1
© WindStar Wildlife Institute
Food Plots Can
Help Wildlife Survive
Tough Winters
Now is the time – while
you are getting your
planters in shape and
taking delivery of this
year’s seed – to decide
where to locate your
wildlife food plots.
The importance of
providing food for wildlife
was illustrated last year
with many areas
reporting a decline in
game bird populations.
F
ood plots can attract
ducks, geese, mourning
doves, quail, deer, pheasants,
turkeys, rabbits, and many
songbirds.
Plan your food plot so it is
close to cover. This might be a
pond, woodlot, or brushy fence
row used as a wildlife travel
lane. It is best to have several
small plots, as opposed to one
large one. For example, a plot
50 ft. wide by 1,000 ft. long is
less valuable than two plots
100 ft. by 250 ft.
As wildlife venture in the
open to feed, they need thick
vegetation or water to return
to quickly, should danger
appear. Ideally, a 1-ft. to 15-ft.
path between the woodland,
hedgerow or pond, and the
food plot should be mowed to
lawn height. This provides
space for maintaining the plot
and allows wildlife to better
reach the food.
But mowing should only
occur before April 1 or after
August 15, to protect nests
of birds near the ground.
