Important Considerations for Quality Food Plot Management Programs courtesy of Wildlife Trends It is late September and rain and deer season (depending on which state you hunt in) are in the forecast. The time to plant has finally arrived!! You had your food plots limed the previous spring to allow adequate time to raise the soil pH for productive plots in the fall. Countless hours have been spe... read more...

Courtesy of Wildlife Trends It is summer again. It is hot and dry and most ponds are, to one degree or another, going down. Unfortunately, it looks like we are going into yet another drought summer. It’s time to think about options for aerating your pond or otherwise making it less likely that you suffer a fish kill. First, we must define some terms so we all understand what we, or I, mea... read more...

By Dave Edwards courtesy of Wildlife Trends   Introduction Properly managed food plots can significantly benefit a deer herd and play a vital role in the success of your deer management program. However, maintaining a desirable deer density in balance with the existing habitat is the single most important management practice to promote a healthy, vigorous deer herd. Because deer tend to conce... read more...

By G. Ryan Shurette courtesy of Wildlife Trends As a young boy I was raised in the backwoods of Alabama, and like many of you I remember walking through open bluestem meadows, my dad nudging me up on a trembling pointer, with white knuckles gripping my .410, anticipating the jolting moment of the covey rise. When it finally happened we usually knocked down a couple, although not many fell as a re... read more...

By Houston Havens, Waterfowl Biologist Published with Permission Have you ever had good intentions that just never seemed to be put into action? This is too often the case in waterfowl habitat management. Other activities usually take up much of our time during the spring and summer seasons, and the best intentions of planning ahead for duck season can be easily forgotten. The good news is, it is ... read more...

On October 29th I attended a program on wild hog management sponsored by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Mississippi State University Extension Service. Here’s the situation: the reproductive rate of hogs is astonishing.  According to the experts, you have to kill 80% of the population annually to maintain your current numbers. For those of you who love numbers: St... read more...

During the early 1900s, the wood duck was threatened with extinction due to unregulated harvest and habitat loss. Through conservation efforts, research, and the passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, the wood duck now thrives in 42 states and five Canadian provinces. Many consider the wood duck the most beautiful and colorful bird in the world. The male has a purple and green crested h... read more...

Weird stuff happens, everywhere -- deer antlers are no exception. Examples may include single, broken, deformed, or malformed-antlered deer. Bucks exhibiting all of the aforementioned characteristics will be seen by hunters this deer season. Most of these deer, if legal, will be harvested forthright. A few of these "weird-antlered" bucks will leave hunters who are actively involved in de... read more...

"Is it genetics or is it nutrition?" For many years, this question has been asked of biologists concerning regional differences in white-tailed deer antler size. We know that body mass and Boone and Crockett scores vary among regions of the state. For example, Boone and Crockett scores differ by about 20 inches between the Delta and Lower Coastal Plain soil regions. We also know that bot... read more...

By Chris McDonald, Biologist Used with Permission Our technical staff receives many requests from hunters wanting information on how to manage deer on the property they hunt. Many of these requests come after deer season has begun, usually because hunters are not seeing or harvesting "big bucks." Many hunters want to know during the middle of the current deer season what they can do to m... read more...

By Larry Castle, Chief of Wildlife Used with Permission Most serious deer enthusiasts have heard of the nutritional benefits deer receive as a result of alfalfa utilization in the northern and mid-western states. The quality of alfalfa hay is unparalleled. It is hands-down the highest quality, highest yielding, perennial legume grown in America. Alfalfa varieties are available today that perform w... read more...