Soybean Protection

[tynimiller]

I am going to be doing a double fence (outer and inner) approach this next season on a portion of my soybean plots as a test to see if it will work...I don't want to spend the money on an electric fence set up personally...

Has anyone attempted similar thought? I 100% realize this could potentially mean the rest of the beans not fenced get hit harder but that's fine and will be fall seeded if so.

Just curious if anyone has had success with non E-Fence approaches to protecting beans.

 

[Bill]

Never tried without electric. But double electric works for me. I've heard some guys say with high deer density and a shortage of food electric doesn't even work. My electric setup wasn't terribly expensive. We only used t post every 50 yards or so and just use fiberglass polls in between. I suspect if you have good strong corner posts you could use all fiberglass in the middle. Also used tape style as it was cheaper than rope style.

 

[tynimiller]

Never tried without electric. But double electric works for me. I've heard some guys say with high deer density and a shortage of food electric doesn't even work. My electric setup wasn't terribly expensive. We only used t post every 50 yards or so and just use fiberglass polls in between. I suspect if you have good strong corner posts you could use all fiberglass in the middle. Also used tape style as it was cheaper than rope style.

Yeah will be more of a nothing ventured nothing gained type of a deal...should it not work the deer get fed...should it work I'll have better pods there for late season than rest of the plot areas. The outer edge I plan on three strands and the inner two (different level than outer) to hopefully discourage dropping thinking they cannot make it.

I'll track it for you guys in a thread that way you all can take part in the failure or success.

 

[Peplin Creek]

I have heard that people have had luck putting up two fences both being at different heights spaced a couple feet apart, it throws off the deer’s depth perception. I am guessing this would be the plan. I am wondering if this would work as well so please keep us informed.

 

[tynimiller]

I have heard that people have had luck putting up two fences both being at different heights spaced a couple feet apart, it throws off the deer’s depth perception. I am guessing this would be the plan. I am wondering if this would work as well so please keep us informed.

Will do. I will start a thread come the Spring tracking the success or failure or mixture...

 

[Smallplot]

Can’t wait to see how this turns out. Have seen deer jump and crawl over/under fences/obstructions to get where they want to go. Without a zap from an electric wire I honestly don’t see this being very effective but I will still like to see the outcome of your trial.


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[tynimiller]

Can’t wait to see how this turns out. Have seen deer jump and crawl over/under fences/obstructions to get where they want to go. Without a zap from an electric wire I honestly don’t see this being very effective but I will still like to see the outcome of your trial.


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Yup, if it fails oh well the deer will be happy and beans will get them fed no doubt just no pods but fall seeding can always happen then.

 

[FarmerDan]

I have heard that people have had luck putting up two fences both being at different heights spaced a couple feet apart, it throws off the deer’s depth perception. I am guessing this would be the plan. I am wondering if this would work as well so please keep us informed.

Yes, it's not foolproof but this works. In one of my other lives I worked for a company processing and selling seed corn. The research farm was located in an area very much over populated with deer.

The test plots were protected by a non-electric 3 strand smooth wire fence. There were two wires on the outside and one set back from the outer fence about 4 or five feet.
The exact details elude me.

You might find a workable solution here:
http://www.ncwildlife.org/Learning/...eer#42041178-electric-deer-barrier-principles

 

[Nova]

A little bit different, but I tried the plot saver fence last year on a one acre bean plot. We have a pretty high deer density and a single strand fence treated with the scent worked pretty well. We did half the plot and left the other half open. Open side got hit pretty hard, but inside the fence the beans were about a foot taller. By about September they couldn't take it anymore and did finally cross the fence.

I was thinking of doubling the fence with one inside the other like you are talking about to throw off their depth perception this year. I'll be curious how yours works also.

 

[chickenlittle]

Double row e-fence is the only reason our corn plot had ears. Unfenced plot had none.

 

[j-bird]

Kill all the deer.....then you won't have to worry about it. Seems to be the DNR's answer to your issue!!!! Or simply overwhelm the deer with so much they can't possibly eat it all. Of course I am being sarcastic.....sort of. I have low deer numbers and an overwhelming amount of soybeans so I can grow small plots of soybeans.....literally 1/4 acre and they do just fine with no protection at all - full pods and everything!

