July 25th, 2012
Alfalfa...a great source of income and food source for whitetails, IF...it can be harvested for hay! It's rare to drive by a field of alfalfa in the evening and not see plenty of whitetails out feeding in it, but that often leads people to falsely believe that "alfalfa" itself has some powerful attractiveness not found in other crops. It is true that young alfalfa is very palatable and high in crude protein but...the reason deer visit it with predictable regularity is because it is in most of the country, a nearly year around food source. From very early spring until (depending on dormancy rating) well into January, it is a dependable food source and deer become adapted to feeding in it. This same phenomenon can be seen/accomplished with any combination of food sources that are planted in ONE feeding area.
So while alfalfa has many wonderful attributes and should be considered where the landowner can rent the field out for hay...it is not better nor worse then crops like clover in terms of attractiveness and should NOT be considered if you can not hay the field.
Unlike clover, alfalfa can not be "clipped"...it must be mowed close and the hay removed to encourage lush new growth from the crown and the following are examples, including where alfalfa and clover where planted together...
This is a third cutting of alfalfa coming up in a hay field that s by the way...adjacent to a feeding area where we have year around food sources (white clover/brassicas/rye mix) so deer do not spend a great deal of time in feeding in it as they adapted to feeding in our safe, hidden feeding area.
After haying the resulting re-growth is what whitetails find attractive...
As alfalfa matures the stems become hard and unpalatable, especially when cut and this is why "clipping" above the ground is counter productive
Nothing about these hard stems are attractive to deer so it is imperative when managing alfalfa that we plan to have it cut and baled
Clover is much much shorter and does not get "hard/dry" stems when clipped and stays palatable even without clipping...alfalfa is bred to produce tons of forage each summer so mowing it without removing it via baling or haylage will leave a thick mat of hay that will smother the alfalfa itself....this is just an example where the baler missed a small amount of hay...
To often landowners compare what they see on other farms with their own and one quite frankly has NOTHING to do with the other. Each has very different cover and is unique in and of itself, so the only way we can compare things is to have apples to apples comparisons on our own farms.
the following is a great example where a landowner planted alfalfa and white ladino clover together...note the dramatic difference in height!
Because this is a food plot...it leaves them with an impossible situation as the alfalfa becomes tall and matures...to heavy and thick to mow without smothering both alfalfa and clover
Unless deer have virtually nothing left to eat they become disinterested when the alfalfa matures
and alfalfa is bred to grow quickly and flower so it becomes an impossible task to keep ahead of it without "haying" it
In this case the ladino clover has started to go to seed and it would be beneficial if it could be clipped...but the alfalfa makes it impossible
but here is the most interesting and crucial part of what I have to share....alfalfa and clover together and deer are choosing the clovers over the alfalfa, in part of course because the alfalfa has matured.
This is what I have found in repeated comparisons on multiple farms and feeding areas....alfalfa does NOT have any magical power or draw over white clover or any other food sources. It is a great food source when it can be managed as a hay crop but it is not better or worse in terms of attractability then other crops especially clover.
Now...if you have an established field of alfalfa where deer have been feeding for a number of years, don't expect them to change their habits over night and start flocking to a clover plot (for example). Whitetails are habitual creatures and opportunistic feeders...in other words they become adapted to finding feed somewhere close to their bedding area and they don't "shop around" so it can take time to begin to change/break old habits.
This is why it is imperative that we plant year around food sources in our feeding areas, it becomes in a sense much like an alfalfa field in that is has feed in it year around....they adapt to always, always finding food there and will eventually ignore other food sources. Of course you must have outstanding cover adjacent to your feeding area and the FA should be hidden, safe and secure.
You can use any combination of food sources that fit your needs, budget and area including corn, soybeans and alfalfa on a working farm for instance but for most of us the following combination of crops will insure that deer never, ever have to leave to find feed and it is economical and easy to grow for even those with minimal equipment and space....
Plant ALL in one plot in strips or blocks
Alice, KopuII, Durana (or comparable) white clovers 10% of plot...plant with the rye mix below and soil test for needed P&K/lime requirements. Lacking a soil test I use 400#'s of 6-28-28 and 500#'s of pel lime in my area.
Brassicas in 45% of plot
Purple Top Turnips 3#
Dwarf Essex Rape 2#
GroundHog Forage radish 5#
Plant in mid to late July in most Midwest states, or 60-90 days before your first killing frost. Use 200#'s of 46-0-0 urea, 400#'s of 6-28-28 (or comparable such as 400#'s triple 19 ) Add lime per soil test. Follow the dead brassicas with 50#'s oats and 15-20#'s berseem and/or crimson clover in mid spring and no fertilizer is necessary at that time.
Cereal Grain combo in 45% of plot
Winter rye 50-80#'s per acre (56#'s = a bushel)
Spring oats 80-120#'s per acre (32#'s = a bushel)
Austrian Winter Peas or 4010/6040 Forage peas 20-80#'s per acre
Red Clover 8-12#'s per acre or white clover at 6#'s per acre
Groundhog Forage Radish 5#'s per acre
Plant in late August to early September, if following well fertilized brassicas only 100-200#'s of urea may be needed but first time plantings may need to be fertilized and limed as the noted for the brassicas.
Rotate the brassicas and rye combo each year
