The latest buzz in the whitetail world centers around the impact of nutritional management — particularly the year-round use of food plots — on the number and size of deer a piece of land can produce.

Although that impact will vary by program and management intensity, there can be little doubt that the right nutritional approach makes a huge difference in the health of a deer herd. But unless you’ve seen the results of a sound food-plot program in action, you might question its amazing benefits. You might think that good native habitat or even supplemental (direct) feeding is equal to plots in providing prime year-round nutrition for the herd.

If this is your view, you might want to rethink that opinion. The following simple comparison of nutritional options illustrates how great an impact food plots can have on the size and number of deer available to hunt.

I don’t hold out these numbers to be absolute; rather, they’re intended to illustrate the relative nutritional impact of supplemental feeding over natural habitat and of food plots over either. Because of limited space, I won’t try to explain every assumption and the reasoning behind it, but I’ve found that these numbers present a fairly accurate picture of what goes on in such management programs.

For purpose of illustration, I’ll use percent of protein in a deer’s diet to represent relative nutrition. I realize nutritional factors other than protein also are important; however, percent of protein allows us to use meaningful numbers for comparison.

NATURAL HABITAT
Not all whitetails in North America eat the same amount of food in a day. But strictly for purposes of illustration, let’s assume that an “average” deer, given as much as it would like to eat, consumes 7 pounds per day. In a year, that totals 2,555 pounds.

Deer feeding strictly on native forage can get big, but there will be periods of nutritional stress. Photo by Ron Sinfelt.

Let’s also assume that the natural habitat averages 11 percent protein on a year-round basis. (The general consensus among biologists is that whitetails need approximately 16 percent protein during the antler-growing/fawning period from early spring through summer. Eleven percent would be representative of quality native habitat such as is found in South Texas. A study in Alabama showed an annual average protein level of 7 percent in the natural habitat, which would be representative of much of the rest of the Southeast as well.)

Let’s assume that an acre of natural whitetail habitat can produce 200 pounds of deer feed per year, but that only half of that (100 pounds) can be eaten without damaging the habitat. (In the Southeast, average production of native deer forage is closer to 150 pounds per acre.)

Using an annual production of 100 usable pounds of deer browse per acre of natural habitat and an annual requirement of 2,555 pounds of feed per deer, we see that 25.6 acres are required to support one deer throughout the year.

But remember: This is about right for good natural habitat – habitat that has a high protein level. With an average protein level of only 11 percent in the herd’s diet, at a density of a deer per 25.6 acres body and antler sizes are going to be well under the herd’s genetic potential. In addition, many (indeed, most) whitetail populations are underfed, due to excessive foraging pressure on the available vegetation. Put all of this together, and it’s easy to see why we have so many stunted and stressed herds today.

SUPPLEMENTAL FEEDING
Let’s assume that a deer on decent natural habitat will eat no more than 25 percent of its daily diet in supplemental feed (high-protein pellets, cottonseed, dried soybeans, etc.). The only time I’ve ever seen deer eat more than about 2 pounds of supplemental feed per day is when they have degraded the natural habitat to the point that browse plants (including not just “ice cream” plants but also “subsistence” species) are of limited availability and quality. In such cases, the deer have no choice but to utilize supplemental feed heavily to get adequate nutrients.

True, whitetails can do well enough on supplemental feed, as evidenced by captive deer with no other forage options; however, they will only become dependent on such feed when forced to because of severely degraded habitat nearly devoid of natural browse. Deer are browsers by nature. Standing in one place at a feeder and eating feed is an unnatural act, and they will only do it in excess if forced to by the elimination of good browse options.

Let’s assume that supplemental feed has 20 percent protein. With 25 percent daily consumption of supplemental feed and 75 percent of natural forage (at 11 percent protein), the average protein level increases from 11 percent to 13.5 percent. That’s nearly a 25 percent improvement: much better than the natural habitat alone, but still well below the 16 percent level reputed to be the desired minimum for full body and antler growth.