Food Plot in Hay Field

[Belchertown Bowman]

So I have a Hay Farmer buddy who will let me put a crop in his Hay fields. I told him it would be an annual and have no impact on his hay.

I hope I am right,..?

Has any done this or have tips. I figure I can throw down seed cold weather crop,.. even with tall hay in the field it will germinate and his last hay cut should be in late September (State of Massachusettes) allowing a winter crop to pop up,.. in theory.

Will this plan work, anyone tried this? Any advice appreciated.

 

[Bill]

That’s going to be tough. First you should spray after he cuts to kill everything. Sounds like that’s not an option.
That’s to late in MA for turnips I would think.

The only thing I can suggest is winter rye. It will germinate down to 36 ish degrees. But it won’t grow fast in the cold.
Also not sure what affect it will have in the spring for first cut hay???

Maybe you should talk to him about renting an acre or three out of his hay fields. If it were me I’d talk to him about converting a few acres into alfalfa for the long haul. His haying would help it. You just may have to convince to skip last cut or cut it high in September.

Food for thought..

 

[Belchertown Bowman]

Renting an acre now that sounds like an ideal,.. ?

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I guess I would try drilling some annual clover into it after he cuts it low, and the clover will help the hay out as well. The grasses will smother out the clover, but there will be some clover in the grasses, and the deer will find it. I also like the idea of alf Alfa. Maybe tell the land owner you will buy the seed, if he plants it. It would be a win win for you both. You will get to hunt over Alf Alfa, and he will get free seed, and some hay with Alf Alfa.

 

[Belchertown Bowman]

I will suggest that to him.

Thanks (off to research Alf Alfa now LOL)

 

[BenAllgood]

I'd find out what type of hay he has now. He should be familiar with all the different hay mixes in his area and there could be something he would be glad he got mixed in for free. For example, he might not mind a top sowing of red clover to up the hay quality. But, he might get upset if it creates a mix of undesirable hay or takes away from his current hay type.

 

[Belchertown Bowman]

So best news of all,..

I visited the hay field owner this morning and proposed renting a strip of the field up near a good tree stand site. I suggested a 20 to 30 yards wide section along the forest and about 75 yards long. I figure don't be greedy and said I would pay him to rent/work that area.

He said take it for free have fun. He is a really nice guy who has become actual friend over the last year.

Here is the field. .. He let me drive on the hay field with my jeep to find a piece of his tractor that fell off.

So I guess next time he mows it down I will move in and kill the stubble with round up. Drop lots of lime,.. guessing about 500 lbs,.. and lay in a strip of WTI clover nearest the edge of trees and further out getting more light I will drop in a brassica mix. Least that is the basic plan at this point?

This is small scale compared to some of you guys on this forum,.. but it is best I can swing not being a large land owner.

In Mass,.. land is big $$$ ,... :(

Anyone got any thoughts to help out, better ideals?,. this is short time to work for this fall.

 

[Bill]

30 yards by 75 yards is about 20250 sq feet. Just under 1/2 acre.

You can use WTI clover or you can ask the owner where he buys his seed and see if they sell clover by the pound.
If so get 2lbs of a local Red clover and 2 lbs of Ladino white if they sell it and it grows up there.
Then with the $ you saved by not paying extra for WTI buy a 50 Lb bag of winter rye. Also called (grain rye)
Make sure it’s not rye grass! They are not the same.

Put your 4 lbs of clover and 50 lbs of winter rye on that 1/2 acre. As soon as you can after he has mowed and you have sprayed. In the spring let the rye go to seed. It will get 3 or 4 feet tall and hopefully reduce weed growth. If the clover germinated and survived winter it will grow under the rye.

That’s a big field. Deer may not feel secure hitting it before dark. In the spring You may want to consider taking a 10 foot border between your clover and the field and plant Sudan sorghum grass as a screen. It will create a hidden pocket on the edge of that big field and give them a staging area to hit just before dark.

If this is a long term plot that you think you’ll have for 5 or so years maybe use Miscanthus grass (MG). It’s a plant once and be done deal. Sorghum has to be planted annually.

I’d see how the deer act with Sudan before investing in MG

 

[Bill]

So I guess next time he mows it down I will move in and kill the stubble with round up.

Also I know we all say round up often. But don’t actually buy round up at Home Depot. 2.5 gallon jug of 41% glyphosate can be had from tractor supply or rural king for about what a quart will cost at a box store.

You may know that but just tossing it out there in case..

And you may not get a good kill on stubble. The gly needs to hit some leaf/blade surface to really be effective. You're racing the clock up there but if possible let it grow back a bit before spraying it.

 

[Rit]

I am going to take a different approach and tell you it’s going to be a very tough entry/exit to try and hunt that small plot in the middle of what probably is a destination field. Morning access will bump deer off the field and evening exits will bump deer coming to the field.

You may want to glass the area for a few consecutive nights if you aren’t sure where the deer are entering the field. Alert them to your presence a few times and they will be showing up after dark. It looked like on the video there was some type of access trail to the left. That might be a staging area and a better spot to hang a stand.

You mentioned dumping lime in the area. Do you know the PH? If not I wouldn’t dump lime then. You can get a good throw of clover by broadcasting into the standing Hay just before it’s cut but it won’t do much this year. Not sure how long term this is but if it’s something you plan to do for awhile I’d break down and get a soil test. I would also break that plot into 2 strips and make one half pure clover/chicory and then make the brassicas and overseed with winter rye. The clover portion should get you into late October early November and the greens and grain will carry you until they consume it all.

 

[j-bird]

I'm with RIT on this....pick your location based on hunting access FIRST! I have been guilty of this (picking a spot for a plot based on where it was easy or where I see a nice tree without any real plan for access) and it jumped up and bites me in the butt. Look for any terrain features that may dictate deer travel. Ravines, low spots, inside or outside corners, saddles and the like near the edge of the field can funnel deer to a spot. But again....you have to be able to get in and out without educating the deer in the process. It's not going to matter how great the plot is or what you plant in it if you constantly bump deer out of it.

 

[Belchertown Bowman]

I was going to walk along the edge with the wind favoring me,.. inside the edge is very thick no way to move through it quietly.

Anyone got any angles on field access that might have worked for you? Maybe sneak in at dark ?

Been researching a transporter pad,. no luck so far! Beam me in there!!!!

Any thoughts appreciated,..


I go to start spraying this weekend for a kill off on the area granted to me. Going to take above advice and hit it before it is cut back. Thanks!

 

[j-bird]

I have to deal with open fields a lot in my area. It sucks! You can't see them, but they certainly can see you. That was why I mentioned access. To be honest in some areas I simply wait until I can see....then if deer are out there I simply pull the plug. For evening hunts, you get "stuck" on stand. I text my wife or boy to let the dogs out and they will follow my scent and rattle the deer enough that way or have them drive something down into the general area and the deer will take off. If you hunt this area and bump deer...they are certainly going to figure you out and your sightings will decline over time.