Whitetail Institute food plot seed: what to plant and when

Last updated 2026-07-25

What is a food plot, exactly

A food plot is a planted patch of forage on hunting land, usually somewhere between a quarter acre and a few acres, meant to give deer (and often turkey, rabbits, and other wildlife) a concentrated, high-quality food source. It's not the same as a farm field. Most plots run smaller, get planted with forage blends bred for palatability and tonnage rather than harvest yield, and sit inside or next to timber where deer already bed and travel. Plots do two jobs depending on how you design them. A "destination" plot in a food-scarce area holds deer and grows antlers or body weight through summer and fall. A "kill plot" or hunting plot sits small and tucked tight to cover, meant to draw a deer into bow range during shooting light rather than to feed the whole herd. Most properties benefit from a mix of both. State wildlife agencies generally treat planted food plots as normal agricultural activity, not baiting, but the line gets fuzzy with things like broadcast corn piles or unharvested standing crops used with additional feed added later in some states. Baiting and feeding rules vary a lot state to state, some ban supplemental feeding outright, some restrict it seasonally for chronic wasting disease concerns, and some allow it with limits. Check your state wildlife agency's regulations before combining a plot with any feeder or mineral station, and know that planting a normal agronomic food plot itself is legal everywhere in the US as an accepted land management practice, per state agency guidance like the Pennsylvania Game Commission's baiting and feeding rules which treats planted crops differently than piled feed. If you want a structured starting point rather than trial and error, a soil test plus a written plan for your specific acreage, rainfall, and shade beats guessing. That's the whole idea behind a food plot whitetail plan built around your dirt, not a national average.

What Whitetail Institute food plot seed products actually are

Whitetail Institute of North America is a seed company, founded in the late 1980s, that built its business around perennial clover blends marketed specifically for deer, then expanded into brassicas, oats, and mixed annual blends. Its flagship product, Imperial Whitetail Clover, is a proprietary blend of white clover varieties selected for shade tolerance, drought tolerance, and palatability rather than a single off-the-shelf clover variety. The rest of the lineup breaks into a few buckets. No-Plow is a no-till annual/perennial clover and chicory blend meant for broadcast into existing sod or disked ground without heavy tillage equipment. Winter-Greens and Tall Tine Tubers are brassica-forward blends (mixes of forage brassicas like kale, rape, and turnip types) aimed at late fall and winter attraction when deer key hard on high-sugar, high-fiber cool-season plants. Whitetail Oats Plus blends oats with a small amount of brassica and legume seed for a fast-growing fall annual. Alfa-Rack Plus, Fusion, and a handful of others round out perennial and annual blend options at different price points. These are proprietary blends, meaning the company doesn't publish the exact percentages or named varieties in most cases, unlike buying straight Durana or Ladino clover seed from a farm co-op where you know the variety and germination rate on the tag. That's the tradeoff: you're paying a premium (Imperial Whitetail Clover commonly runs in the neighborhood of $25 to $45 for a 4-pound bag depending on retailer and quantity discounts, enough for roughly a half acre) for a blend the company has field-tested for deer preference and regional adaptability, versus buying a known variety by the pound at a farm store for less money and doing your own agronomy homework. Neither approach is wrong. If you want a done-for-you seed mix and don't want to research clover varieties, individually blending brassicas, or timing oat plantings yourself, a branded blend saves time. If you're comfortable reading a seed tag and a soil test, straight varieties from an ag seed dealer usually cost less per acre. Compare blend options against straight food plot seed and deer food plot seed choices before you buy.

