Good soil for deer includes minerals plants might not need.
QUESTION: Here in southwest-central Pennsylvania, we have difficulty growing larger deer. We have been told we have poor soil, but we have farms that grow the food the deer eat year round. I have been planting a food plot for a few years, and the best buck we’ve seen is maybe 125 to 135 inches. Our state has put in place an antler restrictions, and we’re seeing more deer but not any bigger bucks. Any suggestions?
ANSWER: Without more information on local habitat and hunting conditions, it’s difficult to determine why you are not seeing more larger-racked bucks. However, I can offer a few possibilities.
Local soil may be adequate to grow crops but could still be lacking in certain trace minerals important for antler growth. A soil test is a good place to start, followed by adding lime and fertilizer to your food plot in the prescribed amount. However, adding that to a single food plot likely will not be enough to make a noticeable difference, and you might consider providing mineral supplements at feed stations located over a larger area.
Local bucks should have the genetic potential to produce big racks, and be better able to do so with proper nutrition. They then need to reach an age where they can realize that potential. Antler restrictions may help, but you and your neighbors may still need to exercise voluntary restraint, especially on 2- and 3-year-old bucks if you want to improve age structure and trophy potential in the local deer herd.
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