Best time to plant food plots in Arkansas

Last updated 2026-07-26

When should you plant food plots in Arkansas?

Arkansas splits into two planting windows, and which one matters more depends on what you're growing. Fall plots (brassicas, cereal grains, clover, chicory) go in the ground between September 1 and October 15 across most of the state. Spring and summer plots (soybeans, cowpeas, grain sorghum, corn) go in from late April through early July. The state runs from USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 7a in the far north Ozark counties down to 8a in the Delta and south Arkansas. That's a real spread. A grower near Bentonville is working with a first frost date that can land in mid-October, while someone farming the Delta flats near Helena often doesn't see a hard frost until early November. That gap changes your fall planting deadline by two to three weeks. The general rule extension agronomists use: back up 60 to 90 days from your average first frost date for brassicas and clover, and 45 to 60 days for cereal grains like wheat and oats. Arkansas's average first frost ranges from around October 20 in the northern hill country to mid-November in the southern Delta counties, per NOAA climate normals for stations like Fayetteville and El Dorado ^[1]. Don't plant on the calendar date alone. Watch the ten-day forecast. A fall plot that goes into dry dirt just sits there. Wait for a rain event in the forecast, then plant a day or two before it hits if you can, or right after a soaking rain if the window is tight.

When should you plant food plots for deer, generally speaking?

Food plots for deer break into two seasonal categories almost everywhere in the whitetail's range: cool-season plots planted in late summer/early fall, and warm-season plots planted in spring. Arkansas is no exception, it just runs its calendar a few weeks later than states farther north and a few weeks earlier than the Deep South. Cool-season plots (clover, brassicas, wheat, oats, chicory) feed deer from fall through winter and into early spring. They're planted when soil temps are cooling but there's still enough growing season left before frost to establish roots. In Arkansas that's September into mid-October. Warm-season plots (soybeans, cowpeas, sorghum, corn) feed deer in summer when does are lactating and bucks are growing antlers, and the tonnage left standing feeds deer into fall. Those go in after your last frost date, typically late April through June depending on the region. A lot of Arkansas landowners run both. Spring beans for summer nutrition and fall attraction (deer browse the pods hard once they dry down), and a fall blend of brassicas and clover for the late-season draw. If you're only doing one plot, the fall cool-season blend gets more use during actual hunting season, which is why most people prioritize it.

When should you plant oats for deer in Arkansas?

Plant oats in Arkansas between September 1 and October 15, with the earlier half of that window (early to mid-September) preferred in the northern third of the state and the back half (late September to mid-October) fine for the Delta and south Arkansas. Oats germinate fast, usually within 5 to 10 days in warm, moist soil, and can be grazed within 3 to 4 weeks of planting. Oats are a cold-tolerant annual but not as winter-hardy as winter wheat or cereal rye. A hard freeze below the low 20s F can kill oats outright, so in the northern Ozarks they sometimes get knocked out by late December. That's actually fine if your goal is a strong early-fall draw during archery season. If you want plot forage surviving into late winter, blend oats with wheat or rye, since those grasses tolerate temperatures into the single digits and will outlast oats. Seeding rate for oats alone runs 100 to 130 lbs per acre broadcast, per University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension small grain forage guidance ^[2]. Drilled rates can run lower, around 80 to 100 lbs/acre, because you get better seed-to-soil contact. Oats do best with a starter fertilizer based on your soil test results, but as a rough baseline extension guidance for forage oats suggests 40 to 60 lbs of nitrogen per acre at planting with a follow-up application if you're grazing or hunting over it into winter ^[2]. Get an actual soil test before you buy fertilizer. Your lab's recommendation, not a blanket number off the internet, should drive your lime and fertilizer decision.

When should you plant turnips for deer in Arkansas?

Plant turnips in Arkansas between mid-August and mid-September for the biggest bulbs, or up to early October if you just want leafy forage without much bulb development. Turnips need 80 to 90 days to reach full bulb maturity, and they need that time before a hard freeze locks up the ground. The trick with turnips is timing the frost. Deer often ignore turnip tops and bulbs early in fall when acorns and soft mast are still dropping, then hit them hard after the first couple of frosts convert starches to sugars, sweetening the plant. That's why turnip plots planted too late (say, October 20 in north Arkansas) may not bulb up before winter shuts growth down, giving you leaves but no tuber. Seeding rate for turnips alone is light, 4 to 6 lbs per acre broadcast, because the seed is tiny and germination rates are high. Most Arkansas hunters blend turnips into a brassica mix with radish and rape rather than planting a monoculture, which spreads out the maturity window and gives deer more than one texture and sugar profile to work through the winter. Soil pH matters more for brassicas than a lot of people think. Turnips like a pH in the 6.0 to 6.5 range, and extension brassica forage guidance notes yields drop meaningfully in more acidic soils, which is why a fall lime application timed well ahead of planting matters as much as the seeding rate itself. If your soil test comes back at 5.5, lime it well before you plant, not after.

