Managing Food Plots

By GrowingDeer,

  Filed under: , ,

← Grant's AnswersAsk Grant

Question

Dr. Grant,

First, I will say we are relatively new to food-plotting.  This fall we planted roughly two acres in a fall mix that we purchased from a local seed company.  We put utilization cages in the plots and the results are as follows:

  • Outside the cage the forage is being grazed down to the ground.
  • Inside the cage growth is 4”-6” tall.

What are some good and affordable options to keep deer out of the plot so it has time to mature?

Thanks,

JP

JP,

I’ve been using Gallagher’s Food Plot Protector Fence to allow food plot crops to produce more forage and have been thrilled with the results.  Not only is this a great forage management tool, the fence is a great hunting tool!  Youth season opens soon at The Proving Grounds.  I just removed about 40’ of fence from two food plots that were protected by a Gallagher Fence at my place.  I’m very confident the deer will quickly learn to use these gaps and provide some great observation and hunting opportunities for my children.  In fact, I’ve already placed ground blinds so the hunters can see the gaps.

I will be reusing the fences next year to allow the forage to mature in some of my food plots and to create great hunting for my family.  I haven’t found a better or more cost effective solution to protecting young forage crops from being over-browsed or to create bottle necks for hunting than the Gallagher electric food plot fence system.

Growing Deer (and food plots) together,

Grant