P4118

Comparing Conventional and Regenerative Approaches to Wildlife Food Plots

Wildlife food plots are used by hunters and land managers to attract wildlife for viewing or harvest and to improve nutrition for focal wildlife species. Food plots have traditionally been managed with “conventional” techniques borrowed from production agriculture that rely heavily on synthetic inputs. In recent decades, no-till techniques have gained popularity because they can reduce equipment requirements, tractor time, erosion potential, and synthetic inputs, while improving soil moisture retention and plant establishment rates.

Interest in “regenerative” techniques, with a focus on improving soil health, is growing. Regardless of where on the spectrum between conventional and regenerative management a food plot falls, the tools and techniques required to implement each management system will have cascading impacts on soil fertility, soil health, food plot productivity, cost-effectiveness, wildlife attraction, and overall wildlife benefit.

Soil fertility is the soil’s ability to cycle and supply nutrients to support plant growth. Soil fertility exists on a continuum, where nutrient availability ranges from limited to abundant and freely available to plants. Different crops require varying levels of soil fertility for optimal growth, so producers spend considerable time and money on soil amendments to match the nutrient profile in the soil with the nutrient requirements of the crop. Plants grown in soils with optimal fertility typically produce more biomass and have better seed and fruit development, grazing tolerance, and weed suppression. Herbicide efficacy also improves with soil and plant fertility.

Soil health encompasses the physical, chemical, and biological components of soil, whereas soil fertility primarily relates to soil chemistry. Soil physical attributes relate to soil particle size and arrangement. Soil particles can be small (clay), medium (silt), or large (sand), and arrangement of particles to one another influences water infiltration, plant rooting depth, and microbial activity. Soil chemistry includes the macronutrient (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, etc.) and micronutrient (boron, copper, manganese, etc.) content of the soil, as well as the soil’s capacity to release nutrients for plant growth. Soil biology includes bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and other microbes that reside on and around soil aggregates. Microbes perform various and complex roles for soil and plants by cycling nutrients, building organic matter, helping plants access otherwise inaccessible nutrients, suppressing diseases and pests, and promoting plant drought tolerance.

There are several techniques to improve soil fertility and health, achieve greater forage production, and increase attractiveness to wildlife. The conventional approach relies heavily on synthetic inputs, including soil amendments and herbicides, to promote maximum plant growth and suppress weeds. Conventional management often includes tillage to create a fine seedbed and an ideal rooting environment. Conventional food plots typically include low-diversity seed blends to maximize forage production and limit competition among planted species. The regenerative approach focuses on soil health and often excludes synthetic inputs and tillage, relying on high-diversity seed blends and robust populations of soil microbes to cycle nutrients and sustain food plot performance.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to food plot management, so decisions on how to plant and manage food plots should be driven by objectives, opportunity, resources, and limitations. Here, we compare the tools, techniques, and considerations for establishing and managing conventional and regenerative wildlife food plots.

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Publication 4118 (POD-08-25)

By Luke Resop, Graduate Research Assistant, Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture; Bronson Strickland, PhD, Extension Professor, Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture; Vaughn Reed, PhD, Assistant Professor, Plant and Soil Sciences; Shankar Ganapathi Shanmugam, PhD, Assistant Research Professor, Institute for Genomics, Biocomputing, and Biotechnology; and Craig Harper, PhD, Professor, School of Natural Resources, University of Tennessee.