Do deer like clover, and when do you plant it in Arkansas?

Yes. Clover is one of the most consistently preferred food plot forages for whitetails, and research backs that up: whitetail forage studies repeatedly show clover ranking among the top-selected forages when available, largely because of its high crude protein content, often 20 to 30 percent in actively growing clover ^[3]. In Arkansas, plant clover in one of two windows: September 1 to October 15 for a fall seeding (the more common and reliable approach), or late February to early April for a spring frost-seeding, mainly in the northern part of the state where winter dormancy still allows for a spring establishment window. Fall planting is generally preferred because it lets clover establish a root system before summer heat and drought stress hit. Arkansas summers get brutal, upper 90s with high humidity for weeks at a time in the Delta, and a clover stand seeded in spring with a shallow root system can get hammered by July. Clover is a perennial investment. A good stand of ladino or red clover, properly limed and maintained, can produce for 3 to 5 years with annual mowing and a fertilizer touch-up. That's a very different cost structure than replanting brassicas or oats every single year, and it's why a lot of experienced plotters treat clover as their anchor plot and rotate annuals around it. If you're deciding what to plant where, our guide on food plot whitetail strategy breaks down which forages pair well together across a season.

Do deer eat sorghum?

Yes, deer eat grain sorghum, both the standing seed heads in fall and the foliage earlier in the season, though it's generally considered a secondary or supplemental food plot crop rather than a top preference forage like soybeans or clover. Sorghum's real value in a food plot is structure and standing grain into winter, not raw palatability ranking. Grain sorghum (milo) is planted in Arkansas from late April through June once soil temps hit 65 degrees F, similar timing to corn and soybeans. It's drought tolerant, which makes it a solid choice for sandier or lower-fertility ground in the Delta or Ozark foothills where corn might struggle without heavy inputs. One real caution: sorghum, sudangrass, and related species can develop dangerously high levels of prussic acid (cyanide) in young, stressed, or frost-damaged growth. University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension guidance warns against grazing sorghum-family forages that have been stunted by drought or hit by frost until they've dried down or regrown past the danger stage ^[4]. This mostly matters for livestock grazing management, but it's worth knowing if you're managing sorghum plots through a fall freeze. Most Arkansas food plotters use sorghum as a mixed-plot component with soybeans or cowpeas rather than a standalone planting, since the tonnage and cover value complement the higher-protein legumes.

What is a food plot, exactly?

A food plot is a planted area of forage crops, usually somewhere between a quarter acre and several acres, established specifically to attract and feed wildlife, most commonly deer and turkey on hunting land. It's a managed patch of agriculture dropped into a wooded or mixed landscape to supplement natural browse. Food plots serve a few distinct purposes depending on when they're planted and what's growing. Spring/summer plots support lactating does and antler growth during the highest-nutrition-demand months. Fall plots provide a concentrated, attractive food source during hunting season and help deer body condition going into winter. Perennial plots like clover do both, cycling through growth periods most of the year. A food plot is not the same thing as baiting, though the line matters legally and it varies by state. Arkansas law defines baiting deer or elk as placing or scattering shelled, shucked, or unshucked corn, wheat, or other grains, salt, minerals, or other feed to attract game for the purpose of hunting, and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's hunting guidebook lays out where and how supplemental feed and bait restrictions apply, so check the current guidebook before combining supplemental feeding with a food plot setup . A planted, growing crop is generally treated differently than a pile of corn, but rules on this shift year to year and by state, so always confirm current regulations directly with your state wildlife agency before you assume anything is legal. If you're new to the concept and want a rundown of species options before you commit ground and money, deer food plots covers the basics of plot types and layout.

What are deer's favorite foods?

Deer preference shifts by season and region, but food habit studies consistently rank a handful of categories at the top: acorns and other hard mast, soybeans and other legumes, clover, and forbs (broadleaf weeds), with agricultural crops like corn and soybeans ranking high wherever they're available in quantity . Acorns are arguably the single most preferred natural food across the whitetail's range in fall, when available, because of their fat and carbohydrate density heading into winter. That's why food plot activity often drops off hard during a good acorn year, something almost every experienced Arkansas hunter has watched happen in a big red or white oak year. Among planted forages, soybeans and other legumes (cowpeas, clover) rank consistently high because of protein content, while brassicas and cereal grains tend to get more use later in fall and winter, especially after a frost sweetens them. Regional food habit research, including long-standing work compiled by the U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station on whitetail diet composition, shows forb and browse consumption making up a large share of the diet even where food plots and row crops are present, since deer are natural browsers that sample a wide array of plants rather than sticking to one source . A food plot supplements the diet, it doesn't replace natural forage, and land with poor natural browse won't be fixed by a single plot no matter how well it's planted.

