By: Mark Turner

Mark Turner is an NDA member and Level 2 Deer Steward who is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Tennessee working under the direction of Dr. Craig Harper. His research is investigating how nutritional carrying capacity and land use influence deer body and antler size across the eastern United States. Instagram: @markturner442

When to Plant Fall Food Plots, and How to Recover If They Fail

Jul 17, 2024 Mark Turner

Whether you’re in the feed store, local diner, or viewing internet forums, there’s an inevitable conversation happening right now. Starting around July every year, deer hunters begin asking the same question: when should they start…

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3 Factors in Smart Food Plot Seed Mixtures

Jul 3, 2024 Mark Turner

About this time each year, shelves at sporting goods stores begin filling with bags of food plot seeds, many with a picture of a large buck or two on the bag. Some hunters purchase these…

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Fallow Food Plots Offer Hidden Benefits for Deer. Don’t Replant Until You Read This.

Mar 6, 2024 Mark Turner

Most deer hunters have relatively limited food plot acreage and wish to maximize deer forage production on every acre. For many, it would stand to reason that planting both warm- and cool-season forages on every…

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6 Tips for Designing Small Deer Hunting Food Plots

Jan 31, 2024 Mark Turner

I’ll bet you realized a passion for land management when you planted a small food plot for the first time. Whether you are just starting to learn about food plots or have been planting for…

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Plan Next Deer Season Before This One Is Gone

Dec 13, 2023 Mark Turner

Most whitetail hunters have less than a month of season left, and hunters in the Deep South still have great rut action coming up. I look forward to getting out several more times this year…

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Avoid Herbicide Trouble in Food Plots With Simple Plant-Back Intervals

Jun 7, 2023 Mark Turner

Soil-active herbicides can greatly improve weed control in food plots as they control weed seedlings before they compete with planted species. However, soil-active herbicides can have similar, damaging effects on your future plantings if the…

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Maximize Clover Food Plots for Deer with Winter Maintenance Now

Feb 1, 2023 Mark Turner

Perennial clover is perhaps the most popular food plot planting for deer, and with good reason! Clover food plots provide attraction during hunting season, high-quality forage during spring and early summer, and several years of…

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Avoid Brassica Food Plot Failure With These Simple Steps

Aug 24, 2022 Mark Turner

Approaching the food plot, I was shocked by what I saw: an entire field of yellowing turnip and radish leaves. I wondered if I had skimped on fertilizer. Or perhaps I had applied soil-active herbicide…

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How to Defeat Herbicide Resistant Weeds in Deer Food Plots

Jul 6, 2022 Mark Turner

Weed control is one of the most important considerations to produce high-quality food plots, and herbicides are the most effective and efficient tool to reduce weed competition. Unfortunately, several weeds have developed resistance to some…

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Planting American Jointvetch for Deer

Mar 16, 2022 Mark Turner

Don’t overlook this browse-tolerant, easy-to-plant summer forage just because its name isn’t “soybeans.” Annual warm-season food plots are commonly recommended to address nutritional limitations when bucks are growing antlers and does are lactating. Warm-season plantings…

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