Length x Width =
Successful Food Plots
By J. Guthrie
Knowing the exact food-plot area, whether measured in square feet or acres, might be the most important, but most overlooked, component of a successful food-plot program.
We put a lot of time and effort into preparing our food plots, selecting the right plants, and 
even calibrating our planting or spraying equipment to deliver the correct amount of seed or herbicide. But how many of us have “guesstimated” the size of the food plot we are about to plant? There are an awful lot of 1-acre food plots that are probably closer to 1/2-acre in size. This might not seem like a big deal, until you consider that planting rates and herbicide-treatment rates are carefully computed by researchers to produce the best, most-cost-effective, most-productive results from our seed, fertilizer, or herbicide.
For example, over estimating the size of a 1/2-acre food plot would double the recommended seeding rate. If we doubled the planting rate of our carefully-selected, cool-season mix, the winter wheat could shade out our clover seed. Not knowing a food plot’s exact area could cause you to under fertilize a plot, decreasing its potential to help your deer herd.
Thankfully, for those of us who are math challenged, figuring food-plot area is a breeze. If the plot is square, just multiply the length times the width. If the plot is round, find the radius (half the diameter), square it and then multiply by 3.14. Divide irregularly-shaped plots into squares, rectangles, or triangles, find the area of each piece and add them together.
One of the easiest tools to find these lengths and widths is a distance-measuring wheel. It is well suited for rough ground and irregular shapes. Fiberglass or steel tapes, or a surveyor’s chain, in lengths of 100 or 200 feet will work just fine, but are more cumbersome than distance-measuring wheels. All of these tools could probably be borrowed from a surveyor or purchased from equipment catalogs like Forestry Suppliers, Inc. (www.forestry-suppliers.com).
While the distance-measuring wheels and 200-foot tapes work well, you might find tools for calculating food-plot area in your hunting pack. Most laser range finders are accurate to the foot, allowing for very precise distance measurements. Instead of sending that laser out to range a whitetail, send it towards your buddy standing at the opposite end of your favorite food plot. Take the length, width, or radius information and convert them into acres.
Hand-held Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) units have revolutionized our ability to find our exact position on the planet. Depending on the model you own, you can also use them to figure out the exact area of a food plot. With a GPS unit that can measure the distance between waypoints, just mark the corners of your food plot for distance measurements.
Most of these instruments and tools will give you distances in yards and feet. Most seeding-rate charts and herbicide labels give rates by the acre, so you have to convert the square feet or yards into acres. To convert square foot measurement to acres, just divide the area by 43,560.
Keep a property notebook and you only have to take measurements and fight through the formulas once. While very few of us enjoyed high school algebra class, a little math will go a long way to making your food plots more effective.