Food Plots  and Feeding for Deer Management

Some links may no longer be active, but the original article may be found by typing the title into a search engine.


When deer come to feed, sacrificing some plants may save others October 5, 2023 Maryland, Farm Progress

... Macaulay says the research shows him growers may want to do more to keep deer at the edges of their fields, either by growing a sacrificial crop or even mowing under the trees to allow more sun to penetrate and more foliage to grow...


Whitetail deer a nuisance for row crop farmers January 10, 2023, Alabama, St. Clair News-Aegis

... Eddie McGriff has had success planting sunn hemp as a buffer or border trap crop for deer ...  In order for sunn hemp to work as a trap crop, it must be planted before the cash crop. This is done so that it is growing and attractive to deer while the cotton crop is being established... this year they plan to use electric fence in conjunction with sunn hemp on the side of the field where deer enter from the woods ...


Game and Fish to continue elk feeding at Dell Creek  October 4, 2021 Wyoming Game and Fish News

... The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has requested a permit from the U.S. Forest Service to maintain elk feeding operations at the Dell Creek Feedground for the 2021/2022 winter... “Not having the ability to feed at Dell Creek could have dire consequences in terms of dispersing elk that could spread brucellosis to cattle, cause damage to private land and result in elk frequenting the highway,” ...


Idaho officials trying to lure 70 elk away from highways near Sugar City January 24, 2020, Idaho News 

... The herd of about 70 elk ventured out of the Teton Canyon ... IDFG is working with landowners to implement a baiting operation to try and lure the elk away from the highway and back toward the canyon...


Wyoming officials to use hay trail to lure elk to new ground December 19, 2019 WRAL

... Elk are being moved as a result of recent litigation meant to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease... Flaking off pieces of a hay bale every 50 to 100 feet to move elk is “standard operating procedure” ...


Caribou County bait site prevents interaction with livestock February 25, 2019 Idaho, Idaho State Journal

... The Idaho Department of Fish and Game with input from the Southeast Idaho Winter Feeding Advisory Committee (WFAC) has authorized a feed site on the west side of the Ninety Percent Range in Caribou County to bait approximately 200 elk from a landowner’s property...


With food sources covered by snow, deer take to livestock feed supplies February 23, 2019 South Dakota, AberdeenNews.com

... a couple hundred “starving” deer have taken refuge on his land... put some hay out there to eat so they don’t come into the farmyard ... putting corn out there for them to eat can have a negative affect on them,” Klosowski said. “It can make them sick or kill them...


Elk herds horn in on cattle pastures February 19, 2018 Oregon, Capital Press

... In eastern Oregon, the mild winter is resulting in less wildlife damage since fewer deer and elk are being driven by bad weather down to the valley pastures ... 10 Elkhorn Range sites managed by the state had about 1,100 animals in early January compared to 2,000 head a year ago during a severe winter...  feed sites are along traditional migratory routes and are intended to intercept and stop the animals before they reach private ranches...


Elk in no hurry to reach feed sites December 8, 2017 Oregon, Baker City Herald

... feed more than 1,000 elk, and hundreds of deer, each winter... goal isn’t to spare the elk from starvation, but rather to keep them from gorging on hay that’s supposed to feed ranchers’ cattle... Generally the strategy is successful ...


Five Years Later: A Look at Recovery Efforts for the Charlotte Fire June 28, 2017 Idaho, LocalNews8.com

... after the fire, there was an effort to push deer out to areas where they could safely find food resources. The organization did this by setting-up feeding stations leading them to those areas... IDFG worked with Bannock County, NRCS, BLM, Century High School, and the Southeast Idaho Mule Deer Foundation ...


Focus on feeding February 10, 2017 Oregon, Baker City Herald

... leading a campaign to feed about 1,000 elk and more than 1,000 deer in snowbound eastern Baker County ...  raised about $14,500 through a GoFundMe account over the past 21 days ... as much as 80 percent of the animals in some areas would have died ...


