20 Best Food Plot Seed Company (2023 Updated)

Cleared an acre of land. Prepped and tested soils. Planted this bag, a bag of clover and a bag of “bow stand”. Bow stand took off great, oats and brassicas in there are coming in strong. Clover and alfalfa mix is sprouting.

This has 0 growth. Not 5% germination. Maybe a bad batch or bag as everyone else had great quality but man, I even reseeded 5 days after first planting in the middle of a storm hoping to get something growing, but 12 days after original planting, 4 rain storms and nothing.

Waste of time and money.

I used this product as my first ever food plot because of price. Best value I have found. Used on pieces of land that had never been farmed or anything. This product came up and produced very good I thought.

My son and I were able to harvest two deer off of our family land because of our small food plot. Like this product so much I bought two bags this year and look forward to more good results.

I am new to planting food plots so I purchased Deer Plot by Mossy Oak. I didn’t really know if it would grow or not. Well needless to say it will grow. i didn’t even get a chance to fertilize the acreage yet and i already have growth with minimal rain.

I can only imagine what its gonna look like in a few weeks.

I read so many bad reviews on deer hunting sites about ryegrass. I don’t think the people giving the bad reviews understand the difference between diploid and tetraploid ryegrass. I planted Throw & Gro, which contains tetraploid ryegrass, on May 23rd.

and it is already attracting deer. Never before have I seen deer in my yard in the mid-afternoon during summer. I am now and it’s to eat this product as it grows. There wasn’t much of anything growing in the shade in my backyard to begin with, so all I did was mow what weeds were there as low as I could, roughed the soil up by driving my ATV around on it, spread the seed with a rotary spreader, spread some 13-13-13 the same way, drove around on my riding mower pushing the seed down into the soil surface and then watered it in.

I had noticeable growth within 5 days and deer started coming around after about two weeks. I included three photos. One from planting day and two from a deer I saw out there at 3 PM today. In the first deer photo, it is back in the food plot in-line with the tomato cage by the porch.

The 2nd deer photo is a cropped version of the first. I’d like to note that I live in an area with a lot of farming and there are new crops coming up all around that the deer could eat, but yet I am still getting them to come to my Throw & Gro plot.

My wife let the dog (lab) out at 10 PM the other night and there were three deer eating in the food plot that never left (dog didn’t see them but my wife did with the flood lights on).

You wont find better for a cover crop for garden. The rye at least is crazy solid. It grew dark green till mid Jan to. At that time the tips browned some. That was some of the thickest lush grass i have ever seen and starving out the fall weeds.

BUT for me i used it for green manure in my garden and i added Vetch. Problem was it did not winter kill and it was a hard season in the garden as it kept finding a way to come up despite a good plow and till of the garden in late spring.

My advice is to chemical kill a few days before turning it over. I will never use anything else despite the love hate i had with it over the summer. If your looking for organic matter for your garden this is a no brainer.

This company also has clover to add in there for frost planting so load it up. BEST STUFF EVER. I have a 3500 sq ft garden i did more then half with 1 bag and it was THICK THICK. The othe half i did winter rye (large seed) and it didnt do near as well and nor does it no till well either.

Broadcast this stuff water it hard and i mean hard and in a couple days watch it sprout.

I recently moved to PA from NYC (no exp with wildlife) & loved that deer were roaming around but then saw them munching on things I planted; was advised to toss seeds around tree trunks or in the woods, so I did just past the grass line w/no prepping the dirt (just happened we also had a good rainstorm later on) & within 3 days, deer were eating the tall, bright green stalks that grew.

No water is necessary bc when I tossed more a week later, no rain & didn’t water them & it still grew. So easy & if a city girl can do it with good results, then anyone could & I also know now that I can’t plant flowers/veggies w/o having Fort Knox around it – LOL but what a wonderful trade-off to live my goal-planning, dream life here in PA.

very disappointed! I have bought and used “Hot Spot” for many years based on previous experience with the product. This time however, it appears that the seeds provided were of a very different make up.

All that came in was rye grass. I have always prepared my plot prior to seeding, utilizing both weed killer, and fertilizer prior to planting and this was the worst plot I have ever had with this product.

Based on the package, you don’t have to prepare a field or area in the manner I did, It’s basically a throw and grow type of plot mix. I’m not sure what happened during packaging, but 3 5lb bags failed to produce.

