Question: “I have a small farm of approximately 70 acres. I live in Westminster, Maryland and I don’t farm it, but have a local farmer that does. My property is surrounded by much larger farms and between them they all feel that the whitetail deer would be better off dead and gone altogether. I understand their anger, the deer due huge damage to their crops of soybean and feed corn, but I figured if there were alternative sources of food for the deer, even food plots for whitetail deer, it would greatly reduce the crop damage.
Over the years I have seen the deer population decrease as well as the number of healthy bucks. I see more non-typical and just plain pitiful racks on some older deer and its starting to show in the younger ones. When I first moved here 10 years ago, there were already two 170 class dominant bucks, one using my property exclusively and another larger one on a adjacent property. Both were poached during night hunts, but I am seeing their offspring starting to come of age.
My plan is to try to get the surrounding farmers to agree to a management program involving food plots for deer, limited harvest of mature bucks, as well as using the crop damage permits as ways to cull the herd to keep numbers at a healthy level. My question is how much and what kind of food plots would best benefit my situation and do you think if the deer have enough alternative choices. Will it decrease the amount of crop damage. Thanks.”
Response: Interesting situation. The surrounding neighbors do not want the deer, yet they do want to harvest the big, mature bucks? I think everyone in your area wants the deer, but not all of the landowners want to get involved in deer management. Taking a stance of hatred against the animals may remove the responsibility they feel to manage the herd. This will likely be the biggest issue you face in your effort to manage the whitetail found in the area. Food plots for deer will work for you in Maryland as a management strategy.
Plantings for deer work great in the Eastern half of the United States, and they will decrease deer consumption of agricultural fields. Conditions in your part of the world are very conducive to food plots. I know the soil is good because you stated that there are lots of farms in your area. Do not over think this. One food plot strategy would be to plant more of crops that they are already eating, but call it a food plot instead of a commercial crop.
First, you already know that it will grow. Second, you already know that deer will eat it. You can also buy food plot seed mixes for your area and plant those. I don’t think it’s a matter of whether food plots will decrease deer depredation of crop fields, but rather you can get your neighbors on board with your deer management idea. If you can get them to agree with you, then everything else will fall into place.