Food plot
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A food plot is a planted area set aside to act as a food source for wildlife. The term was coined by the U.S. hunting and outdoor industries. Food plots generally consist of but are not limited to legumes (clovers, alfalfa, beans, etc.) or forage grasses.
Most products used for food plots are or were derived from agricultural variants of forages. The oldest company to start developing products for food plots is the Whitetail Institute of North America in 1988.
In 2001 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service announced that 8.7 million people across the country maintained some sort of planting for the sole benefit of wildlife. This group of people spent $699 million on these plantings.
Food plots generally differ from a similar planting called re-vegetation. Re-vegetation generally refers to planting naturally growing grasses, legumes, shrubs, and trees. Food plots will provide higher nutritional value plants than what nature has supplied, therefore a higher density and diversity of animals will thrive near a food plot.