Of course, the first booth we visited at the ATA show was our great friends at The Whitetail Institute of North America. These guys are top notch producers of whitetail food plot and nutritional products and are always looking for a way to help us produce trophy bucks.

Two new products on the Whitetail Institute scene are “BowStand” and “Edge”.

Imperial Whitetail Edge

The Whitetail Institute of North America has released a new perennial forage mixture that combines heat tolerance, drought tolerance, winter hardiness in a single mix that deer absolutely devour.  New for 2012, Imperial Whitetail Edge is the latest addition to the Whitetail Institute’s industry-leading line of forage products for deer. Edge is the result of five years of the same scientific research, development and real-world testing process that make Whitetail Institute forage products the gold standard of the industry. That means you can rest assured that Edge will perform well in a variety of climates ranging from Florida to Canada, and attract deer like a magnet.

The Whitetail Institute’s research, development and testing process are entirely goal-oriented. That goal is product quality and high performance in a wide range of categories that include:  early seedling vigor, rapid stand establishment, drought- and heat-tolerance, disease resistance, persistence, nutritional content and, of course, attractiveness to whitetails. Over the five years of Whitetail Institute’s research, development and testing of this product, Edge has met or exceeded the Whitetail Institute’s stringent standards which ensure success for your herd management and hunting success.

Like the other Whitetail Institute forage products, Edge is a carefully designed mixture of several plant species that have traits that provide optimum performance in the field and optimum results for your deer herd. They use mixtures for a couple reasons: 1) Rarely will a single plant type perform at the highest levels in all test categories; 2) Mixtures can adapt to the variable growing environments and conditions found throughout different growing region and even in the variable conditions of your own food plot.  You will find one of the components may predominate in the shady, wet area, while another component prevails in the sunny, dry area.  Because all the components are selected for field performance and deer preference and nutritional benefits, the flexibility of the mixture ensures good food availability and nutrition throughout your entire food plot. 

That’s why the Whitetail Institute takes such care in selecting forage components that complement each other, and then determine the optimum ratios in which to combine them. As a result, you can be sure that, like all Whitetail Institute products, Edge is well suited to a broad range of environments from the Southeastern U.S. to Alberta, Canada, and is highly preferred by deer.

Imperial BowStand

 Bowhunters know the importance of bringing deer in as close as possible for the shot. Calls and requests from bowhunters across the country triggered the agronomists and wildlife biologists at the Whitetail Institute to start work on a highly attractive planting that could stand-up to heavy browsing and handle both cold and warm weather climates. It had to be easy to plant as well.

 It took several years of research along with help from their field testers across the country to get the product perfected. “BowStand” is the result of this research and it is designed to create funnels and make trails and other small remote areas even more attractive to deer.

BowStand consists of a blend of seed varieties that give hunters early attraction for states with early bow seasons as well as forages that don’t reach their full levels of attractiveness until the late season.

BowStand contains several of Whitetail Institute’s exclusive seed varieties and these combined with several brassica type plants get your deer in your food plot early and keep them coming through the late season.

BowStand establishes quickly and deer usage has been reported within days of germination. BowStand is also enhanced with a soil pH booster that can help correct pH allowing faster development and more attractiveness in slightly acidic soils.

BowStand is designed to be planted with minimal effort, even in partially shaded trails and other hidden areas. If you’re a Bowhunter, BowStand is the food plot product you’ve been looking for.

You can get more information on these and all other Whitetail Institute products at www.whitetailinstitute.com

By Robert Householder

Robert was introduced to hunting by his uncle, Jeff Hendricks, at a very young age. He grew up in the outdoors, hunting and fishing at every opportunity. He started, as most boys do, with hunting squirrels and rabbits but was soon deer hunting with his uncle and thus started a true love for deer hunting. Jeff and Robert were two of a kind and stayed in the woods or on the water as much as possible until his uncles death in 2007.

Robert was introduced to turkey hunting by a close friend, Jerry Golden, and soon developed a passion for hunting this elusive bird. It remains one of his favorite game to hunt.

Robert has branched out of just hunting in Alabama to include states like Iowa, Mississippi and Georgia. He hopes to continue to hunt game in other states in the future. Robert is a veteran of the first Gulf war and served in the USAF for a total of 7 years, including assignments in Germany, Nebraska, Texas and Illinois.

Robert is the owner of an IT Managed Services company (www.gtinow.com) in Greenville, Alabama and is the founder of TalkHunting. He has been married to his wonderful wife, Annette, since 1985 and has 3 grown children, 2 sons and a daughter. He also has one grand daughter, (Katie) and one Grandson (Jake). Robert is also a hobbyist beekeeper.

God, Family and the outdoors are his life.....

Comments(2):

1. Love it!!!

   Hunting is always better with WINA food plots.

   Monday, February 06, 2012 Brent

2. A great article on the new WTI products

   I really like the sound of the Imperal Bowstand, I will be looking into this one for my use

   Wednesday, February 08, 2012 clyde