Lots of deer feeding happens.
I remember posts saying that introducing corn AFTER
the deer had switched to browse was unhealthy to the deer.
I do not remember proof, but it was an eye opener.
Some areas have standing corn year round while others have none.

Saw a really skinny doe yesterday. Fawn drop time?

I let the hot does bait the bucks in when I'm not tracking a buck on snow.

Dropping bait here is illegal

It can be grown

I agree with most of what you have posted. However, your first sentence is not correct. Baiting is illegal only in the Lower Peninsula.

The upper peninsula is still open to baiting?

Playing Devils advocate here, but baiting has saved more deer, especially young bucks, than it’s killed. There was a time when it was a “brown it’s down” mentality. Now it’s not uncommon to see 15-30 deer per sit. Let the rut kick in and you’re seeing more bucks than does. We supplemental feed year round. Yes, we like big antlers. Yes, we manage our deer and even turkey populations. Yes we kill our limits (10) of does every year. Some years we even bring in hunters to shoot does. In my opinion the most stupid animal in the woods is a 3 year old or younger buck.
Not sure how it is in other parts of the country, but a lot of times corn will rot before it’s eaten when natural browse and mast is abundant. Most down here are feeding protein most of the year anyways. Not only does it help with antler growth, but it also ensures healthy fawns and recovery for the does after giving birth. What we’ve also noticed with protein and a doe management program that our deer weights have increased. Most 3 year old does or older will weigh over 150#. Most bucks that age are at or over the 200# weight.

NC has a pretty diverse environment. On the coastal plain, it's mainly pine and scrub so thick that an armadillo couldn't get through it. There is very little natural mast and browse is literally EVERYWHERE as is cover. Deer rarely use "trails" in this area they tend to wander in broad circles over a period of 4-7 days and rarely use the same path very often unless passing through a pinch point or crossing a ditch. It can be literally impossible to see a deer 25 feet away in some places. Baiting helps pull them out in to the open where they can at least be "seen." Keep in mind baiting is only allowed on private land. Average population is around 20 deer to the sq mile if you can see them.

The Piedmont in the middle of the state is a mix of deciduous and pine and the underbrush is considerably less dense. Mast crop is much greater and the mineral content in the soil is much greater. Baiting is still allowed, but used far less here.

Mountains have a lower deer population, and shorter deer seasons. Tons of mast and fairly open understory outside the stands or laurel. Baiting is still legal on private land, but again used far less due to the amount of acorns and other mast available.

So, a lot of you can't use bait, but you also have extremely open areas to hunt and must higher concentrations of mast crop. With all that said, Charles, I wouldn't participate in a "club baiting" I prefer to hunt my own areas, move as needed and only bait specific areas to draw them out of cover or into a small opening. When you have "club" baiting and "common stands" you start running into issues. But to answer the question, 1k in corn plus lease fees are a little much for my tastes and income.

Not around here, cause more kids equals more welfare money.

There is alot of maracky posted.

If you don't bait here you will not see a deer unless maybe by accident. If there's not constant feed on the ground from the end of August until you are hunting it you have very little chance at seeing any deer period much less big deer due to every property around yours all having heavy bait on them some of which run 365 days a year. Growing up when baiting was only legal for archery season we could just sit the edges of a Wheatfield with a rifle and wait for the deer to pour out on it in the evening like grocery shopping. That doesn't happen anymore because they are all out of sight on a deer feeder somewhere so it better be yours if you want to kill something. I know individual hunters that hunt 160 acres and feed $500 worth of corn a month.

Original Post

We do the food plot thing to keep the does happy. Happy does happy bucks.
We feed just about year around with our food plots. So we are really helping the deer In our area.

It all helps the deer populations.

Put it in a feeder that has a timer . It cuts down on waste and saves tons of money. The deer will get used to when the feeder goes off. I have on PVC pipe feeder that holds 100 lbs. I bait starting in sept just to see the bucks on the property. I don't spend anything like 1,000. At 15 bucks a hundred that's 128 50 lb bags. THATS a lot of corn. More like 1,000 lbs Is closer to normal than 1,000 dollars per hunter. I would think....

In Mo it's illegal to hunt over bait, or even the spot it was located on for at least 10 days after the bait is all gone.

If the bait is Spread out so the Animals forage ...not in piles to congregate nose to nose. I'd Agree

but you can hunt over a food plot or a freshly bushhogged/combined field. It's really no better.

Clover field,apple orchard,oak trees,beach nut trees,etc.....the list goes on and on.All baiting.

All true don't forget the seasons starting in Sept thru Jan. crop permits and disease permits and usda shooters whom have found placing corn 2 weeks before a shoot enhances their success Add neighbors that tell you what to do and shoot on your own property Has taken most of the fun out of hunting

I Don't believe that for 1 minute

Growing an attractant is a long term food source. And provides for the herd.