Do deer like honey, or is that a myth?

No, deer don't seek out honey in any meaningful, documented way as a food source, and there's no wildlife research supporting honey as a deer attractant. This question shows up online mostly because of confusion with "honey hole" hunting slang or products marketed with honey-based scents, not because deer are out there raiding beehives. Deer are herbivorous browsers built around a diet of plant material processed through a four-chambered rumen system. Honey is a concentrated sugar product from bees, and while deer will occasionally show interest in sugary substances (there's anecdotal footage of deer licking sap or sugary residue), it's not a documented dietary preference and it's not something to plant or spread on your property. If you're looking for a genuine sugar-driven attraction in a food plot, that's actually part of why brassicas and turnips get so much late-season attention: cold weather converts starches in the plant to sugars, and deer key in on that sweetened forage hard after a few good frosts. That's a real, documented physiological response in the plant, unlike the honey question, which doesn't have supporting research behind it.

Arkansas food plot planting calendar by region

North Arkansas (Ozarks)	7a-7b	Sept 1 to Sept 25	Late April to mid-June
Central Arkansas (River Valley)	7b-8a	Sept 5 to Oct 5	Late April to late June
South Arkansas / Delta	8a	Sept 15 to Oct 15	Mid-April to July	Zone data reflects USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map designations for Arkansas. First frost timing pulled from NOAA climate normal ranges for representative stations in each region [1]. Always confirm your specific county's average first and last frost dates through your local extension office before finalizing a planting date, since these are regional averages, not site-specific numbers. A soil test should come before any of this. If you haven't pulled soil samples in the last 2 to 3 years, do it in July or August so results come back in time to lime before your fall planting window. Lime takes months to fully adjust pH, so a test that comes back in September with a lime recommendation is already behind schedule for that season's planting.

Here's a general planting window breakdown by Arkansas region. Treat these as starting points, not guarantees, since local microclimate, elevation, and yearly weather swing these dates by a couple weeks in either direction. | Region | Zone | Fall plot window | Spring/summer plot window |

How do you decide what to plant and when, on your specific property?

Species selection depends on your soil test results, your region's frost dates, how much shade or sun the plot gets, and what you're actually trying to accomplish (early season archery draw, late season browse, or summer nutrition). There's no single best answer for every property in Arkansas, and anyone who tells you there is hasn't managed enough different pieces of ground. A few practical starting questions: What's your plot's sun exposure? Clover and brassicas both want at least 4 to 6 hours of direct sun; a plot tucked in heavy timber shade underperforms no matter what you plant. What's your soil pH? Most food plot species want 6.0 to 7.0, and Arkansas soils, especially in the Ozark uplands, often run acidic and need lime. What's your equipment? A no-till drill opens up small grain and clover options that broadcast-and-cultipack setups handle less consistently. This is genuinely where a lot of first-time plotters waste money, buying a bag of seed because it's the popular bag rather than matching species to their actual dirt and calendar. If you want a starting point built around your specific soil test results, frost dates, and property goals rather than guessing off a bag label, PlotSeason's $99 one-time Custom Food Plot Plan walks through species, timing, and rates for your ground specifically. It's general planning guidance built from your inputs, not a substitute for your soil lab's specific lime and fertilizer recommendations, which should always be the final word on amendments. For a broader rundown of seed options and how they're categorized, food plot seed and deer food plot seed both cover species selection in more depth.

What equipment do you actually need for Arkansas plot timing to work?

Timing only matters if you can get seed in the ground and get a decent kill on competing vegetation first. At minimum you need a way to disturb the soil (disc, tiller, or no-till drill), a way to spread seed (broadcast spreader, drill, or seeder attachment), and a way to firm the seedbed (cultipacker or drag) for small-seeded species like clover and brassicas that need shallow, firm seed-to-soil contact. A lot of Arkansas ground, especially reclaimed pasture or Delta field edges, has heavy weed pressure that needs a burndown herbicide application 2 to 3 weeks before planting, not the day of. If you're planting September 15 and you spray glyphosate on September 14, you haven't given the weeds time to actually die and you've wasted a trip. No-till drills are worth the rental or borrow cost if you're working ground you can't disc, like a hillside or a spot with heavy root mass from old pasture grass. Broadcast-and-cultipack works fine on worked, clean seedbeds and it's what most small-acreage hunters actually use because it doesn't require owning a drill. If you're mapping out your setup before the season starts, deer for food and domain food plot seed both cover equipment matched to different plot sizes and budgets.

