I've been food plotting for 25 years. Several clover fields among other things. What can I plant that will be decent forage in winter? Clover goes dormant and leaver little food. Hasn't been mowed since late august.

Turnips, radishes and sugar beets.

Are you just feeding or hunting over it? If you're just feeding Alfalfa works pretty well, you can buy 900 lb bales of it pretty cheap and throw out a handful of flakes

Can’t speak for what kinda weather y’all see in Ohio, but I’m a real big fan of brassicas. Turnips and tillage radish as already mentioned. Back seed with cereal rye.

I planted brassicas here one year. They grew great and the deer avoided them like poison. I've read it takes a while for deer to discover them but they didn't all winter here in southwest Va. Planted turnips and radishes too and they went untouched. Don't know what to do because I have the same problem with clover going dormant in the fall.

This

The deer ignored my raddishes the first year. They browsed some this year, which is the second year I've planted.

I’ve heard of this, but never experienced it. I have 5 acres over 6 plots on 170 acres and they’re basically eaten to the ground around the first of January. Other than cereal ryes and wheat, I don’t know of anything that makes it much past the first few frosts.

You can see how depleted the plot is, but there getting every last scrap.

I have about 5 acres of a mix including red clover, rape, daikon radishes, oats, winter peas, brassicas and triticale. Planted the same mix last year. Last year they ate the radishes but theres big ones busting out of the ground all over this year and i havent seen a bite mark in any.

Beets n Greens from Whitetail Institute is a good blend. Colder it gets the more they hammer it. Could always mix your own

Winter peas and forage oats mixed together is great

I have been planting food plots since 1978.

Purple top turnips are great. Get a soil test and follow recommendations. The deer eat some tops in the fall. They eat most tops in November and December. They eat the bulbs all winter. Winter rye, winter oats, and winter peas are also good.

We planted some winter wheat this year that has preformed well for the rocky soil we put it in. We can’t get the expensive small bag stuff to do much. We added lime and fertilizer as we go clover does ok but they are fairly newer plots.

Yea, that is exactly my experience with them too. Maybe it's a VA thing. Too much natural food to bother with them.

Messed with food plots quite a bit and settled on 2 different ones. Giant red clover was great once the snow hit the ground. they looked like someone ran a bulldozer threw them with the deer pawing the snow away. On a decent worked up ground I just broadcasted the seed then cultipacked in. once it's growing wait till the red seed heads turn brown then brush hog them down. Doing that busts the seed heads up which in turn re seeds the food plot. Just do that once a year. Your plot just keeps getting thicker and thicker. The deer really hit it. The next isn't really a hunting type food plot except around the edges. The deer sure do eat it plus they will bed in it. It is sort of a PIA but worth it. On a good seed bed broadcast or drill in roundup ready soybeans then cultipack them in. Then go in at the same time and plant roundup ready corn. When is growing the deer will wipe out the beans along the field edges but that's too be expected. When the corns around 18 to 24 inches high spray the field. You will drive over some beans but there's still plenty out there. Come the on set of real winter I found that using a 4 wheeler and knocking down, not driving on them 3 or 4 rows of corn helped the deer and turkeys. I don't know exactly why but the deer would eat on the busted down corn over the standing corn. Come spring time I had to brush hog the heck out of all that then plow everything under just too start all over. Like I said, sort of a PIA but for me it was worth it. The deer and turkeys had good food ALL winter. Hope this helps someone. Right now my 2 typing fingers are tired. [ lol ]

I like something called Bison Blend from Merit seed in Berlin Ohio. Those guys will help you out and are very knowledgeable

I live 12 miles from Merit. They know me well