The best part of this product is the lack of soil preparation that is needed. We disked the field but there were still some weeds. So far it is growing great. I would give it 5 stars but it is not a full grown product.

Looks like it will be a great treat those big bucks.

Grows great! You have to clear out the pine needles and leaves to see bare ground first, but it germinates quickly.

Almost zero germination in a soil tested plot, prepped with a fence drag with immediate water. Good rain and supplemental sprinklers from then on. The weeds have eventually come back now 3 weeks later.

Great food plot deer attractant, sews easily and effective with proven results, see pic of micro plot after 9 days, follow the instructions!

Always had good results grows easy good looking food plot and the Deer like it ,what can I say. More Deer if you plant it they will come.

We planted our food plots in SW Georgia in early September. Soil moisture was perfect and we had about 1 inch of rain the next day. Within one week all cameras showed beautiful, lush green growth. Then nothing, no rain for three weeks.

I expected brown fields for opening day, and was greatly surprised. Everything, especially the radishes, is in great shape. The wheat and oats are thriving in spite of heavy browsing. Only the peas seem to be adversely affected by dry conditions and browsing.

Really good food plots this year.

I was ordering this as a gift. It arrived not in the nice bag shown online but in a clear unmarked plastic pouch with a white sticker on it. Also, I was surprised on how much dirt/inert matter (11%) and ****/crop seed (1%) you allow in the bag.

The total seed germination was only 80%. This means 88% was seed and only 80% of that will germinate at best so my 10lb bag was only good for 7lbs of usable seed. That’s a far cry from others I have purchased elsewhere.

Ordered the seed and was notified that they were out and I had to wait for another batch to be made. Then I was promised delivery on a certain date and they missed that date by a day. Overall delayed me about a week from my original planting date.

The seed mix has worked quite well however I have found that their formula for 40 lbs. per acre is a little thinner than what I like and I have adjusted the rate for spreading. Overall a good product just order earlier.

This was our first food plot so we didn’t want to invest a lot of money into it. The no plow was the cheapest with a great variety. We did not do soil tests but followed the instructions on lime and fertilizer.

Three key factors 1) I did some samples to see what seed was what. Proper bedding is the key. The seeds on the surface still germinated but took 4x’s the time to establish. 2) timing is everything. You want to try your best to plant this right before a rain.

My dad did a separate plot and his got rain the next day. His germinated instantly to where it took some time for mine to get rain and took about two weeks to establish and weeds started to come into the plot.

3) Make sure to stir the seeds before spreading. During transport the seeds tend to separate and you’ll end up with sections that are more dominant of one plant. The overall downside to this plot is even though the bag says it’s 24% rye grass.

That grass will soon overpower the rest of the plants. I don’t have a large plot so I try to top the grass with a weed eater at plant height but it’s not enough.

I can tell anyone that THIS STUFF GROWS and it grows without a lot of prep and ground work. I’ve planted NO Plow about 5 times. Old corn fields, power lines, cut bean fields ect ect. The stuff grows, if you kill weeds fertilize and just break the surface of the ground.

The problem though is here in the south some southern deer DO NOT eat this type of brassica in no plow. Theyll eat some of the grasses and other stuff in it but I’ve planted this stuff in 2 different counties.

Waited until hard frosts and freezing temps. The deer didn’t touch it during or after hunting season. I think its a product best for deer up north. I don’t think the brassica blend it what deer eat “in my area”.

I purchased two 25 lb bags. I have a few stands in very remote areas. Spent over a hundred hours this spring planting fertilizing liming. Bottom line. If there is any forest canopy this will not grow.

It needs more than four hours of sunlight a day. The plot I planted with full sunlight grew well. However, it’s basically a stand of tall grass. The various fescues dominate the plot choking out any other forms of seed.

This is essentially just a very expensive way to purchase grass seed. Furthermore the full sunlight No Plow plot is planted immediately next to a plot of clover and chicory. There is no question that the deer in my area strongly prefer the Clover and Chicory, hardly ever showing any interest in the No Plow.

I thought after a hard frost things may change but they haven’t. I wouldn’t waste your money on this product.