 

[tynimiller]

Kill all the deer.....then you won't have to worry about it. Seems to be the DNR's answer to your issue!!!! Or simply overwhelm the deer with so much they can't possibly eat it all. Of course I am being sarcastic.....sort of. I have low deer numbers and an overwhelming amount of soybeans so I can grow small plots of soybeans.....literally 1/4 acre and they do just fine with no protection at all - full pods and everything!

I didn't get good enough germination last year to really see if the deer will let them live....but they devoured any and all that did germ after I gly treated and all the ragweed and such no longer protected them...

 

[yoderjac]

The double row fence will be a deterrent to deer jumping it, but they won't have to. Their first attempt is to crawl through a fence. Without E or height, you will likely be out of luck (and beans). :(

 

[tynimiller]

The double row fence will be a deterrent to deer jumping it, but they won't have to. Their first attempt is to crawl through a fence. Without E or height, you will likely be out of luck (and beans). :(

Worst case they get some of the best summer food around...best case I save some of the best late season food around. I am really hoping they'll focus their attention on the un-fenced regions and it may work "good-ish". LOL

 

[yoderjac]

Worst case they get some of the best summer food around...best case I save some of the best late season food around. I am really hoping they'll focus their attention on the un-fenced regions and it may work "good-ish". LOL

They will. I used plot saver one year before I was willing to pony up for a Gallagher-style E-fence. The results looked great at first. I only used it on about 1/4 acre of the 3 acres I planted. Deer just hammered everything out side the fence and avoided the fenced area. I religiously applied the deterrent mix each week with a sponge. However, once deer had wiped out all the beans outside the fenced area, the beans inside the area became more and more attractive on a relative basis. Before long, they were breaking into the fenced area. In the end, you could not tell any difference in the beans inside and outside the fence.

Bottom Line: Deer do perceive the fence as a risk and if they have the same food nearby in an area they perceive as lower risk, they will eat that first. However, if that source dries up due to browse pressure (or anything else), it won't take deer long to start breaking in to the fenced area. Once they do, they learn quickly the fence is not a threat.

You method will determine which beans the deer eat last. If you have enough beans outside the fenced area the beans inside may canopy and flower.

The first place I would put my money is into RR forage beans in a case where browse pressure is a major factor, not a minimally deterring fence. I have found that it takes very little browse pressure to kill ag beans. However when I used Eagle beans, deer would keep them naked all summer, but they couldn't kill them. The beans would grow new leaves just about as fast as the deer ate them. I kept upping the acreage of beans planted and when I hit about 7 acres in my area, they would canopy, flower, and produce pods.

The downside of this approach for folks up north is that much more of the energy of forage beans go to leave production rather than pod production. Therefore the pods and beans in the pods are smaller. Forage beans are generally indeterminate and will mature very late. None of this is good for a late season food source.

Another strategy I've seen used is to plant the interior of the field with ag beans and plant forage beans in the perimeter. Deer generally feed from the outside in. This can give the ag beans some protection, again, provided you have sufficient acreage given your browse pressure.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[JFK52]

I am in agreement with yoderjac. I planted Eagle forage beans this year for the first time. My objective was to keep the deer off my 10 acres of ag beans in three fields. I planted one 140K seed count bag of Northern managers mix on my land. The largest Eagle plot was .8 of an acre. This strategy seemed to work well. The deer browsed the Eagle beans until they succumbed to the first hard frost. I had great pod production on my ag beans, which are an over winter food source for the deer. I have a decent deer density on my land and am fortunate to have enough acreage in which to plant food plots of all different sizes.
I also rent out a 12 acre field that a farmer keeps in alfalfa. This too helps keep the deer of my ag beans.

 

[tynimiller]

They will. I used plot saver one year before I was willing to pony up for a Gallagher-style E-fence. The results looked great at first. I only used it on about 1/4 acre of the 3 acres I planted. Deer just hammered everything out side the fence and avoided the fenced area. I religiously applied the deterrent mix each week with a sponge. However, once deer had wiped out all the beans outside the fenced area, the beans inside the area became more and more attractive on a relative basis. Before long, they were breaking into the fenced area. In the end, you could not tell any difference in the beans inside and outside the fence.

