diff --git a/docs/howto/initial-data.txt b/docs/howto/initial-data.txt
index d003db6..2cc6a05 100644
--- a/docs/howto/initial-data.txt
+++ b/docs/howto/initial-data.txt
@@ -77,6 +77,13 @@ again, you'll wipe out any changes you've made.
 Automatically loading initial data fixtures
 -------------------------------------------
 
+.. deprecated:: 1.7
+
+    If an application uses migrations, there is no automatic loading of
+    fixtures. Since migrations will be required for applications in Django 1.9,
+    this behavior is considered deprecated. If you want to load initial data
+    for an app, we suggest you do it in a migration.
+
 If you create a fixture named ``initial_data.[xml/yaml/json]``, that fixture will
 be loaded every time you run :djadmin:`migrate`. This is extremely convenient,
 but be careful: remember that the data will be refreshed *every time* you run