Do deer eat clover, and how much do they actually prefer it

Yes. Clover is one of the most consistently preferred food plot forages across whitetail range, and it's backed by real research, more than marketing copy. White clover and red clover both show up as high-preference forages in deer diet studies across multiple states. Clover works because it's high in crude protein (commonly 25 to 30 percent in vegetative growth stages) and digestible, which matters most in spring and summer when does are lactating and bucks are growing antlers. University extension forage and wildlife programs consistently list clover among the top forage choices for spring and summer plots because it regrows after grazing, unlike a lot of annual grains that get eaten to the dirt and don't come back. Oregon State University Extension's forage guide on white clover notes it commonly tests in the 25 to 30 percent crude protein range in vegetative stages, which lines up with why deer key on it so hard in spring (see Oregon State University Extension, "White Clover" forage fact sheet). The catch: clover needs decent soil pH (most extension guides recommend 6.0 to 6.5) and full or near-full sun to persist for multiple years. Plant it in heavy shade or acidic, unlimed dirt and it'll thin out fast no matter whose bag it came from. A soil test through your county extension office or a private ag lab is the only way to know if you need lime before you plant, and your lab's specific lime and fertilizer recommendation for your field should always override generic bag instructions, since soil chemistry varies field to field even on the same farm.

Do deer eat sorghum

Yes, deer eat grain sorghum, both the standing grain heads in fall and winter and the green forage earlier in the season, though it's generally a secondary choice behind clover, soybeans, and standing corn where those are available. Sorghum (milo) shows up in deer diet studies mostly as a fall and winter food source once the seed heads mature and other preferred forages go dormant or get buried under snow. Sorghum has a real practical advantage on food plot ground: it tolerates heat and drought a lot better than corn, and it's cheaper per acre in a lot of regions. Some plotters use grain sorghum as a corn substitute on droughty, sandy ground where corn struggles, specifically for that late-season standing grain effect. It's not usually anyone's top preference forage in a preference ranking study, but as a fallback that holds up through a dry summer and still puts grain on the ground come December, it earns a place in a rotation, especially mixed with something like cowpeas or soybeans for a summer diet with more protein up front.

Do deer like clover more than other forages, and what are deer's favorite foods overall

White/red clover	25-30%	Spring through fall	Yes, for years if maintained
Brassicas (turnip, rape, kale)	15-25% (leaves), high sugar in bulbs after frost	Late fall, winter	No, annual
Soybeans (forage type)	20-30%	Summer (leaves), fall (pods/beans)	Limited, browse pressure can kill young plants
Oats	12-20%	Fall through early winter	No, annual
Grain sorghum	Lower protein, high carb/energy	Fall, winter (grain)	No, annual	Protein and season numbers are general ranges compiled from extension forage guides and vary with plant maturity, soil fertility, and weather; treat them as a planning reference, not lab-certified values for your specific field.

There's no single "favorite food" for whitetail deer nationally, because deer preference shifts by region, season, and what's locally available, but research does show consistent patterns. Deer diet and preference studies repeatedly rank clover, soybeans (both forage and standing bean pods), and certain brassicas among the highest-preference planted forages, alongside native browse like honeysuckle, greenbrier, and acorns where they're abundant. Here's the honest complication: acorns often beat every food plot forage a hunter can plant, when they're falling. In a good mast year, deer will walk past a lush clover plot to hammer a white oak flat, because acorns pack more fat and carbohydrate density than almost anything else in the woods that time of year. That's not a food plot failure, it's just deer being efficient. A smart plot plan accounts for mast cycles rather than assuming the plot alone controls deer movement every single week of the season. Below is a rough comparison of how commonly planted forages stack up on the traits that actually matter for planning: | Forage | Crude protein (approx.) | Season of peak use | Regrows after grazing |

Do deer like honey (and does a food plot need honey or sugar additives)

No, deer don't seek out honey in the wild, and there's no credible wildlife research suggesting bees' honey is a meaningful deer food source or attractant. This question usually comes from confusion with commercial "honey hole" branding or scent/mineral products that use molasses, sugar, or similar sweeteners as an additive, which is a different thing entirely. What deer are genuinely drawn to is sugar content in plants themselves, which is real and well documented. Brassicas like turnips and kale get noticeably sweeter after a hard frost because the plant converts starches to sugars as a cold-tolerance mechanism, which is exactly why brassica plots often get ignored in October and then hammered in December once several frosts have hit. That's a plant physiology response, not a honey or sugar additive doing the work. If you see a mineral or attractant product marketed with added sugar or molasses, understand you're buying a scent and taste additive, not a forage, and check your state's baiting and feeding regulations before using any granular or liquid attractant near a hunting stand, since many states classify those the same as bait piles regardless of the ingredient list.

