Winter Wildlife Management
The winter can be a great time to take a look back on how your season has gone and make a checklist of things you would like to improve in the coming year. Call it a new year’s resolution for wildlife management purposes.
To ensure you can grow the best food possible for all the critters you are trying to manage, late winter can be a great time to soil test. Getting the areas that you plan to plant in food plots or mast producing trees tested and properly amended with the recommended lime and fertilizer will be the best money you can spend. I encourage land managers to get their lime spread in the late winter for a couple of reasons. Ag lime can take months to begin to break down and neutralize the acidity of your soil, the finer the mesh that the lime is screened through at the quarry, the sooner it will break down. If you usually use the local co-op to spread your lime or rent equipment from them to do it yourself, late winter is a good time to get it done before the row crop farmers begin their planting season. Getting your plots amended with the proper amount of lime will increase the effectiveness of your fertilizer which will positively impact the growth and palatability of your spring and fall food plots. Read more