Summary - 2022 Food Plot Seed Review and Ranking
2021 was my second year owning my Ohio ground and my results were even better than last year. I identified 53 rack bucks with 5 mature shooters (4+ years old) and a conservative estimate of 300 deer visiting my 130 acres during the winter. I saw more bucks in one week at my property in Ohio than I did after ten years on my New York property which is 3x larger.
My plots came up exceptionally well again this year including my row crops, my brassicas and my perennials. All plots except one were thriving. The one exception was my Durana plot which continued the weak results from last year.
My first season I made a bunch of mistakes - with my plot designs and my hunting strategy. I learned from those mistakes and in 2021 I got it right.
Hunting season and the rut was amazing. I had several outstanding bucks visiting my property including two nontypicals and several mature typicals. The previous year I had passed up a 125" 8 that I estimated to be 4.5. This year he grew into a 140 eight point and I put him on the list. On 11/12 he walked in front of my stand at 25 yards and I took my first buck off my property. He grossed 138 and netted 136. I then returned to the property for the late season in February. I have to say that in 40 years of hunting I have never seen so many deer on one parcel. Our standing beans were drawing 300 deer every afternoon (see photo below) and I filled both my antlerless tags in two hunts.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I would once again rate this season a 10. Some of this can be attributed to Ohio regulations, and some of this is attributed to the plot and improvements to the property.
Plot Ranking
Plot rankings are based on a combination of growth, nutrition and attraction. This subjective scoring is based on trail camera photos, actual sightings, and plot utilization.