When to plant food plots for deer

Timing splits into two seasons everywhere in whitetail range: a spring/summer planting window for perennials and warm-season annuals, and a late-summer/fall window for cool-season annuals meant to peak during hunting season. The exact calendar dates shift by 4 to 8 weeks moving from the Deep South to the upper Midwest and Northeast, so the right question isn't "what month" but "how many weeks before my first frost or before my growing season starts." For spring plantings (clover, chicory, soybeans, cowpeas, most warm-season blends), the rule extension agronomists use is to plant after your last expected frost date and once soil temperatures hit at least 50 to 60°F for warm-season legumes, later for soybeans which want soil closer to 60°F+. Check your local NOAA/NWS climate normals or your land-grant extension's frost date tables for your county specifically, since "last frost" varies by hundreds of miles across a single state's borders in mountainous or coastal-influenced regions. For fall plantings (brassicas, oats, wheat, rye, cereal blends), the standard guidance from extension forage programs is to plant roughly 60 to 90 days before your first killing frost for brassicas (they need that runway to bulb up and reach peak sugar content), and roughly 45 to 60 days before first frost for oats and cereal grains, which grow faster but also winterkill sooner in northern zones. Planting too early in fall risks the plot maturing and getting grazed down before hunting season even starts; planting too late in northern states risks a hard freeze killing seedlings before they establish. A deer food plots calendar broken out by USDA plant hardiness zone is the fastest way to get a real date range for your specific location rather than a national average that's wrong for half the readers using it.

When to plant turnips for deer

Plant turnips for deer 70 to 90 days before your area's first hard frost, which in most of the whitetail's range lands somewhere between mid-July and early September depending on latitude and elevation. Turnips are a brassica, and they need that runway of warm-to-cool transitional weather to grow leaf mass and bulb size before frost triggers the sugar conversion that makes them palatable. In the Deep South (zone 8 and warmer), that often means planting turnips in late August through mid-September for a first frost that might not arrive until November or December. In the upper Midwest and Northeast (zone 4 to 5), first frost can hit by mid-September, pushing turnip planting back into mid-to-late July. The University of Tennessee Extension wildlife management publications and similar land-grant guides consistently recommend testing soil pH before brassica planting too, since turnips like a pH close to 6.0 to 6.5 and struggle in strongly acidic soil the same way clover does. One real-world quirk: turnip tops often get eaten hard through fall while the bulbs sit mostly untouched, then deer switch to digging up and eating the bulbs once a few frosts sweeten them, sometimes not until December or January. Don't judge a turnip plot's success in October; give it through the coldest part of winter.

When to plant oats for deer

Plant oats for deer 45 to 60 days before your first expected fall frost, which is a shorter runway than brassicas need because oats germinate fast (often within a week in warm, moist soil) and put on grazable leaf growth quickly. In most of the whitetail's core range that puts oat planting somewhere between late August and mid-September, later in the Deep South, earlier in the northern tier. Oats have a real limitation: they're not very winter-hardy compared to winter wheat or cereal rye. In zones with hard winters, straight oats commonly winterkill after the first sustained hard freeze, meaning the plot's forage window is real but finite, generally strong through late fall and into early winter before the plant dies back. That's actually fine for a hunting-season plot since you mainly need standing forage through archery and firearms season, but if you want something that holds green into late winter or comes back with a spring flush, blend oats with winter wheat, cereal rye, or clover rather than planting oats alone. Extension forage variety trial data, like Kentucky's forage variety testing program, backs up oats' fast germination and lower cold tolerance relative to wheat and rye, which is the agronomic reason a lot of commercial fall blends mix oats with a cereal grain rather than selling straight oat seed.

