Imperial Whitetail Clover The Clover that Started It All — and Still the Best

By Matt Harper 

In today’s marketing-gone-wild world, it’s little wonder powerful words that were once used discretionally are now overused, diluted and common. Consider the word awesome. Webster’s defines it as “inspiring awe,” and when considered in that manner, the word should be reserved for things such as a spectacular mountain landscape, the Grand Canyon at sunrise or the breeching arc of a humpback whale.

Yet you might see an advertisement refer to a deep-dish pizza as awesome. Does the pizza really inspire awe? I like pizza as much as the next guy, and a good pizza might inspire uncontrollable salivation, but I would struggle to say it’s awe inspiring.  And then there’s the phrase “one of a kind.” You might see an ad­vertisement for a farm for sale that says, “This is a one of a kind.” Is it honestly unique? Granted, there might be no other farm exactly like it, but I would guess there’s a plethora of similar properties.

To spice things up and differentiate something from like items, peo­ple will throw in truly to the description, as in “truly, one of a kind.” Does that assure that it must be one of kind?  Revolutionary is another word that has been diluted. It’s defined as bringing about a fundamental or major change. That means revolu­tionary describes something completely new, which has not been seen or experienced before. The word is used frequently to overdramatize a description, as few things are actually revolutionary. The wheel, gunpowder, trains and computers were unquestionably revolutionary because they brought about fundamental change in the way people lived their lives.

They also created industries that did not exist before their invention.  Using that logic, it’s unarguable that Imperial Whitetail Clover was revolutionary. Unquestionably, Imperial Whitetail Clover started the food plot industry and deer hunting has been forever changed for the better.  

OK, you might say people planted wheat, rye and oats in green fields long before Imperial Whitetail Clover. True, but green fields and Im­perial Whitetail Clover differ significantly and fundamentally. First, Imperial Whitetail Clover was genetically developed specifically for whitetail deer, which had never been done with any other forage.

Green-field plantings were simply agricultural forages designed for cattle but used in deer plots. Green fields were planted to attract deer but food plots planted with Imperial Whitetail Clover not only attract more deer but provide high-quality nutrition as well.  The ground-breaking Imperial Whitetail Clover research led by the late Dr. Wiley Johnson centered on selecting specific characteristics desirable for a whitetail forage.

Researchers tested over 100 clover va­rieties for traits such as attractiveness, protein content, seedling vigor, digestibility, seedling survivability, and tolerance to drought and cold. The clovers exhibiting the best of those traits were cross-pollinated to produce a hybrid offspring. That process was repeated many times over several years, with the result being Imperial Whitetail Clover. No other forage had those collective traits, making Imperial Whitetail Clover the first and only “deer-specific” clover variety.  

Second, there had never been a food plot variety designed for not only attracting deer but to provide beneficial nutritional content as well. Green-field plantings were designed to attract deer to fields but gave zero consideration to whether the forage improved the nutri­tional plane of deer or would improve the quality of deer.

Nutrition was one of the main considerations in the early design of Imperial Whitetail Clover, because the intention was to provide a food source that supplied nutrients to produce larger body weights, increase doe lactation, grow bigger antlers and essentially produce a higher-quality deer herd.

So, Dr. Johnson’s selection process led to the creation of Imperial Whitetail Clover, not only the first food plot product but the most nutritious and attractive food plot product available.  From the day Imperial Whitetail Clover was introduced, researchers continued to look for genetic improvements.

Through the years, that has led to the production of newer and even better clover varieties. The Whitetail Institute research team led by Dr. Wayne Hanna, started a project several years ago that focused on genetically selecting for longevity and vigor while maintaining the other desired charac­teristics.

He collected samples from clover plots that exhibited extreme longevity and vigorous growth from 16 states across the country from Wisconsin to Texas. With those samples, he began a multiyear cross­breeding program to find offspring that would consistently show those traits without sacrificing other critical traits, such as high protein content, digestibility and attractiveness.  The result was Whitetail Institute’s newest proprietary variety, WT-177.

The addition of WT-177 makes Imperial Whitetail Clover more cold and drought tolerant. It grows more vigorously and has a longer lifespan while maintaining exceptional digestibility, attractiveness and nutrient content providing the highest protein levels in the industry. WT-177 raises the bar again, setting another new standard in the food plot world.  

The Cornerstone  

With more than a million acres planted in the past 30-plus years and thousands of trial and field results, to this day, Imperial Whitetail Clover is undoubtedly the No. 1 food plot product in the world. Thousands of testimonials from across the country report not just satisfactory results but vast improvements in the quality of deer and hunting that far exceed ex­pectations. But Imperial Whitetail Clover’s impact goes beyond just being the leading food plot forage.

Imperial Whitetail Clover trail­blazed the research path that has led to the development of its many cousin products.  In many cases, Imperial Whitetail Clover is the cornerstone and foundation of other Whitetail Institute seed blends. One of the first examples is Imperial Alfa Rack Plus. Imperial Whitetail Clover is ex­tremely drought tolerant, but like most clovers, it performs best in heavier soils that hold moisture.