Fish and Game begins emergency feeding in Bellevue Triangle January 21, 2017 Idaho, Twin Falls Times-News

... The department this week set up emergency feeding grounds at Cove Ranch southeast of Bellevue, where 200 elk and 150 mule deer were raiding haystacks and creating a traffic hazard ... “We are trying to pull them away from (livestock) feed lines and busy roadways to keep drivers safe ...


Emergency project launched to save deer along Colorado highway that cuts through winter habitat January 19, 2017 The Denver Post

.. moving ahead with an emergency operation to bait deer with food to try to draw them away from a highway – a project reflecting worries about deer survival after heavy snowfall and a spike in vehicles hitting deer along the highway that cuts through critical habitat...

     CPW to commence 'baiting' operation January 17, 2017 Colorado, Gunnison Country Times

... Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW will start a baiting operation in the Gunnison Basin to move deer and elk away from roads and to counter the effects of recent snowfall ...


The deer are all right January 15, 2017 Idaho, Bonner County Daily Bee

... Fish and Game has started emergency feeding ... in the Wood River Valley in southern Idaho to keep elk off the highway and out of agricultural operations...


Ochoco forest eyes site for removing juniper December 11, 2016 Oregon, Bend Bulletin

... The Ochoco National Forest wants to remove younger juniper trees  ...  If removing the juniper helps other vegetation to grow, then those federal forestlands may draw more foraging deer and elk from the nearby private lands, Spitzack said ...


F&G opens more elk feeding sites February 10, 2016 Idaho, Idaho Mountain Express and Guide

... The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has opened three more elk-feeding sites in the Wood River Valley, in addition to an existing one along Warm Springs Road west of Ketchum, to try to keep the animals off roads and out of agricultural fields...


Wintering elk are in good shape January 6, 2016 Idaho, Idaho Mountain Express and Guide

...   The department does have a feeding station near Penny Lake west of Ketchum. Hatch said that’s been going on since the 1930s, when elk were reintroduced into the valley from Yellowstone National Park after having been decimated by hunters during initial development of the area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Now, he said, the department continues to conduct the feeding to keep the elk out of the residential area along Warm Springs Road. He said about 200 elk are fed there, with grain pellets delivered about twice a week...


Diversionary feeding: an effective management strategy for conservation conflict?  LM Kubasiewicz, N Bunnefeld, AIT Tulloch, CP Quine… - Biodiversity and …, 2015

... Diversionary feeding, where food is used to draw animals away from problem activities or locations, is sometimes proposed as a socially acceptable conservation action, but little information exists on its success or what influences its efficacy.  ...  A grand mean increase of 15 % in respective measures of success at the outcome stage was found across all studies. Although diversionary feeding is considered expensive, cost-effectiveness analyses were rarely conducted. Only a third of studies reported information on costs and benefits that could be used to inform future management actions. We propose a decision-making framework that incorporates ecological knowledge, financial costs and evidence from previous studies to aid the planning and implementation of diversionary feeding in an adaptive format


Rapid City, Fewer Deer To Be Killed In Rapid City Limits This Year December 2, 2015 South Dakota, Keloland 

...  The combination of better habitat outside of Rapid City and ongoing efforts to control deer inside city limits likely will result in a significant reduction in the number of deer to be killed ...


Feeding Deer in Oregon to keep them away from Crops, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

... ODFW does feed deer and elk at several wildlife areas during the winter, to keep them off adjacent agricultural lands where they damage crops. These feeding programs are long-term commitments that require significant financial and staffing resources....


Supplemental Feeding of Bears Please Feed the Animals: A Case for Supplemental Feeding October 2015, D Rivet

... With the increasing problem of Florida black bears wandering into urban areas and into contact with humans, it is important to consider solutions that are beneficial to both the conservation of the species and the safety of humans. Supplemental feeding is one possible resolution that does just that. With feeding stations placed deep into the heart of Florida black bear habitat, it is possible that contact and conflict between bears and humans can be avoided...


