Page 1 A Plant's Home© WindStar Wildlife Institute

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Food Plots CanHelp Wildlife Survive

Tough Winters

Now is the time – whileyou are getting your

planters in shape andtaking delivery of this

year’s seed – to decidewhere to locate yourwildlife food plots.

The importance ofproviding food for wildlifewas illustrated last year

with many areasreporting a decline in

game bird populations.

Food plots can attractducks, geese, mourning

doves, quail, deer, pheasants,turkeys, rabbits, and manysongbirds.

Plan your food plot so it isclose to cover. This might be apond, woodlot, or brushy fencerow used as a wildlife travellane. It is best to have severalsmall plots, as opposed to onelarge one. For example, a plot50 ft. wide by 1,000 ft. long isless valuable than two plots100 ft. by 250 ft.

As wildlife venture in theopen to feed, they need thickvegetation or water to returnto quickly, should dangerappear. Ideally, a 1-ft. to 15-ft.path between the woodland,hedgerow or pond, and thefood plot should be mowed tolawn height. This providesspace for maintaining the plotand allows wildlife to betterreach the food.

But mowing should onlyoccur before April 1 or afterAugust 15, to protect nestsof birds near the ground.

Page 2 A Plant's Home© WindStar Wildlife Institute

Usually a mixture of food plotplants is better than a singlespecies. You might want to trythe following mixtures for anacre:

For upland areas:s Soybean 3 to 4 lbs.s Gold millet 2 lbs.s Japanese millet 2 to 5 lbs.s Milo 3 to 4 lbs.s Buckwheat 1/2 lb.

For wet/lowland areas:s Big Bluestem 1-1/2 lbs.s Switchgrass 1-1/2 lbs.s Black oil Sunflower 4 oz.s Black-Eyed Susan 4 oz.s Ladino Clover 1 lb.

For dry/upland areas:s Little Bluestem 1-1/2 lbs.s Sideoats Grama 1-1/2 lbs.s Black Oil Sunflower 4 oz.s Black-Eyed Susan 4 oz.s Ladino Clover 1 lb.

One good single crop to plantfor wildlife is sunflower. It is afavorite food for goldfinches,house finches, cardinals, bluejays, titmice, chickadees, andmany other birds.

It’s easier to manage a singlecrop for higher production thanmultiple crops.

Some mixtures may containspecies of plants that maydominate and crowd out theothers. Whatever you plant, thecrops must be compatible.

For most crops, the seed isthe most important foodsource, although wildlifeconsume both the seed andvegetative portions of somecrops.

If you want to match the cropto the wildlife you want to

cultivation, or both, will bebeneficial because some speciesprefer to feed on ground that isnot filled with vegetativegrowth. Black oil is the bestvariety.

GrassesProvide browse and nesting

areas to a variety of wildlife,and some birds feed on theseed.

Grasses used for wildlifeplantings are usually perennial,thus making them long-durationcrops.

Clipping after young wildlifeare raised will help reduce weedproblems. These grasses areoften grown with legumes, suchas alfalfa and some of theclovers.

Small GrainsOats are preferred as browse

by most wildlife. But geese andducks prefer wheat as browse,while doves eat the seed.

Planting strips of wheat andsunflower or proso millet haveproduced excellent feedingareas for doves.

attract, here are a fewsuggestions:

MilletBoth the seeds and

vegetative parts are consumed.Wild fowl and upland birds aremost common. Proso milletattracts mourning doves, butbeware as the seed might becontaminated with Johnson-grass, which is tough to control.

CornFood source for a variety of

wildlife. Geese will eat it as theirprimary feed when available.Ducks, squirrels, deer, andturkeys like it also.

SoybeansPlants are eaten by deer and

quail. Deer eat the foliage, whilequail eat the seed. Geese andducks will also eat the seed, butprefer other feed.

SorghumPreferred by many species.

The bird-resistant typecontains tannin, causing abitter taste that discouragesfeeding until the grain is fullyripe. This discouragesblackbirds, bobolinks andgrackles.

Plant short varieties if youwant ducks and geese to beable to reach the seed head.

BuckwheatProvides an attractive feed

for waterfowl. Although it willnot last long, it will entice birdsto your land. Because of itsshort-term usefulness, do notuse it as a sole crop.

SunflowerExcellent food for doves and

songbirds. Planting the crop inrows and using herbicides,

WindStar Wildlife Institute is anational, non-profit, conservation

organization whose mission is to helpindividuals and families establish orimprove the wildlife habitat on their

properties.

For more information or for thename of a Master Wildlife Habitat

Naturalist in your area, pleasecontact:

WindStar Wildlife Institute

E-mail: wildlife@windstar.org

http://www.windstar.org