Because food plots are not always planted in that type of soil and sometimes planted in more well-drained soils, researchers began testing forage blends containing other forage types suited for well-drained soils. They found a highly attrac­tive and nutritious X-9 Technology grazing alfalfa that excelled in well-drained soil and, when combined with Imperial Whitetail Clover, became Imperial Whitetail Alfa Rack Plus.  

The unique characteristic of the product is its ability to adjust to varying soil moisture conditions throughout the USA and Canada. It also contains record high protein levels of over 44%. Food plots don’t always contain the same type of soil in a specific field, such as a field that’s part ridge transitioning into a bottom. Although clover and alfalfa are typically found throughout a plot such as that, the grazing alfalfa will be more prominent on the ridges and slopes and the clover more prominent in the bottom or anywhere soil moisture is higher.  

Imperial No-Plow is another development from the Whitetail Insti­tute that followed the introduction of Imperial Whitetail Clover. No-Plow is the original minimal-tillage food plot blend and is widely used across North America.  Knowing that not all food plotters had tractors and heavy tillage equipment, and that some areas could not be accessed with bigger ma­chinery, Whitetail Institute researchers developed a seed blend that would grow with minimal or no tillage. All No-Plow needs is adequate seed-to-soil contact and some sunlight. The deer devour the blend of plats growing from the No-Plow mix.

A more recent newcomer to the Whitetail Institute line is Imperial Whitetail Fusion, which is a combination of Imperial Whitetail Clover and WINA-100 chicory. With a similar concept to Alfa Rack Plus, Fusion is even more drought tolerant and will grow in soils that might not support alfalfa.  

Whitetail Institute does offer food plot blends that don’t contain Imperial Whitetail Clover, but that does not mean it did not have major influence on those products. The design methodology that went into the development of Imperial Whitetail Clover focused on rigorous testing in both controlled and field settings and done so in all regions in the USA and Canada where the product would be grown.

Further, it had to be the best on the market, and if testing proved it wasn’t, it was tossed back into the research bin until researchers were certain there was no better prod­uct of its kind. Also, the new product needed to meet an unsatisfied demand of food plotters. In other words, it had to be a unique blend with unique varieties that met a previously unmet need.  All those factors went into developing Imperial Whitetail Clover and became the research method that led to products such as Imperial Whitetail Winter-Greens.  

Winter-Greens is a blend of specifically se­lected brassica varieties designed for fall and winter food plots. It took more than six years of research and hundreds of varieties tested before researchers found the exact blend of varieties that consistently out­performed other brassica products.  The development criterion that calls for a product to be unique and meet unmet needs was the driving force behind the development of Imperial Whitetail Extreme. 

Extreme contains Persist Forb, a White­tail Institute proprietary forb that can grow with limited rainfall and in soils with a low pH. Persist is combined with Whitetail’s WINA-100 forage chicory to produce a blend that is highly attractive and nu­tritious yet grows in extreme conditions — hence the name Extreme. I could reference many other Whitetail Institute products that were spawned from the same mindset as Imperial Whitetail Clover.

Suffice to say, Imperial Whitetail Clover has left a permanent mark on the thinking that goes into new product development at the Whitetail In­stitute. If it doesn’t live up to the developmental standards set by the originator and leader, you will never hear of it, because it will never be introduced.  

Imperial Whitetail Clover and the Culture of Whitetail Institute  

It’s impossible to separate Imperial Whitetail Clover and the White­tail Institute, because they are intertwined in their culture. Imperial Whitetail Clover is the revolutionary innovation and Whitetail Insti­tute the revolutionary innovator.

Before Imperial Whitetail Clover, there had never been a food plot product designed “specifically for deer”. Before Whitetail Institute, there had not been a food plot industry. Whitetail Institute and Imperial Whitetail Clover were the leaders and originators of both.

Whitetail Institute continues to make Imperial Whitetail Clover even better, never resting on the laurels of past suc­cess, which is the way Whitetail Institute treats all of its business.  There is no compromise in quality of product or quality of service and these same standards are found though our Canadian Distributor Magnum Marketing / Canadian Whitetail Food Plots.

Whether it’s the steadfast assurance in the performance of its products or the commitment to be the industry leader in customer service, the Whitetail Institute’s culture is second to none in commitment to their customers. You won’t see highly paid celebrities in Whitetail Insti­tute’s advertisements, because like Imperial Whitetail Clover, there is no need for superfluous marketing.

The results realized in the past 30 plus years by tens of thousands of everyday hunters speak far louder than a paid endorsement.  It’s the culture of Whitetail Institute that created Imperial Whitetail Clover, but it’s the culture around the development of that product that continues to drive Whitetail Institute. They cannot be separated, nor should they, for the connection goes beyond a company and prod­uct. Simply, they are the leaders and set the industry standard, and that’s the culture: Always be the best!