With all the great discussion that goes on in this forum, I’d like to put our best/brightest to a turkey related food plot question or two.
First off is there any basic advice you guys can offer for the types of plants and food crops that can be planted during different times of the year to keep turkeys in the area during season (April 15 – May 30)?
Anyone have experience with chufa in these north midwestern locales? Is leftover corn/clover all a guy can do?
Joel
Great question Joel. I wondered the same thing.
i didn’t plant for Turkey but my old Imperial Clover plot from 7 years ago is still drawing the birds in. I haven’t planted or maintained it for 3 years. I heard they scratch in the clover for insects and bugs… honestly, i couldn’t tell you. I just know they hit it up in the spring because everything else is tilled up fields.
When I get more time, I’ll have a post up here with an update to my Mega Plot..
I’m planting heavy for turkey, and there’s a few factors that really influence birds. I’m just north of Richland Center, WI. and we have an abundance of various oaks. As soon as the snow cover is gone, acorns are a high protein source and very much sought after by turkeys. After the acorns, bean fields and remaining corn seems to follow next. To me, the tricky part is the weather. A rapid increase of temps, usually triggers a huge variety of food sources….Then years like current, early sprouts of rye, clovers, wheat, oats, and chufa are good. Last year, our success (7 toms that I guides) mostly came from following the grass hoppers. The alfalfa that had the largest concentration of grass hoppers had the most turkeys.
Another trick I do, is manure. When my neighbor is feeding his steers heavy corn/grain before sending to auction, I have him spread that manure in a few rows in my field. Does a few things. 1. Lyme from the barn floor is added to my field. 2. Free fertilizer 3. Dang birds love picking the corn out of that crap 
I’ve heard of the old manure trick as well. Really makes you want to eat the turkey after there rummaging through a pile of ****. 
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With all the great discussion that goes on in this forum, I’d like to put our best/brightest to a turkey related food plot question or two.
First off is there any basic advice you guys can offer for the types of plants and food crops that can be planted during different times of the year to keep turkeys in the area during season (April 15 – May 30)?
Anyone have experience with chufa in these north midwestern locales? Is leftover corn/clover all a guy can do?
Joel
Joel I really like the clover fields But have planted some grain sorgum for the deer and the turkeys ate it. I have done some research on Bio-logics “Gold Chufa” It sound like if you can get it planted in early spring you will have a good chance of a successful plot in this area 
it’s about a 90 day crop. Joel, Why would one want to plant a food plot for a turkey 
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Why would one want to plant a food plot for a turkey
Because our DNR has empowered all my neighbors to eliminate the deer herd, and there is only a couple deer per square mile left. Easier to hand feed the deer 
A buddy of mine and I have tried chufa without success…. I think that my downfall was planting too early – soil temps need to be higher than you think! (70 degrees optimally??) So if you plant, read up and don’t plant too early.
I would like to try planting chufa again sometime — the other problem that I had besides soil temp was weed control. Chufa is a grass so (to me anyway) it looked a lot like the other unwanted grasses. Poast won’t work since they are both grasses. Roundup obviously would kill everything as well. I’d advise tilling/killing a plot a few times in the fall and then again in the spring prior to planting when the soils are warm enough and see what happens…
Here is a site I have found with what looks like good info.
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