Recently Jennifer Bearden, our Agriculture & Natural Resource Agent in Okaloosa County wrote a great article on “Common Wildlife Food Plot Mistakes”. The following information is a mere supplement in establishing food plots. Planting wildlife forages has become a great interest in the Panhandle. North Florida does have its challenges with sandy soils and seasonal patterns of lengthy drought and heavy rainfall. With that said, varieties developed and adapted for our growing conditions are recommended. Forage blends are greatly suggested to increase longevity and sustainability of crops that will provide nutrition for many different species.
Hairy Vetch – Ray Bodrey
In order to be successful and have productive wildlife plots. It is recommended that you have your plot’s soil tested and apply fertilizer and lime according to soil test recommendations. Being six weeks from optimal planting, there’s no time like the present.
Below are some suggested cool season wildlife forage crops from UF/IFAS Extension. Please see the UF/IFAS EDIS publication, “A Walk on the Wild Side: 2024 Cool-Season Forage Recommendations for Wildlife Food Plots in North Florida” for specific varieties, blends and planting information. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/AG/AG13900.pdf
Winter legumes are more productive and dependable in the heavier clay soils of northwest Florida or in sandy soils that are underlain by a clay layer than in deep upland sands or sandy flatwoods. Over seeded white clover and ryegrass can grow successfully on certain flatwoods areas in northeast Florida. Alfalfa, clovers, vetch and winter pea are options of winter legumes.
Cool-season grasses generally include ryegrass and the small grains: wheat, oats, rye, and triticale (a human-made cross of wheat and rye). These grasses provide excellent winter forage and a spring seed crop which wildlife readily utilize
Brassica and forage chicory are annual crops that are highly productive and digestible and can provide forage as quickly as 40 days after seeding, depending on the species. Forage brassica crops such as turnip, swede, rape, kale and radish can be both fall- and spring-seeded. Little is known about the adaptability of forage brassicas to Florida or their acceptability as a food source for wildlife.
Deer taking advantage of a well maintained food plot. Photo: Mark Mauldin
For more information, contact your local county extension office.
UF/IFAS Extension is an Equal Opportunity Institution.
Thinning is an important part of any forest management plan and getting it right can be the difference between successful outcomes and persistent problems. Probably one of the most common questions foresters get is “Should I Thin My Trees?”. It is an important question to ask and definitely needs a forester’s input to get right. Thinning is part of managing the density of a forest stand and preventing issues with overstocking. If a stand is overstocked it causes multiple issues with the health and growth of a forest stand. Forest stands can even stunt when left in overstocked conditions and fail to produce the timber yield that would be expected. Not thinning at proper intervals when it is needed also results in lost growth even if the thinning is performed later. The key issue is competition and managing density prevents excessive competition among trees. To understand how thinning works you must understand some of how trees grow.
An overstocked pine stand in need of thinning Santa Rosa County, FL . Photo Credit: Ian Stone
Trees compete on a site for resources such as sunlight, water, and nutrients. As a young stand of timber develops the trees initially have plenty of resources while they are young and small, but they begin to compete when they grow older. Initially the competition can be a good thing encouraging taller and straighter growth habits and self-pruning of lower branches. As the stand develops though the competition becomes a negative factor when the trees begin to experience stress from lack of resources, primarily sunlight but also nutrients and water. At this point the stand is considered overstocked and thinning will improve the health and growth of the trees. Effectively thinning removes trees that are not needed and will eventually be out-competed and die. This allows a landowner to make some timber revenue while improving growth and health down the road. The trees that remain after thinning no longer are overstocked and competing and respond with improved growth and health. This important forest management technique is one of the primary management decisions in timberland ownership.