Bottom Line: Deer do perceive the fence as a risk and if they have the same food nearby in an area they perceive as lower risk, they will eat that first. However, if that source dries up due to browse pressure (or anything else), it won't take deer long to start breaking in to the fenced area. Once they do, they learn quickly the fence is not a threat.

You method will determine which beans the deer eat last. If you have enough beans outside the fenced area the beans inside may canopy and flower.

The first place I would put my money is into RR forage beans in a case where browse pressure is a major factor, not a minimally deterring fence. I have found that it takes very little browse pressure to kill ag beans. However when I used Eagle beans, deer would keep them naked all summer, but they couldn't kill them. The beans would grow new leaves just about as fast as the deer ate them. I kept upping the acreage of beans planted and when I hit about 7 acres in my area, they would canopy, flower, and produce pods.

The downside of this approach for folks up north is that much more of the energy of forage beans go to leave production rather than pod production. Therefore the pods and beans in the pods are smaller. Forage beans are generally indeterminate and will mature very late. None of this is good for a late season food source.

Another strategy I've seen used is to plant the interior of the field with ag beans and plant forage beans in the perimeter. Deer generally feed from the outside in. This can give the ag beans some protection, again, provided you have sufficient acreage given your browse pressure.

Thanks,

Jack

I 100% don't disagree with you and while I don't buy the typical ag beans at the local bin I don't buy Eagle either to be honest. I also fully expect that it may be a failed attempt, however I do feel if I can get a solid (much better than this past year) germination everywhere and fence just a tiny 1/4-1/3 acre spot by a stand the uphill battle may be achieved.

Honestly, I am doing it more out of curiosity than assurance that it will succeed. I personally may someday buy an electric fence but right now not going to mess with that at least not currently.

Ultimately my beans are planted primarily for an awesome source of food during the summer months...but IF I can get some pod production standing I know come late season that will be a huge draw and overseeded into the beans just doubles food delivery.

Do I think I'll succeed.....I'd say even I would bet against it....but curiosity I guess more than anything has me curious. IF it works I'll be extremely happy, if it doesn't not gonna shock me and I'll still be happy because I utilized land dedicated cash to seed/trees and such.

 

[chickenlittle]

Didn't some blogger write about fencing his beans with flagging tape or something? I think it was an amusing experiment that he quit talking about. I'll see if i can find it.

Edit. Links. 2nd link says the flagging take failed in a couple days and he replaced it with something else. Doesn't post about it again.

www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/big-buck-zone/2014/06/how-make-your-own-dual-perimeter-deer-fence

https://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/big-buck-zone/2014/07/micro-manager-whats-worked-what-hasnt

 

[yoderjac]

I 100% don't disagree with you and while I don't buy the typical ag beans at the local bin I don't buy Eagle either to be honest. I also fully expect that it may be a failed attempt, however I do feel if I can get a solid (much better than this past year) germination everywhere and fence just a tiny 1/4-1/3 acre spot by a stand the uphill battle may be achieved.

Honestly, I am doing it more out of curiosity than assurance that it will succeed. I personally may someday buy an electric fence but right now not going to mess with that at least not currently.

Ultimately my beans are planted primarily for an awesome source of food during the summer months...but IF I can get some pod production standing I know come late season that will be a huge draw and overseeded into the beans just doubles food delivery.

Do I think I'll succeed.....I'd say even I would bet against it....but curiosity I guess more than anything has me curious. IF it works I'll be extremely happy, if it doesn't not gonna shock me and I'll still be happy because I utilized land dedicated cash to seed/trees and such.

Put a game camera on the fenced area. I did. It was insightful that I got not pictures at first, but once deer started breaking in, the number of pictures skyrocketed.

Thanks,

jack

 

[Nova]

I would for sure give it a try, you aren't out much if it doesn't work and it's a huge win if it does. I was pretty happy with my results. When I took the fence down in September the beans inside were almost waist high and full of pods, outside the fence they were 18" tall with minimal pods.