This isnt really a criticism as it’s just asking the question of “I wonder if……”

I wonder if you could measure it how much utilization those huge fields of pure clover receive this time of year compared to the amount of forage being grown??.....Meaning…..are you growing 100 times more than is being consumed???......If so then it would stand to reason that while those fields look really, really pretty…..a more diverse stand of plant species may actually have more forage consumed per acre……Deer seem to be creatures that will only consume so much of one item no matter how much is available

We grow beautiful clover fields on our place also. The few turkeys we have love them. However this time of year I see very little to no signs of the deer using them. I’m not saying they aren’t. I just don’t see where the clover is clipped like when it’s young in December and January.

I still think even though we want to see those pretty magazine worthy picturesque stands of clover as humans that the wildlife would probably prefer it to be a weedy stand of clover and actually utilize more of it that way……You might not get the same kind of clover growth but like I was saying in the original post...do you actually need that much production?

I encourage diversity, even within my clover stands. Mine have plenty of clover, but also have Carolina geranium, henbit, chickweed, poa annua and other natives that provide insects, flower buds, and browse for all sorts of wildlife. I don’t get all hot and bothered by having weeds in wildlife plots. It’s a good thing. I’m not OCD about food plot maintenance with herbicides because it’s a food plot. It’s not a commercial agricultural crop.

Where do you draw the line between a good weedy plot and one that needs spraying. Other than the poa annua I don’t see much issue with the plants Matt mentioned. But what if it’s Italian Ryegrass or Wild Mustard (turnips) ? I gotta treat them in those situations. I let some Canadian Thistle go last year in a plot but just spot sprayed some last week. I had also sprayed about half of the plot due to the amount of ryegrass the last couple of years.

I would bet that a lot of issues with the unwanted “weeds” is stemming from some type of soil condition that if corrected would help alleviate their presence to an extent…… I would have to imagine that if you maintain a field in pure clover then the imbalance of C:N is going to cause issues in and of itself over time with undesirable stuff trying to fill that void….. I agree that some spraying is probably necessary in certain situations……Probably after initial establishment for sure…..I just don’t think this idea of maintaining huge stands of pure clover long term is the optimal way of managing……I wouldn’t be surprised if you don’t start running into chemical resistant weeds eventually

Do you see much use in mid to late summer in your clover plots? Curious to see if they’re using them around the same time that summer plots would be starting to become available.

Ignore the tripod feeder in the background, it’s been empty for over a month. I can tell you they are definitely feeding on clover and possibly a few forbs like Carolina Geranium. The wheat and rye is beginning to get tough. I’ve got another plot (actually several) that I’ve recently sprayed I need to get a camera on.

I’ll get a pic of the sprayed plot in a few minutes.

2nd year mix of clovers, Ladino and some annuals like Balansa. I sprayed Cleth a couple of weeks ago hoping to keep it low enough for turkeys to use but it’s about 10-12” high.

I have another plot I treated with Imazethapyr (Thunder) due to wild mustard but may have let it get too far along before spraying. Plus another that I hit with Butyrac and a light rate of Gly because I want to kill the mustard and I’m not too upset if I have some clover mortality.

That looks awesome. Do you see as much turkey usage as your regular (non clover only) foodplots?

I haven’t had a camera here in a couple of months due to the death of a cam. Need to get one going on it. That being said, another small plot that had decent turkey and a lot of deer activity is deer only lately. But with the turkeys thinking about making more turkeys I’m not totally surprised they’ve been absent.

Sprayed my field with poast a month ago to keep the grass down. It’s mostly ladino with a few cereal grains left. The deer were killing it a couple weeks ago before full green up. They are still in there every night, but I think they have some other options now since it’s greened up.

Would close monitoring of exclusion cages answer your question?

Does it harm the deer to eat the clover just after it has been sprayed with this stuff? We have always just fertilized and mowed and have some weeds but not enough to make a difference, the deer still hammer it. It just doesn't look like a post card and we don't have much $ in it.

Mowed my clover Saturday. Looks good !

It would dang sure help......

Spray out a good stand of clover and answer your own question then.

I have found with Whitetail clover, I have pretty much daily deer grazing all year round. If I could get regular pop up thunderstorms in the summer, keeping the clover in growing mode, that helps.

I sorta have to an extent but I don’t have a field as big as some of the ones being shown where tons and tons of excess are being grown……I’ve spent a lot of time monitoring my old test field and clover usage just falls way off once green up occurs……Not saying that it doesn’t get used but it just becomes one of many plants being utilized and it isnt relied on as exclusively as in the winter…..What I found is that once I got my soil conditions favorable to support other desired broadleafs that the deer hammered those during the summer and the amount of insect life became absurd……I think its just really hard for humans to get past the pretty picture and realize that the wildlife do not see it that way……They probably think about it like showing up at a buffet and there’s only one item to choose…..They consume a bit of it and then move on to supplement the rest of their diet

I’ll add to that too that many of those field broadleafs are not the same one you typically find in the native burn units……Stuff like teaweed, florida pusley, pokeweed, etc…..I think its due to the high levels of calcium and balanced pH in my field along with high OM levels, etc……. different growing conditions

I’d also be willing to wager a guess that most of these clover fields you see are being grown in loamy to clay soil…..That’s a HUUUUGE factor in it……The picture of the exclusion cage above is being grown in pure sand and is only possible due to the high levels of soil organic matter……You cant achieve that with clover alone…..If you only grow clover long term then your OM levels are going to bottom out as you produce high levels of nitrogen and virtually no carbon…..Decomposition is still occurring even if you don’t plow