Texas LAND Summer 2017

SPORTING ISSUE
Winter
Texas' Best All-Around
Wildlife Food Plot
was a similar phone call as many others that
I’ve received over the years. “We have been
trying to establish some wildlife food plots
over the years, using some of the more popular crops
that are on the market. Other than one year, we have
had very little success getting much results from our
efforts and it seems like the return on our investment is
questionable, at best.” After an additional five minutes
of Q&A, it was apparent that their efforts were destined
for marginal results from the get-go. Located in Coke
County, the property that was high-fenced about seven
years earlier, is in a semi-arid 20” annual rainfall belt,
the soils they were planting were marginal for farming,
the multiple variety of legumes they were planting were
likely being prematurely killed by heavy grazing from
deer since the fields could not be temporarily highfenced,
and no fertilizer was being applied. The one year
they had “good results” was in 2010, which happened
to be an exceptionally wet year. Truth be known, they
would have been better off to have put that money
and effort into pelleted feed; their expensive forage
enhancements strategies were flawed and did not match
up well with the variety of crops that they were planting.
Food plots have been a hugely popular deer management
practice in various areas of the U.S. for over two decades,
including Texas. Three main limiters when it comes
to food plot success is farming technique including
equipment, soil characteristics, and moisture. The first
two of these limiters can be sometimes be controlled or
manipulated to some extent. The third variable, however,
is generally outside of the manager’s hands, unless they
have irrigation capabilities. Here in Texas, perhaps as
much as 90 percent of the food plots that are planted
for wildlife do not have irrigation facilities in-place. And
though there are a wide assortment of warm season, cool
season, and perennial type plants available on the market,
the reality is that most wildlife managers are not farmers,
and many of these plant varieties demand astute farming
applications to realize the full benefits of those costs.
Winter Wheat
Though not as “sexy” as some of the other more popular
and expensive wildlife crops, Texans will be hard pressed to
find a cover crop that is more practical and universal than
winter wheat. In the cereal grain or short grain family, this
plant is relatively drought hardy, often performing well in
rainfall belts as low as 17–18”. Wheat is relatively graze hardy
and can withstand grazing pressures from deer and even
cattle during its early stages without killing it out, it does
not require as much farming expertise as some plants, it
can grow in fairly diverse soil types, and wheat has multiple
benefits and applications for a variety of wild critters.
There are various strains of winter wheat on the market, but
the general rule of thumb is to utilize one of the awnless
strains, as they are a bit more attractive to wildlife during the
seedhead stage. From a nutritional standpoint, wheat offers
two tiers of benefits for some species of wildlife. During the
growing stages, the leafy portions of the plant are highly
palatable and provide upwards of 20 percent crude protein,
with fiber levels that may run 25 percent until stem elongation.
Energy levels of the seedheads are comparable to corn or
grain sorghum, and crude protein of the seeds will generally
run about 12 percent. A host of wildlife species consume
wheat at different stages of plant growth, including various
songbirds, gamebirds, rabbits, squirrels, and deer. Standing
mature wheat during the late portion of the summer can also
provide excellent protective and loafing cover for broods of
quail and turkeys, as well as reptiles, and other wildlife.
Planting
Wheat is relatively easy to plant and establish. For those who
are lacking much farming equipment, especially if the plots
are less than a few acres in size, soil preparation may be as
simple as discing to create exposed loose soil, broadcasting,
then dragging the surface to create a seedbed. However,
better yet, is to properly prepare the soil, and then plant the
seeds using a seed drill. A benefit of the drill is ensuring
better consistency of planting distribution, plus the furrow
rows allow for better interstitial spacing between plants
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