Best Illinois food plot for deer

Best Illinois food plot for deer

Best Illinois food plot for deer you ask? It’s a pretty general question, and is best answered by answering some when, where and why questions about the specific ground you are hunting. Even in my home state of Minnesota, the answer will vary from north to south, and September to December. The best Illinois food plot for deer revolves around filling a need in our locale, during a specific window of the calendar. Lets go over some example properties, and why certain plots draw deer at certain times of year.

Best Illinois food plot for deer in a big woods setting

The best Illinois food plot for deer in a big woods setting will differ greatly from an agricultural setting. Food can be at a premium in the big woods, and deer often traditionally yard in a northern big woods setting to survive winter. They yard for both food and cover, and the same can be true in more southern climates where food and cover become scarce in late season. As winter sets in these deer are searching hard for carbs and fat building reserves that the best Illinois food plot for deer will provide. If you have enough acreage to plant a turnip blend, corn or beans, which depending upon deer densities may range from 1 to 10 acres, they will be a huge draw as winter approaches. The best Illinois food plot for deer fills the void in the food, cover, water formula, and the deer will come from miles around to fill their bellies. In ag rich areas like Illinois or Iowa, these plots would be an expensive waste of time, but northern Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania or Minnesota hunters will see more deer early December over these plots than any other time of year. Annuals like corn and beans are expensive to plant properly, but hunt the right window in the right place, and they are the best Illinois food plot for deer.

Best Illinois food plot for deer in heavy agriculture areas

Conversely, areas with a lot of agriculture will benefit less from the readily abundant corn and beans planted everywhere. The best Illinois food plot for deer here is often to have the finest green in town. As plants mature and focus on building roots and seed, they become less digestable to a whitetail deer. If you can have the freshest green in the area, you can draw the deer, or at least focus them on your property. The best Illinois food plot for deer here is a late season planting (August through September) of cereal grains, or a quality seed blend designed for food plots for deer. You trick the late season plants by starting them 3 months later than mother nature would, and they can not mature by winter. A quality seed blend is your best bet because some of the seed will match your soil conditions, insuring a lush green crop for your deer herd. The best Illinois food plot for deer attraction is the finest green in the neighborhood. Plant it and they will come.

Best Illinois food plot for deer when the acorns drop

Don’t be expecting miracles here. Deer love acorns, and when they are dropping it’s a real task to try and one up mother nature. Problem is they take forever to grow,

and when you find a stand they are usually everywhere. Often the deer bed right in the woods where they are dropping making stand access impossible. The best Illinois food plot for deer here is back in the woods on a bed to feed pattern where access is not an issue. Even the best plot for deer will be burned out in a hurry if you bump deer moving to and fro, and if you own a small chunk of whitetail land it’s a sure way of screwing the property up. If you can find a spot with realistic entry and exit routes, sweeten it up with a perennial plot that grows well in your area. Deer will stop for a quick bite of clover or chicory if it is on the way, but they will be hitting the acorns afterward. The best Illinois food plot for deer when the acorns are raining is acorns, so try and be part of that solution to stay in the chips on heavy mast crop years.

The best Illinois food plot for deer has no one answer

Consider the limitations of your particular piece of real estate, and work within the frame for best best results. Make a solid plan, and build the best Illinois food plot for deer into that plan.