It is interesting to see how deer react to sugar beets, carrots, and turnips. In southern Michigan, where we have an abundance of corn and soy beans, deer are slow to hit them (when dumped in a pile). I have seen all three of these rot through the winter in an area with deer.
In the areas of the state with little agriculture and more cedar swamps, they will eat anything they can. These hard, frozen roots cannot be eaten as fast as corn and require less frequent replenishing of the bait station.
Another factor is familiarity. Deer that are well fed seem to be slow to learn to eat something new. I had a friend that had a small pumpkin growing operation in southern MI. The first year or two, he had little crop damage. After four years, they had leaned to like pumpkins and really hammered them. I suspect in areas where sugar beets are a crop (like the thumb of MI) deer probably have learned to really like them.
I have grown both turnips and rape in my food plots, and the deer did not eat the tops until December (after freezing weather sets in).
405wcf