I have played around with food plots for years. Winter Greens is about the best I’ve come across. My property was never able to hold deer into the Winter. They would always herd up at some neighbor’s corn pile in Northern Wisconsin.

This Spring, two sets of sheds in the stripped bare (I mean nothing left!!) WinterGreen Patch. Prepare smooth seed bed by cultipacking. Spread seed as directed. Cultipack again and wait for the first hard frost.

The deer will be in this stuff thick. Every bit as attractive as standing beans. This Fall I have 3 acres and they look great.

In 2016 we planted this seed and it grew like crazy. The deer killed it once it got cold. This year, we planted everything the same way and the seed simply didn’t grow in two of the three plots – it stopped at about 3-4 inches, even with the same lime and fertilizer.

The deer are eating it, but not much activity. Maybe a bad batch of seed in one of the bags?.

PLANTED THESE ON A EXPERIMENTAL PLOT FOR MULE DEER IN UTAH. PLANTED THIS STUFF RIGHT NEXT TO SHOT PLOT IN A 1 ACRE TEST PLOT IN JULY. THE DIFFERENCE WAS NIGHT AND DAY, THEY BOTH RECEIVED THE SAME WATER FROM IRRIGATION SPRINKLERS, THE SAME FERTILIZER.

THE WINTER GREENS SHOT UP AND ARE NOW FULL GROWN WITH SOFTBALL SIZE TURNIPS/RADISHES. THE SHOT PLOT IS VERY PATCHY AT BEST AND WHAT RADISHES MADE IT ARE ONLY GOLFBALL SIZE. WILL BE PLANTING WINTERGREEN AGAIN NEXT YEAR FOR SURE, ONLY IN A BIGER PLOT.

I’m super happy about my purchase, but honestly it’ll be a little while before I can give an honest review of the end result. However, I’m very optimistic that it will be as advertised.

Dealing with Farm and Fleet has been a joy. Their online ordering is easy and support is outstanding. The seed is growing like crazy!

I planted the other 2 bags I bought and this is now my go to food plot it really grows fast and is doing great in northern Wisconsin I have tried different ones but they never grew like this one highly recommended.

I have been using this clover for several years now. I make small food plots by hand with a hand tiller and a rake. I also have a big food plot in my back yard. The deer love it. It also grows well in the woods.

I have used throw and grow, not that impressed. Clover does better with shade and i think attracts deer better. Very satisfied with this product.

I buy this stuff for my clover lawn, it’s great. Just a little bed prep and water and these seeds take off. Highly suggest.

I bought several 40 lb bags of the Plot Spike and planted it in 5 different locations on my farm for deer and turkey. I planted it in areas around existing row crops that were left vacant due to being to wet when planted.

I planted it in August. Now, in October the plots have flourished. I cannot believe how well it has turned out. The Chicory has really jumped up and covered the field. I never expected these results from a affordable blend.

I’ve been putting in food plots for 6 years now and using a variety of products. Started using Whitetail clover about 4 years ago and decided last year to plant nothing but their clover because the deer LOVE it.

They walk past 20 acres of alfalfa to get to the plots. They are always on the clover plots from spring to freeze up. They eat it down to the ground before winter sets in. Then, the amazing thing is that if we get a mid-winter thaw here in Wisconsin, this stuff starts to push sprouts up and they are out there eating any growth/green that they can get at.

Unbelievable! Anyway, the 30 or so years of research that Whitetail Institute has put into the development of their products has proven to me that they are the ones with the knowledge and know-how to do it right.

NO, I don’t work for them or know anyone there, I’m simply a fan of theirs. So, do yourself a favor. Prep your land properly, plant it, mow it when the weeds start taking over, mow it again later in the season to again take the weeds down before they reseed.

Mow it for the same purpose the second season. before the weeds reseed! Walla, you have a 5 or 6 year food plot that will pull deer to your land! I’ve found that the cost of the seed is the cheapest part of the whole process.

if your sweat equity means anything to you. I tried to cheap-out by buying less expensive products from the Co-op or other companies and had bad results so at the end of the season you step back and say da*n, all that work and this is the result? Buy good seed!.

I put the lime down in the fall of the year and in February I threw the clover seed down along with he fertilizer on the rocky hilly ground in the ozark’s without any tilling I let it frost seed in. By May the clover was up about a foot high and the deer and turkey we’re all over it.

