Why Year-Round Nutrition is Vital to a Healthy Deer Herd

If a deer herd is in balance with the carrying capacity of the land, native vegetation can provide adequate nutrition to feed deer during the year. However, even under balanced conditions deer experience an energy deficit during winter, as less and less high-quality food is available.

Food plots are defined as agricultural-type crops planted for wildlife to supplement nutrition provided by native vegetation. Food plots also reduce browsing pressure on native vegetation and allow for increased forest regeneration when proper deer numbers are maintained. More importantly, the higher nutritional value of food plots can have a huge impact during winter when native foods are limited in both quantity and quality. Though it takes some planning, the addition of food plots to native vegetation provides many benefits to any deer herd.