Choosing the right blend for your soil and shade situation

The single biggest driver of food plot failure isn't the brand of seed, it's planting the wrong forage for your soil pH, drainage, and available sunlight. Clover and brassicas both want at or near neutral pH and close to full sun; put either one in heavy shade or unlimed acidic dirt and no seed blend, branded or generic, will save the plot. A basic soil test (available through most county extension offices for somewhere around $10 to $20, sometimes free through state programs) tells you your current pH and phosphorus/potassium levels, and gives you a specific lime and fertilizer recommendation for your soil, not a generic bag rate. That test result is the actual authority on what your field needs; a seed bag's fertilizer suggestion is written for an average soil that may not be your soil at all. If your test comes back at pH 5.2, no clover blend is going to thrive until you get lime down and give it time to react, generally several months to a full year depending on how much you need and how it's incorporated. Shade matters just as much. Full-sun perennials like clover thin out fast under a closed canopy. If you're plotting a shaded logging trail or a timber opening, look at shade-tolerant options like certain clover blends bred for partial shade, or switch to a woodland-appropriate mix rather than fighting the site with a full-sun product. This is where a written, soil-specific plan earns its cost. A $99 Whitetail Institute Custom Food Plot Plan, built from your soil test and property details, gives you species and rate recommendations matched to your actual dirt instead of a one-size-fits-all bag rate; you can start one at plotseason.com/plot-plan-builder. But whatever plan or blend you use, treat your soil lab's lime and fertilizer numbers as the final word for your field, since no plan written before your test results can know your exact pH and nutrient levels.

Straight seed vs. branded blends: what's actually worth the money

Branded blends like Imperial Whitetail Clover cost more per pound than buying a named clover variety directly from an agricultural seed dealer, often by a meaningful margin. What you're paying for is convenience: a pre-mixed ratio of varieties the company has tested for deer preference and regional performance, sold in a bag sized for typical plot acreage, with basic planting instructions included. What you're not getting, in most cases, is full disclosure of exact varieties or percentages, since these are proprietary blends. If you're comfortable researching clover varieties yourself (Durana and Osceola Ladino are two well-documented white clover varieties commonly recommended by extension programs for deer plots), buying straight seed from a farm co-op or ag seed dealer, then doing your own inoculant and fertilizer application, usually costs less per planted acre. Neither route is a mistake. Time-strapped landowners with one plot and no interest in variety research reasonably pay the premium for a tested blend and clear instructions. Landowners managing multiple plots across different soil types often save real money mixing their own straight-seed blends once they understand their soil test results. Either way, compare a few domain food plot seed options against branded blends before buying in bulk, since price per planted acre, not price per bag, is the number that actually matters.

Building a fall-to-spring planting calendar for your zone

Deep South (zone 8-9)	Late Aug - mid Sept	Sept - early Oct	March - April
Mid-South/Transition (zone 6-7)	Mid Aug - early Sept	Late Aug - mid Sept	April - May
Upper Midwest/Northeast (zone 4-5)	Late July - mid Aug	Mid Aug - early Sept	May - early June	Treat this table as a starting point, then confirm exact dates against your specific county's extension frost data, since elevation, proximity to large water bodies, and even north- vs. south-facing slopes shift local frost timing by weeks in some areas.

A practical planting calendar works backward from your area's average first fall frost date and last spring frost date, both of which you can pull from your state climatologist's office or the NOAA Climate Data Online frost/freeze tables. Once you have those two dates, the math is simple. For a fall brassica plot, count back 70 to 90 days from first frost. For fall oats or cereal grain, count back 45 to 60 days. For spring clover, soybeans, or warm-season blends, plant after your last frost date once soil has warmed, generally late April through May in the mid-South and Midwest, into June in the far north. A rough national reference, understanding real variation exists within every zone listed: | Region (rough) | Fall brassica planting | Fall oat/cereal planting | Spring clover/soybean planting |

Frequently asked questions

Do deer eat sorghum?

