Is the Acorn Crop Failing?

At the farm in SW Bracken County, the whites are producing at a level just under last year's bumper crop. The reds are taking the year off. Our other place is up in Cincinnati. There are acorns there, but not in any profusion.

About every 10 years or so, the mast crop of the oaks fails completely. The result is ruinous to the squirrel population. The next year, they produce a bigger than normal crop of acorns. There's been some research to suggest the trees have evolved this way as a way of insuring that at least one crop out of 10 gets to fall to the ground un-hindered by the squirrels.

We had a localized crash a few years ago in SW Bracken County, KY. Neither the whites nor the reds produced much of anything and all the squirrels disappeared. They were just starting to rebound last year. In 2001, I spent 3 days trying to bag a squirrel with no luck.

Up on the northern side of Cincinnati, I remember a crash. We went from swimming in tree rats to nary a one from one year to the next. The next year I had oak trees and maple trees springing up everywhere in my lawn and flower beds.

So what does this have to do with deer? Deer are not as dependent on acorns as squirrels, but it is an still an important part of their diet. The double-whammy will be if the Farmers Almanac proves true; its predicting snow in January and record cold in February and March with the cold lasting until April