Hey everyone we planted two food plots this year in Whitetail Institute's PowerPlant and the deer really loved it throughout the summer. Anywho there is a lot of grain sorghum in the plot and my question is a simple one- when do the deer begin eating it, and how heavily do they rely on this as a food source? Really, any information you guys could pass along on sorghum would be great. Thanks in advance.
They really don't eat the plant much, but they like the seed heads if they can reach them. Sometimes it gets so tall the deer can't reach the seed and it'll help if you knock it down or mow it.
I read somewhere that they don't eat the seed heads until mid to late fall. Our stalks are just now turning red and most are about 4-5 feet off the ground. Some are like 7-8 feet tall but thats irrelevant. This is our first year planting this and I'm not sure when I should expect them to start feeding on them?
My shorter Milo heads are mostly gone, like you said some are 6-7 ft tall. Those are still there, and the deer are using the stalks as a bedding area now, good cover. I've also seen turkey in there picking at the seeds.
I planted 10 acres of sorghum a few years back for my cattle and I tell ya, the deer....well they would lay in it and tromp it all down and eat a little of it but thats about it. i would say if they eat it great if not, oh well. It can get quite tall. I know when I harvested mine, it was almost 9 feet.
We've had great luck with it in the past. You need the short sorghum. It only grows about 2-3 feet tall. As for the seed heads on the stalk, our deer don't typically touch it until the first frost. It's kind of like a brassica, it becomes sweet after it has been frosted.