Yes. Deer eat grain sorghum both as green forage and as mature grain heads in fall and winter, though it usually ranks below clover, soybeans, and standing corn in preference studies. It's valued mainly as a drought-tolerant, lower-cost standing grain option for late-season plots.

Do deer eat clover?

Yes, clover is one of the most consistently preferred food plot forages for whitetail deer, especially white and red clover in spring and summer growth stages. It runs 25 to 30 percent crude protein in vegetative growth and regrows after grazing if soil pH and sunlight are adequate.

When should I plant deer food plots?

It depends on the forage: spring for clover, soybeans, and warm-season annuals (after last frost, soil above 50-60°F); 70 to 90 days before first fall frost for brassicas; 45 to 60 days before first fall frost for oats and cereal grains. Exact dates shift by 4 to 8 weeks across zones.

Do deer like clover more than other food plot options?

Deer show strong, well-documented preference for clover in university deer diet studies, often ranking it alongside soybeans as a top choice. That said, natural mast like acorns can outcompete any planted forage in a heavy mast year, so clover preference isn't absolute or constant across seasons.

When should I plant oats for deer?

Plant oats 45 to 60 days before your area's first expected fall frost, roughly late August to mid-September in most whitetail range, earlier in northern zones. Oats germinate fast but winterkill easily, so many hunters blend them with wheat or rye for longer-lasting fall forage.

When should I plant turnips for deer food plots?

Plant turnips 70 to 90 days before your area's first hard frost, typically mid-July through early September depending on latitude. Deer often ignore turnip tops early and bulbs until several hard frosts sweeten them through starch-to-sugar conversion, so the plot may not get hit hard until December or January.

What is a food plot?

A food plot is a planted area, typically a quarter acre to a few acres, seeded with forage blends chosen for wildlife palatability rather than commercial harvest yield. It's used to supplement natural browse, hold deer on a property, and in smaller "kill plot" form, draw deer into bow or gun range near a stand.

What are deer's favorite foods?

There's no single universal favorite; preference shifts by region and season. Research consistently ranks clover, soybeans, and certain brassicas among top planted forages, while acorns and other natural mast often beat any food plot option when they're actively dropping in fall.

Do deer like honey?

No. Deer aren't drawn to honey itself; there's no wildlife research supporting it as a meaningful attractant. Confusion usually comes from marketing names or sugar/molasses additives in mineral products, which is a different mechanism than actual honey and still subject to state baiting rules.

Is Whitetail Institute food plot seed worth the extra cost over generic seed?

It depends on your priorities. You're paying more per pound for a tested, pre-mixed blend and simple instructions, which saves research time. If you're willing to study clover varieties and do your own blending, straight seed from an ag dealer often costs less per planted acre for the same result.

How do I know if my soil needs lime before planting a food plot?

Get a soil test through your county extension office or a private ag lab, generally $10-$20. It reports your current pH and the specific lime rate needed to reach your target crop's ideal range, commonly 6.0-6.5 for clover and brassicas. Your lab's recommendation should override generic bag or blend instructions.

Can I legally use a food plot to hunt over, or does that count as baiting?

Planted food plots are legal everywhere as a standard land management and hunting practice, but rules on supplemental feed, mineral stations, and unharvested standing crops used with added feed vary sharply by state, especially where chronic wasting disease is a concern. Check your state wildlife agency's specific baiting and feeding regulations before combining a plot with any feeder or attractant.

Sources

1. Pennsylvania Game Commission, Chronic Wasting Disease and feeding regulations: State agencies regulate baiting/feeding separately from planted crops, and rules vary by state, especially for CWD concerns.
2. Oregon State University Extension, "White Clover" Pacific Northwest forage species fact sheet: White clover commonly tests in the 25 to 30 percent crude protein range in vegetative growth stages, supporting its high preference and nutritional value for deer.
3. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals: First and last frost date data used to build a region-specific planting calendar for food plots.
4. University of Georgia Extension: Best practices for establishing and timing food plots including cool-season and warm-season species like clover and sorghum
5. USDA Forest Service Fire Effects Information System: White-tailed deer forage preferences and diet composition data