Lazy Food Plots

My next door neighbor is a cattle rancher. He loves fescue. He has 1200 acres. He lets a couple relatives and me hunt his place. Bow only, kill what you want, but you have to mount it. But, I digress.

I have lush green food plots of wheat, rye, and various clovers. He has fescue. I have worked professionally in the natural resource field for 34 years, and have managed my own land for 20 years, and his deer herd in both quantity and quality is eye opening. His deer have no aversion to eating fescue. They will eat fescue right across the fence from my wheat, rye, and clover.

Fescue was once planted as deer food, but the wildlife managers coming on proclaimed it bad, bad - more as a result of poor habitat for small game - especially quail - than being a poor choice for deer food. Now I am not advocating planting fescue for deer - one of the first things I did when I bought my place was try to rid my 20 acre pasture of fescue. I still have some fescue after 20 years. But, in my area, deer will eat fescue - positively.
 
My next door neighbor is a cattle rancher. He loves fescue. He has 1200 acres. He lets a couple relatives and me hunt his place. Bow only, kill what you want, but you have to mount it. But, I digress.

I have lush green food plots of wheat, rye, and various clovers. He has fescue. I have worked professionally in the natural resource field for 34 years, and have managed my own land for 20 years, and his deer herd in both quantity and quality is eye opening. His deer have no aversion to eating fescue. They will eat fescue right across the fence from my wheat, rye, and clover.

Fescue was once planted as deer food, but the wildlife managers coming on proclaimed it bad, bad - more as a result of poor habitat for small game - especially quail - than being a poor choice for deer food. Now I am not advocating planting fescue for deer - one of the first things I did when I bought my place was try to rid my 20 acre pasture of fescue. I still have some fescue after 20 years. But, in my area, deer will eat fescue - positively.
I have never seen deer eat fescue around us; that said, it is in almost every pasture and I've never paid a lot of attention to what they browse on in pastures.
 
I have never seen deer eat fescue around us; that said, it is in almost every pasture and I've never paid a lot of attention to what they browse on in pastures.
I have walked out in my neighbors pasture to loom. When I see a dozen deer in my wheat and clover and 30 deer out in the pasture 100 yards away, I wonder what is out there that I dont have. Fescue
 
I see Deer eating along the Highways down here all the time. I know they shoot a Green Mix over the fresh dirt after they do any work projects but I have no idea what it actually is.

Home Yards here a lot get St Augustine Grass but it is very very hard to keep looking good due to Bug Damage and the Huge Water Demand. I had it put down at my house when I had it built, but after two Hard Freezes in a row most of it died. I went to Bahia and never looked back Easy to maintain and it's water needs are met by nature.

That has made me wonder if Bahia or Fescue is in the mix they spray along the roads. Whatever it is the Deer seem very happy to come out in the Evenings and Mornings to eat their fill.
 
Deer Union has not filed a grievance for the TnM brassica. They don’t seem to mind. Just grazing on the perennial clovers, reseeding grains , and the broadcasted brassica. Think I’ll take another nap.
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