I seeded the clover a lot heaver than recommend, 18 lbs to the acre to give it a great start. And every month I would spray plot start on it and mow it.

In the past few years I have tried 22 different clovers and clover blends, each in their own food plot. I spray GLY 4 and kill off everything and a week later I come in and put on some lime and 19-19-19 fertilizer and then broadcast the seed.

A light drag afterwards and call it done. The germination of this stuff is phenomenal and the deer come to this plot before anything else. They absolutely love it. The highly palatable clover leads to much higher consumption rate has lead to a huge difference in antler growth and big improvement in body condition and a lot more fawns hitting the ground this year.

Where as we use to pretty much get 1 fawn from each doe, we are now mostly twins and a few triplets, and a big part of the reason is this clover. The difference in antler growth is astonishing. Don’t waste time or money on anything else.

We all shop pricing trying to get a stand that “Will do” for as little as possible. Makes sense, really. But In this Whitetail Institute Forage Oat product I got well beyond what I had hoped to get. I bought this on close out and planted it along side my other “Bargains”.

Most from Brand names you would recognize. I generally make a good prep, lime (120# per acre) and ska-fire break 8 weeks early when I turn the weeds up for the roots to freeze. Add Fertilizer (Best deal I can find on 17-17-17, 100# per acre) immediately before Disc, Seed, Cover, and top dress with another 50# 17-17-17 per acre.

The difference in this product and the other was excellent and uniform germination even though I worried I might have covered some too deep. (Parallel disc method) A dense stand that grew to 3-4″ about a week sooner than other Oat brands, as well as , Chicory, Winter Wheat and Annual Rye planted.

(Didn’t expect the Radishes, Turnips and Clovers to do too much quickly. ) It was only happenstance that I didn’t mix and mingle as I typically do (thinking that if I have a large variety mixed in the offering SOMETHING will find conditions where they fall agreeable even if the rest does not, and, therefore I will not be left with sparse patchy looking stands).

The Whitetail Institute Oats shown brightly in comparison. The sprouts were thicker sooner, they were more often 2-3 sprouts a kernel than 1 and it was simply a healthier looking stand. The real eye opener was the way the deer and turkey seized on the stand almost immediately.

The herd was wading across other plantings to get at these Forage Oats. They did feed across the other brands put trail cam photos showed the wandering stopped when they reached Whitetail Institute Imperial Forage, Oats.

The difference was pronounced such that I worried they would over graze the plot and do serious damage such that it might fail. We do not have a VERY dense Deer population in Zone 1, Upper Zone 2 South Carolina, (Might even be a bit low in numbers), but what we DO have focused on the Whitetail Institute Imperial Forage Oats but with a bit of timely rain the Oats stood the grazing and made it thru the late spring.

Where I strip turn (Repeat) the process for Peas, Beans, Sunflower, Lab Lab and Millet. I will say for me The difference was such that this year I am paying full price to be sure I get the quantity Whitetail Institute Imperial Forage Oats I want to plant and will not fool with mixing in off brand Wheat and Rye.

I’ll still add the boutique radishes etc. but I am sticking with a winner that is bang for your bucks in the grazing grasses.

If you have never tried oats for food plots your missing the boat. By far this stuff will bring them in better than any other. Our archery season does not start until the 1st of Oct so you don’t need to plant this until about 4 weeks prior.

I wouldn’t even be concerned if you planted this in mid Sept. That’s how fast the word gets out. It will germinate in about 10 days and by day 12 the deer will be all over it. We’re in the NE part of PA and the oats held up until about the 3rd week in November and then they started to brown with the cold temps.

I would strongly recommend you throw on some turnips or other hearty brassica after you sow this stuff in to get you through December. For fun we planted this on half of a 1. 5 acre field and the well known competitor BFO on the other half and saw no preference by the deer.

They oats also lasted into the cold temps for about the same number of weeks so buy whatever is cheaper and available. Oats are an attractant not a great food source. I am sure there is some nutrition but it does not give you the year round food deer and turkey need like clover does so this is best used if you have just a small amount of land and you want to pull game in from other places or small plots to complement your clover fields.

Oats will grow in just about any soil. Certainly amending yours to the right PH and fertilizing is going to make the plot better but it’s not absolutely necessary. Typically we disc up a plot, spread the seed and cover with cultipacker or light harrow.

