Food Plots & Pollinator Plantings

One of the primary purposes of these types of food plots is to attract the insects needed by young birds in the summer. Non-grain food plots – including the traditional green browse food plots – can provide late fall or early winter green forage for wildlife grazing, in addition to attracting insects. Non-grain food plots can also include plantings of native forbs and legumes that, in addtion to attracting insects, can supply seeds for wildlife in the fall and winter.

It’s a good idea to establish a buffer strip of grasses, perennial weeds and/or fruiting woody shrubs between the browse plot and any nearby timber, especially if the food plot is not part of a larger wildlife planting. A mixed planting of forbs, legumes and grasses will produce a greater abundance of insects, which are critical during brood rearing time. Insects provide a protein rich diet for fast growing young birds as well as helping migratory species like wrens and bobolinks recover from their long return flights. Adding shrubs, especially those that fruit during summer months, add another food component for birds and browse for other wildlife. This increases diversity of wildlife, especially songbirds that will use the area. It is recommended that when establishing perennial food plots, that you never use introduced, non-native species when the surrounding cover is a native prairie planting. These introduced species will be a potential invader of the native planting. On areas planted to native prairie species, it is recommended that any perennial food plots be composed of entirely of native species with a high rate of native legumes. If you choose to use introduced species for food plots, limit them to annuals since these are less likely than perennials to adversely impact the surrounding native prairie plantings. To reduce competition and shading, it is recommended that the grass component be composed of upland sedges or short, bunch grasses like Little Bluestem or Sideoats Grama rather than the taller grasses like Big Bluestem, Indiangrass, or Switchgrass. Since some birds nest early and other species later in the summer or have multiple broods, it is recommended that you incorporate native forbs and legumes that bloom in the spring and early summer and also species that bloom later in the summer and fall to ensure there are insect throughout the nesting and brood rearing seasons. Both types of perennial food plots are designed to attract insects for brooding birds. Native food plots also supply seeds for fall while traditional green browse plots serve as a source of forage.