How weather can drive deer antler growth

With it being early June, whitetail deer might not be on many hunters minds. But the scouting for trophy bucks with big racks starts for some in portions of summer. To find out what drives the growth of deer antlers, we talked to Jason Isabelle of the Missouri Department of Conservation.

There are three main factors when it comes to deer antler growth including genes, age, and nutrition. Both genetics and age can be changed by hunters by culling deer in an area or allowing for young bucks to grow. The third factor of food is determined by the weather. When a deer's diet becomes less nutritious thanks to less available spring foliage caused by instances such as drought, their antler size can suffer as the nutrients are primarily used on the deer's actual body instead.

Thankfully, all of Mid-Missouri is out of long-standing drought allowing for more possible food for deer to feed on.

The last two months saw near or just above average rainfall totals helping conditions return to normal levels for spring foliage.

Extended rainfall outlooks show near average rainfall trends further boosting positive health in future antler growth through summer forage.