January 29, 2018

Planting Food Plots on Smaller Properties

Scott Davis | Mossy Oak ProStaff

scott davis food plot

Many people believe that to be a GameKeeper you need a lot of land. But for the last 15 years, my family and I have been involved in planting food for wildlife and improving habitat on two 150-acre properties.

We try to do as much as possible to improve the habitat, including creating cover for deer bedding areas, making sure the deer have plenty of water and providing more food. However, providing more food is a challenge for us. These two, 150-acre tracts of land have deep hollows and plenty of hardwoods but not much tillable land. Though it is possible to plant food plots without tilling, we try to plant as much food for wildlife as possible in the areas we can till. We plant BioLogic Clover Plus, since it’s a hardy perennial that comes back every year. Both deer and turkey can feed heavily on Clover Plus.

We started by planting a 10-acre plot in the middle of the farm. But over the years, we’ve taken some bulldozers and created some smaller plots in various areas. Today we have about 14 acres of food plots on the farm we own, and 10 acres of food plots on the farm lands we lease.

We feel we get maximum production from the Clover Plus for about three years. Then we add lime and fertilizer to our food plots and reseed. We also plant BioLogic Hot Spot on little plots that are tucked back into the woods. We can reach those places with a four-wheeler and a disk, scratch up the ground every year and put out Hot Spot on sites like old logging roads. Or, we’ll use a bulldozer to open up flat spots in the middle of the woods, put out the Hot Spot and place a trail camera on that small green field to determine whether or not the deer are using it. We put out mineral licks, too, in the early summer and late winter. We keep trail cameras out throughout the entire deer season and don’t go to our small Hot Spot food plots until everything is right in our area to harvest a mature buck.

Mossy Oak GameKeepers ProStaffer Scott Davis of Louisville, Kentucky, grew up hunting on his family’s farm. Davis shares that The GameKeepers program fits his family’s lifestyle, giving back to the land and to the animals and giving more than you take.

Building Relationships Through Deer Hunting

I’ve been fortunate enough to make friends in various states who allow me to come to their states to hunt with them. Generally I’ll have places to stay and eat, too, besides lands to hunt. Some of the relationships I have with hunters in other states have taken years to develop. All the people I hunt with when I travel are friends.

Deer, Mossy Oak

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