Dan,

I use prescribed fire, etc., to promote very good native vegetation at The Proving Grounds.  Most native vegetation is at peak production and palatability the same time clover is productive – during the spring green up period.  However, as the spring progresses and the temperatures warm and the amount of soil moisture decreases clover decreases in productivity and quality.  This time of year, soybeans usually provide much more tonnage and quality than clover.  So, I plant about 5% of my food plot acreage in clover and the remainder in soybeans and corn.  I usually plant 2/3rds of this acreage in soybeans and 1/3rd in corn as corn typically produces twice as much grain as soybeans.  This grain is critical to provide quality food during the winter or non-growing season months (again, when clover is unproductive).  Soybeans provide forage during the growing season and grain (their pods) during the non growing season, so they play a larger role in my deer food management program than corn.

Each property will have a different composition of native vegetation, neighboring ag fields, ratio of food plot acreage, etc.  However, the ratio of crops I described above is a good starting point that can be customized on a site-specific basis.

Growing Deer together,

Grant