If you want to plant some brassica, do this after you sow in the seed with a cultipacker then recultipack or just before a rain storm. The guys at my club were pretty skeptical when I tried this out on one of the fields that was too late to seed for clover in the fall.

Their minds changed fast after they saw how many deer pulled in from who knows where. 5 stars for being an excellent easy to plant attractant. If you have not tried this, you better hope your neighbor doesn’t either.

Our hunting club, located in central Alabama, has planted your Forage Oats for the past 3 years. We have 14 fields ranging in size from 1/8 – 1/2 ac. and spread over 900+ acres. We experimented in the 1st year and planted all fields in these oats, based solely on Dr.

Kroll’s review of this product, to see if certain parts of our property held more deer than others. By the end of that 1st season, you could not step onto any of the 14 fields without stepping in a deer track.

It beat anything we had ever planted before, by far. Our plots stay lush & green from Oct. 1st. through mid-July when the summer heat finally takes its toll. Within a few weeks, we will plant them again for our 4th season.

It is “hands down” the best food plot seed we have found to date. Thanks for a Great Product!!.

Great stuff for an area only accessible with riding mower and unable to plow. Deer and turkey love it (along with other animals, rabbit, etc). They keep it trimmed where it hardly gets a chance to grow to maturity.

Keeps them coming in all year round. I was surprised how it germinated by just broadcasting on the surface with the other grasses. I’ve used the Imperial Whitetail Clover in a prepared field years ago and it was awesome.

This stuff seems to be close without the work. I would recommend Whitetail Institute seed products to everyone. I’m sold!.

I bought the Imperial No Plow out of curiosity to give it a try. I cleared a small area of mostly shaded soil of the leaves with a rake, loosened the soil, and spread the seed by hand. We had a few good days of rain a few days later.

After about 14 days I had a nice crop of clover and rye grass. I planted in early May which is a bit late for my region but the seed still took well. I did not do any other soil prep like fertilizer or lime so I was pretty happy with the results so far.

I can’t speak to it’s effectiveness with atracting deer yet but hopefully I’ll see some interest over the summer and fall.

My family has been purchasing from Hancock for our Fall and Winter deer food plots for the past four years. We have had incredible germination rates and great food plots each year. Even when rain amounts were low we have still had great success and will continue to buy seed from Hancock every year for all of our hunting needs.

We are especially big fans of the Hancock’s fall/winter food plot seed mix. W. S. Davis Hamilton County, FL.

Saturday 12/7: Cleared about a 50′ (don’t want to put too much pressure right now) area in some brush and blew away the leaves with a leaf blower. Dumped two bags of aglime and spread 20 lb of 10-10-10.

Churned up the ground with a $30 hand cultivator from the hardware store. Came back Tuesday 12/10: Broadcast the seeds and took 10 minutes to work them in a little with the cultivator. Thursday 12/12 it rained.

Sunday 12/15 I have a field of sprouts and could not be happier with my “Poor Man’s Food Plot”. I expect in the next two weeks to have a great food source as long as we get one more decent rain. I’m going to expand it in the spring to about an acre so I will be back for a summer blend! I’m in Central Florida.

We ordered Handcock’s Ultimate Fall Food Plot seed towards the end of September. It was delivered to our door within a week. The previous year, we planted a 5 acre plot with the same mix. It grew very quickly to the height that deer were barely visible.

Added a second food plot this season. After two weeks and a couple rains. It is already coming up. We have gone to an over hunted ranch by the previous owners to a property with awesome potential in just two seasons.

Love the product.

As I reported previously, when I opened the bag, the dust just billowed out. Hancock’s explanation was that the seeds had been treated/inoculated. Well, I’ve bought a lot of seed over the years and I have never had this happen, even with inoculated seeds.

It was a total surprise. If this is a normal occurrence, Hancock should at least a heads up when advertising the seed. As far as growth? Still waiting to see.

No problems with transaction and quick shipping. However the seed seemed as if it was swept off the floor tons of debris in the bag. Poor germination. I have used this seed company before with no problems.

I was late ordering and seems of they just cobbled together a bag. I don’t like giving bad reviews but the seed just wasn’t up to their standards.

