Providing Supplemental Supplies of Food
Supplemental food qualifies, but it carries a caveat worth understanding before you buy: appraisal districts scrutinise feeders more closely than any other activity, because a corn feeder run in autumn is hunting, not wildlife management. A documented year-round programme is viewed very differently.
What counts
- Free-choice protein pellets available continuously, targeting the late-summer and late-winter nutritional bottlenecks.
- Timed broadcast feeders running on a programmed year-round schedule.
- Food plots of native or adapted forage species.
- Managed browse: grazing deferment that lets native forage recover.
Degree of intensity
One feeder per 100 to 300 acres depending on browse quality and herd density. More feeders on a small tract concentrate animals and raise disease transmission risk, so density should follow biological advice rather than enthusiasm. Site feeders within 50 yards of escape cover and at least 100 yards from a property line.
Texas requires at least three of the seven qualifying activities. Use the exemption calculator to size this one to your acreage.
Qualification is determined by your county Central Appraisal District, and intensity standards vary by ecoregion and property size. Nothing here is tax or legal advice. Confirm your activity mix with a certified wildlife biologist before filing.
Common mistakes
- Running feed seasonally instead of year-round, which reads as a hunting setup.
- Leading with supplemental food as the strongest of your three activities rather than pairing it with shelter, water or census.
- Mixing corn and protein at one site, since deer select corn and the nutritional purpose is lost.
- Discarding feed receipts, which are the single strongest evidence the programme is real.
- Placing feeders close to a boundary and drawing wildlife off a neighbour's land.
Records that survive a review
Dated feed receipts, refill logs and timer settings. Annual feed tonnage recorded consistently year over year is what carries this activity through review.
Equipment for this activity
Need the plan as well as the gear?
We supply and install the equipment. Written wildlife management plans, appraisal district filings and audit defense are handled by our sister company Plateau Land & Wildlife Management. See also our county-by-county guides.