The way that I think many people are perceiving the issue is as if the Midwest has a higher level of soil nutrients that are just being channeled through any and every plant that the deer consume and which plants it may be doesn’t really matter……I don’t think that’s the case though…….The difference is occurring because the better soil is able to support a higher order of plant species in greater abundance…..Its growing more plant species that have higher nutritional values and in greater numbers.

Also, something that really should be recognized is that “soil fertility” isnt something that’s just fixed or static. There’s a portion of it in the base soil type that is fixed……but then there’s the other half of soil fertility that’s in how we manage the organic matter portion of the equation…..That impacts plant specie composition just as much as the base….if not more…….Decrease the OM% in the soil and you decrease your fertility and your “potential”……especially in poorer soils…..For example, when I improved the soil fertility of my test field over time, it went from growing crabgrass and spurge nettle to growing species like teaweed…which has a nutritional profile nearly equal to soybeans. Have the land produce mass amounts of plant species like teaweed or soybeans over the course of generations and you grow big deer.