MSU Deer Lab

Title: Episode 103 – The Less Discussed Side of the MSU Deer Lab

Jacob and Eric chat about what summer looked like for the Deer Lab and some of the less-discussed aspects of the MSU Deer Lab.

Is your property producing thousands of pounds per acre of high-quality native forage? This one certainly is.

This field was full of garbage tall fescue a few years ago. Since eradicating the fescue, we've been using fire, spot herbicide treatments, and strategic disking to promote a diverse plant community dominated by high-quality deer forages.

In this 3' radius, we have the following plants, listed in the order shown in the video. Not a single seed was planted. These are all free, naturally occuring, excellent forage and cover plants from the seedbank.

swamp agrimony
common ragweed
Pennyslvania blackberry
Canada goldenrod
hairy white oldfield aster
horseweed
tall desmodium

Red clover is tough to beat.

We've been conducting side-by-side forage trials on 8+ varieties of red and white clover the past few years. Deer consistently select red clover over perennial white clovers during summer when both clovers are actively growing. However, white clover is often more grazing tolerant, can persist deeper into the summer, and is a longer-lived perennial. Red and white clover clover complement one another, especially when planted separately.

The best food plot programs integrate various species. Every species has unique strengths and weaknesses. As stewards of the land, it is our job to manage in such a way that strengths are maximized and weaknesses are minimized.

Jacob and Eric sit down with Sam Overfors, a recent Deer Lab graduate, to discuss his work evaluating anti-predator behavior in fawns. Sam used thermal drones and GPS collars to investigate how fawns move across the landscape.

Check out the MSU Deer Lab’s online seminar series (here) and select the Natural Resources option from the Categories drop-down menu. You will need to create an account to view the seminars. The seminars are free unless you are seeking professional educational credits.

PRESCRIBED fire should be a "prescription" based on specific conditions and objectives.

Reasons we burned this stand in mid-July:

1. We are pyromaniancs and every day is a potential burn day. But more seriously...
2. This stand will be thinned to 30 ft²/ac in the next couple months, and we need to mark the trees we want the logging crew to leave. Burning makes it easier to navigate the stand when marking trees.
3. This stand won't be able to carry a fire for ~18 months post thinning, so burning now will help speed up the flush of high quality forage and cover plants for the wildlife species we are managing for.

Fire should be a "prescription" to address specific objectives. Use fire strategically: season, weather and fuel conditions, and firing technqiue will dictate outcome. Use combinations of these variables to prescribe the fire that best meets your objectives.

There's lots to like about partridge pea: it's a good deer forage, provides good structure for turkeys and bobwhites, excellent seed producer for lots of birds and small mammals, and it's an excellent pollinator plant.

But did you know it recruits ants to help defend against herbivores?