Hi folks! I just wanted to post an "FYI" here this morning. I've been taking several calls and messages lately regarding food plot selection, and in particular, and have noticed chicory come up quite a bit. Chicory is indeed a valuable selection, but along with the benefit comes a negative if the right variety is not utilized. As briefly as possible, let me break it down! First, and most importantly, chicory is loaded with condensed tannins, which bind with protein, thus decreasing rumen degradibility, and allowing transport and absorption rate..making it bypass protein. Here's the kicker..varieties with a high level of tannins bind the protein and carry them out without being absorbed at all, making it useless as a protein source. It also lowers the intestinal parasite burden(lungworm, etc.). At worst, it's antagonistic to internal parasites, at best it's completely toxic. Studies are incomplete, but it suggests roughly a 70% effective kill rate...and that's strong. Chicory also has a larger and more developed taproot system, making it more drought tolerant. To sum it up, Chicory is a great choice for high protein, high TDN food plot addition..but pick the right varieties..It will be more expensive, but when all factors are counted, is well worth it...Not directly soliciting here on this thread, but can arrange better price if enough interest from several producers...will be happy to help...