Pinehurst, Need for Culling Debated at Deer Task Force Meeting October 29, 2014 North Carolina, Southern Pines Pilot

... Tyler Stowe, with a company based in Benson called Outdoor Management, said ... they can also install feeding plots “to pull deer away from residential areas and give them a food source” especially during the winter months. He said they are in less populated areas and away from heavily traveled roads to get deer away from people and cars.  “It is a safer method,” he said. “It reduces the liability and collateral damage.” ...


SDSU researches which cover crops are likely to attract deer February 13, 2015 South Dakota, Tri-State Neighbor

... Fall cover crops, such as clover, turnips and peas, can provide nutrient-rich winter forage and help lure hungry deer away from hay and other stored livestock feed, according to Distinguished Professor Jonathan Jenks ... Cover crops are an indirect way of possibly preventing depredation and redistributing deer densities ... [also see:  Luring deer away from livestock feed with fall cover crops February 20, 2015 Science Daily]


WDFW feeding deer to protect orchards near Pateros in Okanogan County December 16, 2014 Oregon, WDFW News

...  State wildlife officials are temporarily feeding deer to protect orchards in the Pateros area but say widespread feeding of Okanogan County mule deer is not needed at this time. ... most deer are faring well thanks to mild weather and below-average snow cover in the wake of the largest wildfire in state history in July... “Deer often concentrate during the winter near Pateros’ fruit tree orchards – independent of the effects of fire – and cause damage,” Brown said. “Until more deer fence is repaired, we are using feed to draw deer away from the orchards.” ... WDFW uses specially-formulated feed to fulfill – on a short-term basis – the deer’s nutritional needs... “Fruit and grains are not a normal part of a deer’s diet at this time of year and can be extremely difficult for deer to digest,” ...


Field-edge planting to deter white-tailed deer and attract carabid beetles in soybean fields A Mullins - 2014 Nova Scotia, Dalhousie University

... This study tested whether or not damage to soybean from white-tailed deer could be reduced by field-edge plantings, while increasing the abundance of predatory ground beetles in the same soybean fields and subsequently reducing numbers of soybean aphid, Aphis glycines, on soybean plants... The two treatments in 2013 were: alfalfa + red clover + orchard grass and soybean (control). Deer grazing damage to soybeans was significantly lower in areas adjacent to a legume + orchard grass field edge planting....


Delaware Agriculture Week: Farmers can learn latest in trends, research January 11, 2015 newszap.com

... alfalfa and clover shall save the corn.  By planting the tasty food plots at the edge of field corn acreage, the Bridgeville farmer lured deer to an area that would save the cash crop.  The concept encompassed planting alfalfa and clover outside the corn, so the deer would reach it first and start chomping down before reaching the corn ...


Prescribed burn planned on Basalt Mtn April 10, 2015 Colorado, Aspen Times

... The intent of the project is to promote nutrient recycling of fire-adapted vegetation communities, provide an improved food source for wildlife and create habitat conditions that will encourage wintering deer and elk to stay in the area rather than move onto lower elevation private land where they may become a nuisance...


WDFW feeding deer to protect orchards near Pateros in Okanogan County December 16, 2014 Oregon, WDFW News

...  State wildlife officials are temporarily feeding deer to protect orchards in the Pateros area but say widespread feeding of Okanogan County mule deer is not needed at this time. ... most deer are faring well thanks to mild weather and below-average snow cover in the wake of the largest wildfire in state history in July... “Deer often concentrate during the winter near Pateros’ fruit tree orchards – independent of the effects of fire – and cause damage,” Brown said. “Until more deer fence is repaired, we are using feed to draw deer away from the orchards.” ... WDFW uses specially-formulated feed to fulfill – on a short-term basis – the deer’s nutritional needs... “Fruit and grains are not a normal part of a deer’s diet at this time of year and can be extremely difficult for deer to digest,” ..


Delaware Agriculture Week: Farmers can learn latest in trends, research January 11, 2015 newszap.com

... alfalfa and clover shall save the corn.  By planting the tasty food plots at the edge of field corn acreage, the Bridgeville farmer lured deer to an area that would save the cash crop.  The concept encompassed planting alfalfa and clover outside the corn, so the deer would reach it first and start chomping down before reaching the corn ...