoculars. This was the first year I turkey hunted with a high quality set of binoculars. They were especially helpful when I was hunting open country. I was able to watch birds from a distance and figure out which ones were gobblers and which direction they were headed. From this information I was able to formulate a plan and set up nearby. From there my Derby City slate calls did the rest. My Nikon binoculars and Derby City calls will be part of my turkey gear for my future turkey seasons, that’s for sure!
Fawning and nesting season occurs at a great time of year. The temperatures are warming, and most vegetation is at its peak of both production and quality. It is the best time of year for deer, turkey, quail, and other game in many ways. It’s also the toughest time of year for these same species.
Coyotes and other predators are extremely skilled at consuming fawns, eggs, and poults. In fact, in many instances this is the time of year when losses to predation are at the highest. A coyote can kill multiple fawns. Several recent research projects have documented predators consuming 70+% of newborn fawns!! A single raccoon can destroy multiple turkey nests and consume dozens of eggs.
The old theory that as long as ample cover is available, predators are not a problem has been disproven by multiple well-designed research projects. However, hunters and managers should find encouragement in that significant increases (100+%) in fawn and poult survival have been reported in association with predator removal. These huge increases in fawn/poult survival are certainly enough evidence and motivation for me to practice predator control at The Proving Grounds and on my clients’ properties.
Calling coyotes is a great management tool and can be effective during the spring. Calling coyotes is one of the most enjoyable and exciting hunting techniques around. I can’t think of many activities that are better than an enjoyable hunt and knowing that I’m directly helping the local deer and turkey populations. I’ll be calling coyotes this spring so my family and I will continue to have quality hunting opportunities this fall. I hope you will join me in this important and fun wildlife management activity!
Wild turkeys have had a low rate of nesting success during the past few years in portions of the Midwest. This is due to lots of rain during the nesting season and increased numbers of predators. There are still enough turkeys to hunt, but hunter success rates are decreasing.
This is not only because there are fewer gobblers compared to past years. A huge factor behind the declining hunter success rates is that there aren’t as many two year old gobblers present. Two year old toms tend to gobbler more than any other age class of gobblers. In addition, they tend to respond to calling by approaching rather than wait for the “hen” to come to them.
By contrast, three year old and older gobblers tend to gobble less and wait for hens to come to them. This is probably a predator defense tactic and given the increasing number of predators, this tactic may be used even more than during the past. It’s a simple matter of selection. Toms that gobble a lot and respond by approaching calling are harvested more frequently by predators and hunters than toms that wait for the hen to approach them.
Because of this, it usually takes more patience and skill to harvest a three year old or older gobbler. I’ve been blessed to have had much success at harvesting three year old and older toms. My rate of success with these mature birds has increased as I’ve gotten older and I am less likely to move when a gobbler doesn’t approach my calling rapidly or stops gobbling.
I’m much more willing to call to a tom, get a response, then remain in place even if the tom doesn’t gobbler for an hour or more. Mature toms will certainly respond to and come to a call. However, they rarely run to a call while gobbling the entire way.
By getting a tom’s attention and remaining in an area where toms have been known to strut or frequent, mature gobblers will frequently approach without gobbling. The more patience I gain as I mature, the better a turkey hunter I’ve become. I’m still a huge fan of the cut and run turkey hunting technique. I simply don’t “run” as much as I did when I was younger. Less “running” has allowed me and my guests to put more turkey breast in the freezer.
A principle I was taught in college is that change is the only constant. The demographics of many turkey populations have changed and therefore it has been advantageous for me to change my hunting techniques. By combining biology and woodsmanship, I have plenty to eat besides tag soup!
I often hear folks say “The deer have good genetics there!” They almost always say that because the deer “there” have bigger antlers, heavier body weights, etc. However, almost always the “there” is where crops such as corn or soybeans are produced. To know genetics requires knowledge of the pedigree (who bred who for several generations). That information is almost never available for critters from a free-ranging herd.
However, data that is easily obtainable is what deer and turkey are consuming. This is accomplished by simply checking the stomach or crop content of recently killed critters. Turkeys at The Proving Grounds have had body weights above average for the local area for several seasons. These elevated body weights were noticed after I began planting Eagle Seed forage soybeans and corn in the food plots. This spring, I’ve examined the crop content of every turkey we’ve harvested (five) to date. Each one included the seeds from the Eagle Seed forage beans. In fact, four of the five harvested only had soybean seed in their crops.
I remember an esteemed scientist stating at a conference many years ago “the best way to improve genetics is nutrition, nutrition, nutrition.” I would redefine that a bit and say there is no way to improve genetics of free-ranging wildlife. However, by significantly increasing the amount of high quality forage and grain available for consumption you can improve the body and antler size and the number of fawns recruited for free-ranging wildlife.
The Proving Grounds is in an area dominated by high-graded timber and fescue pasture. There are no production corn or soybean crops nearby. However, the wildlife we produce and harvest have similar body weights and antler size as critters in ag production areas. We’ve taken no steps to alter the genetics of our herds and flocks. We have grown quality grain and forage for their consumption. My neighbors probably think “the deer at The Proving Grounds have good genetics.” The local deer herd shares the same genetics. However, the deer at The Proving Grounds can express their genetic potential because of the quality forage and grain crops. Brad and I just returned from working on our no-till drill. To some, we were working on improving the genetics of the local deer and turkey populations.
