Other Forages | Food Plot Resources - The leading source for everything related to deer food plots

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Other Forages (perennials and annuals)

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Grain Sorghum:

A warm-season annual grass that produces a grain head that deer eat after the grain matures. Sorghum creates excellent habitat but little feed value. It can be used as a "structure" plant in a plot of viney beans or peas. When used as a structure plant with viney beans or peas, plant 15-20 lbs/acre. For pure stands, plant 40-50 lbs/acre. For food plot purposes, cheap grain sorghum is adequate (Wild Game Food Sorghum).

Forage Sorghum:

A warm-season annual grass, some forage sorghum varieties produce a viable grain head. Forage sorghum is designed for more vegetative growth, and certain varieties can grow to 12 feet in height. Forage sorghum, like grain sorghum, produces very little forage for deer, but it is an interesting option for temporary cover or for borders. Seeding rate is only 10 lbs/acre for food plot purposes.

Buckwheat:

A warm-season annual broadleaf, buckwheat produces little quality forage for deer. We don’t recommend buckwheat for any food plot purpose relating to deer.

Sunflowers:

A warm-season broadleaf, sunflower leaves are occasionally browsed when plants are young, but produce little to no feed value for deer at maturity. We don't recommend sunflowers for any deer-related food plot.

Sugar Beets:

A broadleaf, sugar beets are getting more attention in recent years. Deer are certainly attracted to beets, but the disadvantages are high prices and slow growth rates, especially compared to rape and turnips. Roundup Ready sugar beets do exist, but they can cost $250/acre. We currently don't recommend sugar beets for food plots, but we are testing them in different scenarios.

Millets:

Warm-season annual grasses, millets (proso, German, browntop, etc.) produce virtually zero value for deer food plots. We don't recommend them for deer plots.

Lespedeza:

Warm-season annual and perennial legumes, lespedezas are lower-quality legumes, often used for pastures in poor soils. Lespedezas have virtually zero value as a deer food plot forage.

Birdsfoot Trefoil:

A cool-season perennial legume, birdsfoot trefoil is a quality forage. However, there are better perennial legume options for deer food plots, and we don't recommend planting trefoil.

Annual Ryegrass:

Some prepackaged food plot products include annual ryegrass, primarily to cheapen the cost of the product. Annual ryegrass is a mildly attractive forage to deer while very young (like cereal grains), but once it is several inches tall, it rapidly loses is palatability to deer. Annual ryegrass does grow in very shady areas and is easy to establish. We don't recommend annual ryegrass as a deer food plot forage unless an extremely shady logging road won't grow anything else (annual clovers, brassicas, ladino, cereal grains). If planted on a logging road, plant at 50 lbs/acre. The higher seeding rate creates a denser plant population with thinner, more palatable leaves.