Sure, some people could plant an acre of beans and corn or maybe turnips to attract deer and that would be considered a foodplot, but to put all corn , bean and turnip fields in that category is not right simply because of the INTENT by the planter...

I like this definition wikipedia had for foodplot....


A food plot is a planted area set aside to act as a food source for wildlife. The term was coined by the U.S. hunting and outdoor industries. Food plots generally consist of but are not limited to legumes (clovers, alfalfa, beans, etc.) or forage grasses.

Most products used for food plots are or were derived from agricultural variants of forages. The oldest company to start developing products for food plots is the Whitetail Institute of North America in 1988.

In 2001 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service announced that 8.7 million people across the country maintained some sort of planting for the sole benefit of wildlife. This group of people spent $699 million on these plantings.

Food plots generally differ from a similar planting called re-vegetation. Re-vegetation generally refers to planting naturally growing grasses, legumes, shrubs, and trees. Food plots will provide higher nutritional value plants than what nature has supplied, therefore a higher density and diversity of animals will thrive near a food plot.


IMO, the biggest differences in foodplots and agricultural fields is that one (ag field)is planted and harvested to benefit man and "feeding the wildlife" is simply a nice by-product, where the other (foodplot) is not harvested but planted and left there for the sole benefit of attracting wildlife....Also, as stated in the definition above, most foodplots are planted with plants derived from variant forages and NOT naturally growing vegetation and supply much more nutrition , thus having a much more attractant value for wildlife....Whether you choose to hunt over either or both is of course your choice, but don't mistake one for the other.....or accuse someone that hunts over a bean or corn field of hunting over a foodplot.

Throughout history, man has created things in his progression that has benefitted game. Most game appear to love most of them.

Anyone hunt powerlines or man-made water sources?

Does anyone realize that when you clearcut or even select cut timber, you are benefitting and attracting game to that area....?

How about roadways and any clearing projects......how many deer do you see standing on the side of the road eating vegetation that would not be there if not for the man-made roadway/clearing.

Are any of the above considered foodplots?

Nope.....just like harvested bean fields, corn fields, wheat fields and so forth should not be either.....

I guess that if you wanted to, you could call anything a foodplot....you could pour corn out in a pile and call it a foodplot. You could call a 50 year old orchard a foodplot or simply a fencerow that grows honeysuckle every year a foodplot.
You could plant new grass in your front yard and call it a foodplot, if you wanted to.

The thing is, under the current definition of a foodplot, only variant plants (not natural) planted for the sole purpose of attracting game is considered a food plot.

Sure, some people could plant an acre of beans and corn or maybe turnips to attract deer and that would be considered a foodplot, but to put all corn , bean and turnip fields in that category is not right simply because of the INTENT by the planter...

Just like some cattle farmers feed deer along with their cattle. Is it their intent to feed the deer? probably not, and this is simply another by-product of man's activities....


Confusing, I know......but, hey....aren't most things in today's world abit confusing...lol.

The only confusion is what your creating for yourself.
If man plants it, and it attracts deer on a yearly basis, regardless of whats done with it, why its there, or who put it there, its an attractant. Call it anything you like, but the fact that YOU didnt plant it, doesnt make it any different. Thats sorta like hunting bait and saying you didnt put it out, LMAO tell the Warden that!
My point is, dont sit back and say something is wrong or you dont like it, or you wouldnt do it. When in reality you are all over it, right in the middle doing just that!

That being said, if you are not managing the rest of your acreage through timber harvest, TSI, prescribed fire, discing old fields, etc., you are missing the boat because in most areas, native vegetation is where most of a deer's diet comes from. Food plots (and feeding, for that matter) are just another tool, but an expensive one compared to other forms of habitat management.

I guess if they ever make it legal the feeder sales will go up and the TN Sportman magazine will be full of feeder ads.... Never seen so many crossbow ads in one magazine....