WHAT IS CROP ROTATION, ANYWAY?
Crop rotation is pretty well what it sounds like: a method of alternating certain crops, such as legumes (clover, peas, alfalfa, etc.) in specific locations so that future crops planted there will benefit.

What makes legumes so beneficial -- aside from the fact many of them are highly preferred deer forages -- is that they can pull nitrogen from the atmosphere and deposit it in the soil through a fixation process. If properly inoculated prior to planting, legumes form small root nodes containing fixated nitrogen. Over time, the plants can add large amounts of this important nutrient to the soil, where it can in turn be used by plants that don't pull nitrogen out of the air.

Nitrogen, the first element of a fertilizer formulation (N-P-K), is essential for plant growth and jump-starts germination in non-legume plants (e.g., cereal grains such as oats, wheat and rye) and is important in getting brassicas (turnips, rape, etc.) to grow strong. Many of these plants are themselves great deer forages.

Commercial nitrogen fertilizer comes in two common forms: urea and ammonium nitrate. It's expensive and can be corrosive to equipment if prolonged exposure occurs. The key benefit of using the crop rotation system I'm talking about is that you would not have to apply a nitrogen fertilizer every time you plant your food plots, because it is put back into the soil every growing season by the clover and beans.

The clover itself fixates up to 150 pounds of nitrogen per acre annually. When this rotation is used, a cost saving of up to 45 percent can be reached on fertilizer alone.

Based on the price of fertilizer in summer 2009, the savings on our family food plots was approximately $41 per acre (not to mention the savings in fuel and time because of less weight in fertilizer to be distributed on the acreage).

SIMPLE & EFFECTIVE
As shown in the accompanying chart, a simple rotation plan might involve two food-plot fields. In this case, Field A would contain a perennial legume blend, such as clover; Field B would be planted to an annual legume or legume mix in the spring, then replanted to a cool-season cereal grain and/or brassica in the fall.

The perennial plot (Field A) would either be frost-seeded in February or seeded on a prepared seedbed in March. The decision of exactly when to plant would be based on the location's USDA planting zone.

Field A should remain in perennial clover for three full growing seasons. Over that time, it will accumulate the nitrogen to act as a food source for non-legplantings that follow. Of course, another benefit of having the clover in for three seasons is that it will provide a year-round, high-protein food source for deer.

The year-round availability is key; you need good forage to nourish the herd and keep deer on your land when other plots and fields lack forage. A year-round nutritional program such as this is vital if deer are to reach their genetical potential.

page: 1 | 2 | 3