On his “farm” Baker grows several different crops. He grows oats, wheat, rye and brassicas (a variety of plants that include purple top turnips). His total acreage? About an acre and a half.
He grows these crops, but he never harvests them. That’s where the wildlife comes in.
What Baker has are three food plots, carved out of 115 acres of woods his family owns in southeast Ohio.
So, actually, Baker is a hunter, not a farmer. In fact, he is a 27-year-old health and physical education teacher and seventh-grade football coach in the West Carrollton schools.
“It’s a great way to see wildlife,” Baker said about the food plots. “If you don’t own a farm or have access to hunting farms, then putting out a food plot on land that has a lot of woods makes sense.”
Baker grew up hunting with his father, Tom Baker of Kettering, and has an aunt who owns part of the southeast Ohio property. They all hunt, both with bows and guns, along with several friends.
While they have hunted that land for years, a few years ago a friend from that area talked to Darron Baker about establishing some food plots. Deer are abundant in that area. There’s even a creek flowing through the property. The friend had the equipment to help clear the land and plant the crops.
“There aren’t any farms in that area, only woods,” he said. “The nearest farm with crops is about 10 miles away.”
So each year, Baker plants a fall crop that provides nutritious food to animals throughout the fall. Deer especially like the turnips and winter rye.
He has set up blinds on the property but doesn’t visit them often because he doesn’t want to establish his scent there. In fact, he puts up his blinds several weeks before the season and then does not visit them until it’s time to hunt. He says he hunts the property three or four times in a year.
“You can take up to six deer in that area, but only one buck. So I usually go down there early in the season and take a couple of does, then I go back later and look for a buck,” he said. “I have decided not to take any small bucks, so if they are eight points or less, I let them go. Last year I didn’t get my buck until the final day of the black powder season.”
Food plots and baiting are legal for deer hunting in Ohio. To some, drawing the animal in with bait seems a little unfair, but as Baker points out, a hunter still has to do everything right to take an animal.
“I think having a food plot is different than baiting,” he said. “You are doing a lot more than just throwing a bag of corn on the ground. It takes a good amount of work to have good food plots.”
“Yes, it increases your opportunity to see deer,” said Todd Haines, district manager for the Ohio Division of Wildlife, “but you still have to hunt and do all the things any hunter would have to do to take a deer.
“A food plot also helps improve the condition of the herd, providing a nutritious diet. So chances are the deer are going to be healthier if they have had plenty of time on a food plot,” Haines added.
Baker said he and his family not only enjoy hunting, but they like to go to the southeast Ohio property to just view wildlife, especially the deer and the wild turkeys.
“Having the food plots has turned out to be very enjoyable,” Baker added.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2409 or jmorris@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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