Overstocked stands create multiple issues that cause negative outcomes. One of the primary issues is that trees in overstocked conditions are weaker and more susceptible to insect and disease outbreaks. It is very common for bark beetle outbreaks and other issues to take hold in overstocked stands and produce considerable losses. Thinning is an effective measure at preventing this. Overstocked conditions result in poor growth and can lead to a situation where trees have a low portion of living foliage. Once this occurs a stand can become locked in a slow growing condition that can’t be reversed. This causes a loss of both volume and quality by reducing the development of high value saw-timber and poles. Overstocked and dense stands are also less desirable for wildlife and plant diversity. Thinning opens up the forest and allows more light and space which improves habitat and increases diversity on the forest floor and lower levels. All around thinning at the right time based on the forest conditions and stocking produces better outcomes. During thinning trees with form, disease, or other issues can be removed to improve the overall stand. Determining when and how to thin is a function of having a good forest inventory and monitoring tree size and stocking. There is usually a period of time that is referred to as a “thinning window” when the stand is beginning to become overstocked but will still produce a thinning response. This varies based on forest conditions and is more of a function of the size and density of the trees than an exact age or predetermined point in time. The best practice is to determine when a forest is entering the thinning window and take advantage of the thinning benefits. Delaying thinning will result in less optimal outcomes and results may be permanent. Similarly thinning too early or thinning incorrectly (too few or too many trees removed) can produce less desirable results. The key is to thin correctly and thin when forest conditions indicate it is needed.
Overall thinning is one of the best forest improvement practices available, and to get the most benefit it has to be done correctly. Far too often forest areas that need thinning are overlooked and go far too long without getting the thinning they need. You do not want to look into getting your timber thinned only to find out you should have done it 5-8 years ago or more. Worse still you develop a southern pine beetle out break and loose timber or start to have timber die from competition. The best way to make sure you stay informed on when and to what extent to thin is to have a forest management plan and update it regularly. Working with a consulting forester to inventory your timber stand and plan out forest management is one of the best things you can do. A good consultant forester can assist you in determining when and how to thin properly. They can also assist in marketing timber harvested in a thinning along with other services like timber marking. You can get assistance through the County Forester office with Florida Forest Service as well. You can work with the County Forester to enroll in the Forest Stewardship Program and get a management plan written at no cost to you. A forest management plan will cover thinning and other important practices to help you meet your goals. Determining when and how to thin is something that requires advice from a good professional forester. By working with a professional forester, you will avoid common pitfalls like making opportunistic thinning decisions, over-thinning, under thinning, leaving poor quality trees, and more. If you think your stand may need thinning contact the extension office, the county forester, or a professional forester of your choice. Making those contacts are a great first step in getting the most out of a good thinning.
Call 811 before you dig. No one wants a weekend project to be the cause of Internet, phone and cable outages. Worse yet, what if someone gets hurt from contact with natural gas or electrical lines? That’s why it is so important to have buried utilities in the yard located and marked before digging. Sunshine 811 coordinates each individual company to clearly mark where the service lines are located. Homeowners are required by law to contact 811 three days before any soil removal is done. The service is free.
Have information prepared before making the request. Describe the work to be performed (e.g. fence install, landscaping, irrigation install), including the type of equipment that will be used. Specify the exact location on the property and how long the work will continue. Finally, provide all the contact information (e.g. name, phone number, e-mail), should there be any additional questions.
Call 811 or request a single address ticket online. Receive a ticket number and wait two full business days, not counting weekends or holidays. Then contact 811 again. Make sure that all the utilities have responded in the Positive Response System (PRS). Sometimes that may mean that the company doesn’t have anything to make in the area.
If there are utility lines running through the yard, they will be marked with specifically colored paints or flags. Red is used for electrical lines, orange indicates communication lines, yellow means gas, blue is used for potable water, purple is reclaimed water, and green indicates sewer lines. White lines may be used to outline digging areas and pink are temporary survey marks. This is the APWA Uniform Color Code.
Every effort is made to locate the lines as accurately as possible. But, the safest thing to do is hand dig to expose the utility line before using any mechanized equipment. Lines can vary up to 24” from the marked line and depths can be less than 5”. Remember there may be access lines running through the property even if that service isn’t utilized at that address.
For many of us in the Florida Panhandle, managing land for and hunting deer are two of the pastimes that we’ll spend the most time and money on each year. I greatly enjoy spending time in the woods and value the opportunity to fill the freezer with high-quality protein and occasionally hang a trophy rack on the wall. Managing a deer herd isn’t without its annoyances though. One of the main complaints I hear each winter from hunters is regarding their food plots not performing as well as they’d like. While all manner of things could be at fault, there are three common reasons for poor food plot performance and a few possible solutions to each – let’s take a look.
