“Oats always has been the preferred winter forage for whitetails. Now there is a brand (Buck Forage) that not only is preferred over other varieties, but also stands up to colder temperatures. I heartily endorse it!”
Dr. James C. Kroll, “Dr. Deer”
renowned whitetail authority & author of the best selling book,
A Practical Guide to Producing and Harvesting Whitetail Deer
Research done by professional biologists show deer need food plots year ’round. Multiple plantings of both warm and cold season food plots are necessary to accomplish this. When it comes to providing quality fall forage deer need, along with being an attractant, nothing beats oats.
Don’t be mislead by claims that successful food plots can be obtained easily. Only proper agronomic practice and a little work will ensure the hunter/manager of accomplishing the two-fold goal of attracting, and providing needed nourishment for deer.
We asked Dr. James Kroll to test BUCK FORAGE OATS before we placed them on the market. Although skeptical (because of the sometimes misleading claims of other seedsmen), Dr. Kroll was satisfied beyond our greatest expectations. But don’t take it from us! Here are some examples of what Dr. Kroll and others say about plots of Buck Forage:
“It’s much cheaper to grow food plots than to purchase commercial feed rations for deer. And, some feed (such as corn) doesn’t provide a complete diet for whitetails…I heartily endorse Buck Forage food plot seed!”
“We have long recommended adding rye with oats to help out in case the oats freeze out. Now we feel “Buck Forage” Oats will make this problem occur so infrequently that we can go with a single planting of oats.”
Dr. James Kroll, “Dr. Deer”
I agree not all oats are created equal. A lot of the older developed varieties would easily winter kill. Always look for a variety bred for forage production.
My favorite food plot combinations for the north are:
Cool Season: lbs seed/broadcast acre, cut in half if using a drill.
White Clover- 5/Red Clover- 7/Forage Oats-30/Rye-30
Warm Season: Rape-2/Red Clover – 5/Alyceclover -15/Buckwheat -15
I agree , don’t be fooled into thinking plots are a cinch. Anything worthwhile is never really easy, but that is half the fun. Plotting is a lot like hunting for the “big one”, patience, persistance, research and planning. If you are well informed, do some research and are willing to do a little trial and error along the way then you will end up with a nice plot:)