Frequently asked questions

When is the best time to plant food plots in Arkansas overall?

For fall plots (clover, brassicas, cereal grains), plant between September 1 and October 15, earlier in north Arkansas and later in the Delta and south Arkansas. For spring/summer plots (soybeans, sorghum, cowpeas), plant late April through July once soil hits 65 degrees F. Arkansas spans USDA zones 7a to 8a, which shifts these dates by two to three weeks region to region.

When should you plant oats for deer in Arkansas?

Plant oats between September 1 and October 15. Oats germinate in 5 to 10 days and can be grazed within 3 to 4 weeks, but they're less winter-hardy than wheat or rye and can die out in a hard freeze below the low 20s F. Blend with wheat or rye if you want forage surviving into late winter.

When should you plant turnips for deer in Arkansas?

Plant turnips mid-August to mid-September for full bulb development, since they need 80 to 90 days to mature before a hard freeze. Planting later, into early October, still produces leafy forage but often skips full bulb formation, especially in north Arkansas where frost arrives sooner.

Do deer eat sorghum?

Yes, deer eat grain sorghum foliage and standing seed heads, though it ranks below soybeans and clover in preference studies. It's mainly valued in food plots for drought tolerance and standing winter cover, usually planted as part of a mix rather than alone, from late April through June.

Do deer like clover?

Yes, clover is consistently one of the most preferred food plot forages for whitetails, largely because of its high crude protein content, often 20 to 30 percent in actively growing stands. In Arkansas, plant clover September 1 to October 15 for fall establishment, or late February to early April for a spring frost-seeding in the northern part of the state.

What is a food plot?

A food plot is a planted area, typically a quarter acre to several acres, established to attract and feed wildlife like deer and turkey on hunting land. It supplements natural browse with a concentrated forage source and is distinct from baiting, though rules on combining feeding and planting vary by state, so check your state wildlife agency's current regulations.

What are deer's favorite foods?

Acorns and other hard mast rank at or near the top wherever available in fall, followed by soybeans and other legumes, clover, and forbs. Among planted crops, protein-rich legumes and clover see the heaviest use in warmer months, while brassicas and cereal grains draw more attention in late fall and winter after frost sweetens them.

Do deer like honey?

No, there's no research supporting honey as a deer attractant or documented dietary item. Deer are browsers built around plant material, and while they occasionally show interest in sugary substances like sap, honey specifically isn't something deer seek out or that should be used in a food plot setup.

When should you plant food plots for deer in general (more than Arkansas)?

Cool-season plots (clover, brassicas, cereal grains) go in 60 to 90 days before your area's average first frost date. Warm-season plots (soybeans, cowpeas, sorghum) go in after your last spring frost, once soil temps hit around 65 degrees F. Exact dates shift by USDA hardiness zone and local frost timing, so check your zone and county extension data.

How late can you plant a fall food plot in Arkansas and still get results?

In most of Arkansas, late September to early October is the practical cutoff for brassicas and clover to establish before growth slows. Cereal grains like wheat and rye are more forgiving and can go in as late as mid-October in south Arkansas. Planting past that risks weak establishment before winter dormancy sets in.

Does Arkansas have a spring frost-seeding window for clover?

Yes, in the northern part of the state a late February to early April frost-seeding into an existing dormant clover stand or bare, worked ground can work, using freeze-thaw cycles to work seed into the soil surface. It's less reliable than fall seeding and mainly used to thicken an existing stand rather than establish a new one.

Do I need a soil test before planting a food plot in Arkansas?

Yes. Pull soil samples in July or August, ahead of fall planting, so lime and fertilizer recommendations come back in time to act on them, since lime takes months to fully adjust soil pH. Your soil test lab's specific recommendations should override any generic fertilizer rate found online.

Sources

1. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals: Average first frost dates for Arkansas stations range from mid-October in the north to mid-November in the south
2. University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension, Small Grains for Forage (FSA2153): Oat and small grain forage seeding rates and nitrogen recommendations
3. University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension, Forage Brassicas (FSA2135): Brassica species prefer soil pH in the 6.0 to 6.5 range and lime is recommended ahead of planting on acidic soils
4. University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension, Prussic Acid Poisoning (FSA3021): Sorghum-family forages can develop dangerous prussic acid levels when stressed, stunted, or frost-damaged
5. USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station, Miller and Marchinton, Quality Whitetails (General Technical Report, food habits chapter): Acorns, legumes, and forbs rank among the most consistently preferred whitetail deer foods across regional studies