I decided to purchase seed from this company based on several great reviews from individuals personally known. I placed an order for 50 pounds of Spring/Summer mix and some vetch as well. The delivery time was alright considering the pandemic we are experiencing right now and the seed was packaged well.

Upon opening the box that contained both products, I was surprised to find dust everywhere. The Spring/Summer mix was not torn open but was full of what appeared to be corn or grain dust. At 70+ dollars a bag, I did not expect to find meal in place of seed.

I did not find any insects in the bag and therfore decided to put the seed in the ground. Hopefully the seed will germinate and I will be inclined to update this review.

Planted this for the first time this past February. I was a little concerned as it says to wait til soil temperature is above 60 degrees. March and April showed nothing but like a clock, as soon as May temperatures hit 60 it took off.

Very impressed and will buy again but make sure soil doesn’t s 60 or above.

I did a couple of plots this year. I wanted to do one with the clover. I’ve used plot spike products in the past and they were great. Out of the entire bag maybe 10% germinated.

We bought this product and all we got were grasses. I totally agree with WISC737’s review. Hard to find any clover or chicory in the fields. They will have to be totally redone next year. No deer coming to the fields this year.

What a total waste of time, effort and money !!!!!!!.

Deer love this stuff. I planted a 2 acre plot with Fusion. Make sure you do a soil test & add proper amount of lime to soil if needed. I get 10-20 deer in plot every day- some even bed down in it LOL.

Needless to say the hunting’s been great- Highly recommended.

Used this product several years with great results. Getting 3-5 years from a plot. If you follow the planting instructions and plant dates you should have great success.

The r*pe and turnips are easy to establish, just follow the planting dates. These are a constant producer year in and year out. I’ve never had any problems establishing ShotPlot wherever I have food plots.

The r*pe and turnips germinate after about a week with sufficient rainfall, which provides quick ground cover and outcompetes the onset of winter annual weeds. As long as you have sufficient cover, the deer will tear these up and eventually dig the turnips out of the ground.

The reason I say this is b/c I’ve planted ShotPlot in a fairly open field near a creek bottom and the deer wouldn’t feed b/c they didn’t feel safe enough to come out in the field. ShotPlot is almost fool proof.

I would recommend putting up an exclusion cage to determine if the deer are eating the r*pe and turnips. Another note, I sometimes use ShotPlot as a nurse crop when I plant clover. Just seed ShotPlot at about 1/4 of the rec’d rate and it will establish a quick ground cover and shade/protect the yound clover seedlings.

The turnips will establish and then die in the late spring, then the clover will come on strong. I’m not saying it will always work that way, but it sure looks good when it does. I do it b/c sometimes clover can take a while to establish, and the weeds can really take over.

I’d rec’d ShotPlot to anybody for a late season food plot, especially first timers just getting into planting food plots.

Too early to tell. Lack of water and heat is factor. Prolly should plant later in Deep South.

Have been using this for a couple of years now, trial and error. Have found that it seems to work best on logging roads and trails. Will work other places, just found it worked better on trails and logging roads, where gets plenty of sunlight.

I prefer to make several small plots close together, instead of 1 larger plot. So I will create little plots all along the logging road. I get the deer traveling the logging roads which allows for more shooting opportunities.

We created a plot on the logging road about 60 yards before it runs along a bean/corn/wheat field. Almost always deer hitting that plot before moving on to the crop field. Because of the several small plots, I believe we are keeping more deer on our place.

Follow the directions. Lime and fertilizer are key. Get rid of other vegetation prior to planting. Then if able, mix some miracle grow and use a water can to water them with the miracle grow. I tried a little patch with and a little patch without.

Miracle grow made a difference.

First time using this particular seed. If it’s like other Whitetail Institute products, you won’t go wrong! Deer love the different variety of forage offered by this company. Make sure a soil sample is taken and get the soil ph up to a minimum of 6.

5. Plant and watch’em come running.

It is exactly what we wanted. We planted it two weeks ago and it has all already germinated and producing. It should improve the health of our deer herd and hopefully keep them away from our tree nursery.

Thank you.

I planted Beets & Greens for this fall 2017 Deer season, did a soil test first and adjusted the soil and am absolutely amazed how well it grew. I have been watching the deer activity steadily increase and have seen more deer on my property than I ever have before.

This is a great product and will be even better after a frost.