2025/2026 Florida 4-H Food Plot Project

2025 Florida 4-H Food Plot Project Guidelines

Project Purpose: A hands-on experience-based learning projected intended for all 4-H age youth with a passion and interest in the outdoors, wildlife, and/or hunting to learn more about natural resources.

Registration

§ Contact your UF/IFAS Extension office for more information and to register for the project.

§ The project costs $25 for current Florida 4-H members, which includes seed, a UF/IFAS Soil Test, project record book template, access to all of the project resources on the Facebook page and several other helpful resources.

§ To register visit https://tinyurl.com/2025FoodPlot or contact the Gilchrist County Extension Office

Fall/Winter “Deer” Plot Project Dates

§ Registration Deadline October 1, 2025

§ Pick up of materials begins October 13, 2025

§ Soil test due to extension office by October 31, 2025

§ Fall/Winter food plot planting deadline December 1, 2025

§ Record book due to the extension office January 15, 2026

§ Winners announced Summer 2026

Winter/Spring “Turkey” Plot Project Dates (Only available for Youth North of State Road 70)

§ Registration Deadline January 15, 2026

§ Pick up materials begining January 30, 2026

§ Soil test due to extension office by February 13, 2026

§ Winter/Spring food plot planting deadline March 1, 2026

§ Record book due to the extension office May 1, 2026

§ Winners announced Summer 2026

Project Rules

§ Youth are required to prepare, plant, establish, maintain, and observe a wildlife food plot with the intent of wildlife viewing or hunting. If you do not have space to complete a wildlife plot on your own property, please contact the extension office to help find a space for your plot if possible.

§ Youth must plant the seed provided and not supplement or add different seed to the mixture.

§ Plots must be planted no later than December 1, 2026, for the “Deer” Plot and March 1, 2026, for the “Turkey” plot.

§ Youth will be required to complete and submit a project record book no later January 15, 2026, for the “Deer” plot and May 1, 2026, for the “Turkey” plot.

§ Youth may participate as a group/class in the food plot project, but any group/class of youth must be of the same 4-H age division.

§ Complete the project evaluation before turning in your record books, and include the code provide at the end of the evaluation to be eligible for awards and prizes.

Plot Requirements

§ The plot must be approximately 1/8 of an acre (100 ft. x 60 ft.) in size and be planted with the seed mix provided in the project kit.

§ Seed should be used only on the project plot and no additional seed should be added.

§ Plots should be in an area that is safe to attract wildlife either for view or hunting. If attracting wildlife for hunting, the plot must be located away from human activity such as houses, roads, neighbors, etc.

§ There is no other specific requirement for plot placement, shape, or planting methods but see the Florida 4-H Food plot Facebook Page for more suggestions on planting a successful plot.

Record Books

§ Record books are to be completed by youth, complete throughout the project, and based on the template provided.

Judging and Awards

§ Youth will be judged to determine a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners by the 4 age divisions in

4-H: Cloverbuds (5-7 years old), Juniors (8-10 years old), Intermediates (11-13 years old), and Seniors (14-18 years old). Group/class projects will be judged separately from individual projects.

§ Cloverbuds will be provided judges feedback but not scored as the project is intended to be an educational experience for youth of that age to get a introduction to the outdoors and natural resources.

§ Judging will depend on the completion and quality of the project record book as judge by a wildlife professional. Plot visits will be scheduled in January-February, if possible, but youth will not be penalized for not having a plot visit.

§ Judging will be based on a judging rubric with 175 possible points using following judging criteria.

o Food Plot

§ Shape of Plot

§ Size of Plot

§ Distance to Cover

§ Heath and Vigor of Plants

§ Additional plot features that would add value for wildlife

o Record Book

§ Legibility, Grammar, and Spelling

§ Completeness

§ Neatness and Organization

§ Depth of Learning

§ Initiative to go beyond requirements