Not doing your soil homework. Crops of all kinds, winter food plot forages like small grains, clovers, and ryegrass included, perform best when their pH and nutrition needs are met. The only way to ensure that your food plot plants’ needs are being met is to perform a soil test well before planting. Soil tests show the actual levels of various nutrients (N, P, K, and other essential elements) and pH in your food plots. It is important to remember that even if your soil fertility is adequate or you plan to get it there through fertilizer applications, those nutrients are only available for plants to uptake if your pH is correct (a pH of around 6.5 is ideal for winter grasses and legumes). If your pH is low and needs adjusting, make sure to apply lime several months in advance as it takes time to change your soil’s chemistry.
Too small food plot size. Just like with grazing a cattle pasture, there is a finite amount of grazing pressure that food plots can support and many that I see are overgrazed. So, what can hunters do? If possible, the best solution is to enlarge small food plots to a minimum of ½ acre, preferably larger (1-5 acres). It’s not complicated – the plants we grow in winter wildlife food plots (small grains, ryegrass, clovers, etc.) are extremely palatable to deer and very nutritious. Combine that with greatly reduced native forage options in Panhandle winters, and a quality food plot will often draw large numbers of deer, in excess of what small food plots can bear. To be certain deer pressure is the issue and not poor growing practices, construct exclusionary cages for your food plots; these will allow you to see how your forages grow in the absence of grazing pressure. You might be surprised how good your grass looks with no deer on it and be motivated to increase food plot size accordingly.
Not harvesting enough deer. Even when hunters do all the above correctly, forage performance sometimes lags. This can be a strong indication that too many deer are using the food plot. Stocking rates for deer are difficult to determine because there are many variables involved (native vegetation in your area, hunting pressure around you, etc.). However, if exclusionary cages show quality forage growth, food plots are adequately large, and your forage still struggles, it is likely as simple as too many deer using the forage available. Harvesting only a buck or two a year and no does isn’t going to solve the problem either. In this situation, the solution is often as simple as taking advantage of Florida’s anterless deer harvest periods (doe weekends) to harvest some does, applying for antlerless deer permits if your property meets the qualifications for that program, and filling your freezer with more tasty, nutritious venison.
While there can be many causes for poor winter food plot performance, most hunters can improve their forage situation by simply soil testing and amending accordingly ahead of planting, enlarging food plots where possible, and harvesting a few more deer than they have previously. For more information about winter food plots and any other wildlife management topic, contact your local UF/IFAS Extension office. Happy Hunting!
A deer darting across a path, a bobwhite calling at sunrise, or the tracks of a coyote in the mud are all fascinating examples of how we enjoy our natural areas. Have you ever wished you could watch wildlife all day to understand the intricate relationships they have with one another? What if you could learn more about their behavior? And their habitat and daily activities?
Deer captured on a digital game camera.
Image: Dr. Carolina Barzzui.
Dr. Carolina Baruzzi at the UF/IFAS North Florida Research and Education Center and Dr. Corey Callaghan at the UF/IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center are launching “ConservationCam”, a new extension program to help you monitor wildlife on your property using camera traps.
Camera traps are a valuable tool for wildlife monitoring. When an animal moves in front of a camera, they trigger a motion sensor to take a picture or video. Camera traps can be set up in multiple ways to target a species or habitat of interest, such as a forest opening or a wildlife burrow. Thanks to their versatility and relative low cost, camera traps are being used in a variety of contexts, for example, understanding the effects of wildlife or habitat management on target species.
Images of turkeys captured on a digital game cam.
Image: Dr. Carolina Barzzui.
The primary goal of ConservationCam is to provide private landowners with access to camera traps, and expert guidance about monitoring wildlife and managing natural resources for biodiversity based on camera trap observations. Armed with this knowledge, landowners can make informed decisions about land management practices that positively impact biodiversity on their property. If you live in the Florida Panhandle, and are interested in using camera traps to monitor wildlife on your property, while learning how to answer different ecological questions, we are gathering expressions of interest through this online form.
Rabbit near a burrow on a digital game came.
Image: Dr. Carolina Barzzui.