I’ve been getting a lot of questions asking if it is time to plant warm season food plots yet. There are many variables that should be considered before answering this question. I usually use corn as a guide because corn is more tolerant of colder soil and air temperatures that most food plot crops except clover.
Little if any seed germination and seedling growth occurs in soils with temperatures less than 46F. Warmer soil temperatures facilitate seed germination and seedling growth with the optimum being when the soil is a constant 86F. However, drought and heat stress is much more common when the soil temperature is 86F. Therefore corn, soybeans, peas, and most other forage crops should be planted with the soil temperature at 2” to 4” deep at 60F.
However, simply knowing the current soil temperature is not enough to begin planting. That’s because once the seed begins to germinate, a significant change in soil temperature can cause problems. Research shows that a swing of soil temperatures of 27F (soil high temperature-soil low temperature) will significantly affect seed or seedling growth. Seed placed into the ground, yet not emerged, can be injured from a cold period. Seedlings can also have stunted and distorted leaves or may not emerge from the soil.
Given the current conditions and the forecast throughout much of the whitetails’ range for cool-wet weather, the best place for seed this week, if the property you manage is north of the Mason/Dixon line, is probably in the bag.
Unless you manage land in an area where the primary land use is commercial ag production, it requires good food plots to produce forage and grain on a year round basis. The corn and soybean rotation in areas where the primary land use is commercial ag production provides a great diet for deer, turkey, and many other wild species. Even though these crops are harvested, the combines spill a bit of grain that provides high quality food through the winter.
However, as combines become more efficient, there is less and less spilled grain available for wildlife. This is why it’s important to plant specifically for wildlife in both areas with and without commercial ag production.
There have been four turkeys harvested so far during 2011 at The Proving Grounds. I checked the crop in three of these turkeys and each of them contained soybean grain! The last was yesterday when my 80 year old father harvested an adult gobbler. It was a thrilling hunt and the real trophy was the time spent with my father. The gobbler and video was a bonus. However, I always want to learn from the harvested critter as much as practical. I call this scouting from the skinning shed!
This goes beyond recording weight, spur length, and beard length. One of the most important sources of information from all harvested critters is what’s in their gut (or crop when talking about turkeys). Even though it’s late April and we’ll begin planting Eagle Seed soybeans soon, this turkey had soybeans in its crop. My father harvested this gobbler just after noon, so the crop wasn’t full (he had probably been chasing hens all morning) but it still contained soybeans.
Truly the Eagle Seed beans planted during April and May 2010 are still feeding wildlife at The Proving Grounds a year later. That’s an extreme value! Scouting from the skinning shed also provides me with more confidence on where I should take Tracy, my wife, hunting later this week.
The next time you harvest a critter don’t pass on the opportunity to learn about the local habitat and current hunting information. Sometimes the best scouting occurs without leaving the skinning shed.
It’s snowing and cold in Western Kansas today. In fact, they’ve shut down I-70 throughout most of western Kansas. It is turkey season in that region, but if you plan to hunt there take your warm deer hunting clothes! If you’ve already planted food plots in that area, pray for a rapid warming trend!
It’s cool and very windy at The Proving Grounds today also (no snow thankfully). Although all of my food plots have been sprayed and fertilized, I haven’t planted any crops yet this spring. It’s a good thing as seed that is moist and cold can rot or germinate and then die easily.
This is why I dislike the maps on seed bags that show customers when to plant based on where they live. These data are based on averages over a number of years, and are usually accurate when comparing one region to another. However, they are rarely accurate when considering exactly when to plant at a given location. This is because soil temperature and soil moisture levels usually vary significantly at the same location from year to year.
I like to plant each crop as early as practical during the spring. The chances of drought stress (which is caused by a combination of air temperatures and lack of soil moisture) are greater as the temperatures increase. However, each farmer should monitor the local conditions and the weather forecast before deciding when to plant.
Hunters should know this lesson well as they often attempt to use long-term forecasts to plan vacation days to hunt. Then as the date for them to hunt nears, the weather changes and it is 85 degrees and very few deer are moving during daylight hours. The same is true for when to plant food plots. I use the past data (like bag maps) as a guide for when to have the seed and equipment ready to plant. However, I wait until the local conditions are correct before placing valuable seed in the ground. Bag maps are good for general planning, but for site-specific data, they aren’t worth much more than the paper they are printed on.
That is to say, plants transfer nutrients primarily from the soil to the deer. The only way this transfer can occur is if the nutrients are in the soil! Sportsmen tend to assume there are nutrients in the soil, especially if the plot is located in an area that produces agricultural crops. This assumption is usually not true. Even in areas with good quality soil like Iowa, successful farmers add nutrients (fertilizer) to the soil annually so the crops can transfer these nutrients from the soil and convert them into forage or grain. Farmers that don’t add the appropriate amount of fertilizer don’t produce a good crop.
