Arkansas 4-H Food Plot Project teaches wildlife, plant science
Aug. 13, 2026
By Rebekah Hall
University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Fast Facts
- Deadline for 4-H members to enroll in project is Sept. 1
- Register via ZSuite for Arkansas 4-H; $20 registration fee
- Participants grow food plot with goal of attracting wildlife, managing land
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Download photos from food plot projects
LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas 4-H Food Plot Project, designed to teach youth how to prepare and maintain a food plot for wildlife, offers a variety of hands-on learning opportunities.
“This is an all-encompassing project,” said Jaret Rushing, extension forestry instructor for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture and coordinator of the 4-H Food Plot Project. “Participants commit to a significant workload, including record keeping, teamwork, soil science and wildlife.”
The Arkansas 4-H Food Plot project is open to 4-H members from ages 9-19. The deadline to register is Sept. 1, and the registration fee is $20. 4-H members can register via ZSuite for Arkansas 4-H and can contact their local county agent to learn more about signing up.
The project is an independent, self-study activity that asks participants to prepare, maintain and observe a food plot using provided seed. The goal is to provide food and cover for local wildlife. The plot, which must be approximately 1/8 acre in size, needs to have at least one “exclusion cage,” which is placed inside the plot to observe plant growth. Outside the excluded area, the rest of the plot should be accessible to wildlife as a food source.
Eagle Seed Company, a longtime sponsor of the program, provides the seed for participants. Last year, the blend included a mixture of wheat, triticale, oat, radish, chicory, beets and two varieties of clover.
Participants are required to keep a detailed project book that tracks their efforts, including any management practices used to prepare and maintain the plot, results from soil tests and species of wildlife found on the plot.
Rushing said this emphasis on record-keeping is his favorite element of the project.
“The beauty is that even if the food plot fails, the participant is not necessarily being graded on the success of the food plot, but rather on being able to show the record as to why it failed,” Rushing said. “I think that’s extremely important from a life skills perspective: being able to keep good records and understand the meaning behind your successes and failures.”
Valerie Turner, Monroe County Extension staff chair for the Division of Agriculture, said she knows of a 4-H member whose food plot flooded one year, and the next year temperatures were so dry that nothing came up.
“Because she kept records and was able to fill out her project book, she still won second place one year,” Turner said.
Youth are allowed to hunt over their project plots, which Turner said is an exciting incentive for some participants.
“The 4-H Food Plot Project is a wonderful way for youth to learn not only responsibility, patience and perseverance, but also appreciation for nature and environmental stewardship,” Turner said. “Many youth participate in this project to increase their likelihood of harvesting a deer, while others participate as a way to enhance their overall 4-H record book. Either way, the youth are rewarded for their efforts.”
Watching for wildlife
Carleigh Cooper, 14, a member of White County 4-H, has competed in the 4-H Food Plot Project for the last four years and plans to participate again this year. In 2024, Cooper’s project won first place in the state in the junior division. She said her favorite part of participating is getting to see the wildlife that come to eat and rest in her plot, including white-tailed deer, squirrels and turkeys.
Despite a few hiccups — such as a neighbor’s cows accidentally getting loose and eating her food plot — Cooper said the project has been a helpful learning experience.
“Over the years, I’ve learned how to manage the plot better,” Cooper said. “I learned a lot about fertilizing and how to read a soil report. We’ve created brush piles to make more habitat around the food plot, and we’ve also done prescribed burning, which helps with new growth of native grasses around the food plot.”
Cooper has also participated in Arkansas 4-H’s Wildlife Habitat Education Program, or WHEP, and the Grassland Evaluation Contest, both of which have helped her hone her skills for the food plot.
“In WHEP, we have to identify different types of wildlife and their tracks, so it’s helped me figure out what wildlife has been in my food plot,” Cooper said. “Grassland evaluation teaches you about grass health and what grasses grow best for each time of year.”
Caitlin Cooper, 19, a member of White County 4-H and Carleigh’s sister, said participating in the 4-H Food Plot Project taught her patience, dedication and resilience.
“Your biggest factor is the weather,” she said. “You have no control over that, so you really have to learn how to work around Mother Nature.”
Jan Yingling, White County Extension 4-H and agriculture agent for the Division of Agriculture, said the 4-H Food Plot Project helps “connect the dots for youth in a real-life scenario.”
“They can put into practice what they have learned through competing in other 4-H contests, working in their 4-H project areas or attending educational events,” Yingling said. “This contest provides a way for youth to have personal impacts on their environment and the wildlife near their food plot.
“It also teaches great life skills like responsibility, mastery, decision-making and time management,” Yingling said.
Alyssa Lee, 15, plans to participate in the 4-H Food Plot Project for the first time this fall as part of her first year as a 4-H member in Greene County. Lee said she became interested in the project after watching her boyfriend, also a 4-H member in Greene County, tend to his project last year.
“I’m really just excited to see what animals come out there,” Lee said.
In the future, Lee said she hopes to become an agriculture teacher and start her own agriculture-related business.
“I want to become an ag teacher to help introduce more people into agriculture and show them how amazing it is,” Lee said.
Though she didn’t “grow up in an ag family,” Lee said she joined the National FFA Organization in the eighth grade and began learning more about the industry. After meeting her boyfriend in the organization, he then introduced her to Arkansas 4-H.
“I think 4-H is really what made me super passionate about agriculture,” Lee said.
Promoting mission of extension
4-H Food Plot Project participants are required to work with their county extension agriculture agents, including scheduling at least one site visit with the agent at the food plot. Rushing said this helps youth and their families understand the vital services that extension offers to Arkansans.
“That is a heavily graded area in their record book, where they have to show that the agent did come out and assess the property, that they did run a legitimate soil test on it, and that they tried to adhere to the test recommendations,” Rushing said. “Being able to publicize that we are a valuable resource to the youth, and for them to tell their families and share our story for us, is exceptionally important for extension.”
Rushing noted that the 4-H Food Plot Project promotes agricultural production in Arkansas and future educational opportunities for participants. The project is run through the Cooperative Extension Service, the outreach and teaching arm of the Division of Agriculture, via the University of Arkansas at Monticello College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources.
“We’re the only accredited forestry and wildlife school in the state of Arkansas,” Rushing said. “It’s important that these kids know that if this is something they’re interested in long term, they have an opportunity to receive a great education here and get a degree in the field of their choice.”
Visit the 4-H Food Plot Project page on the Cooperative Extension Service website to learn more about the program or contact your local county agent.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit uada.edu. To learn more about ag and food research in Arkansas, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station at aaes.uada.edu.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 22 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.
Pursuant to 7 CFR § 15.3, the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services (including employment) without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual preference, pregnancy or any other legally protected status, and is an equal opportunity institution.
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Media Contact:
Rebekah Hall
rkhall@uada.edu
501-671-2061