At Field Plots

[greekfreak]

At 5:00 a.m., second thing in the morning (behind feeding the baby) I obviously already have deer on the mind. One question I asked myself was “How much Ag can we leave in our fields to make a good, sustainable food plot?”

I understand this is a complex question. Typically the deer density is quite high on most of our farms. A 2-3 acre standing patch of beans will fall short and be gone by end of December, beginning of January.

Would I need to nearly double that? The obvious answer is the more the merrier but we need some income off the farm (not primary source).
Let me know I anyone has any thoughts.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

What some do around me, plant in corn, leave the field until spring then combine what is left. Then the deer get as much as they need, and a decent place to hide and bed.

 

[Tree Spud]

At 5:00 a.m., second thing in the morning (behind feeding the baby) I obviously already have deer on the mind. One question I asked myself was “How much Ag can we leave in our fields to make a good, sustainable food plot?”

I understand this is a complex question. Typically the deer density is quite high on most of our farms. A 2-3 acre standing patch of beans will fall short and be gone by end of December, beginning of January.

Would I need to nearly double that? The obvious answer is the more the merrier but we need some income off the farm (not primary source).
Let me know I anyone has any thoughts.

I would be more focused on the native browse and food sources. Food plots are only one part of their food source. Shrubs, weeds, etc. all contribute to their diet.

 

[SwampCat]

That would depend on your deer density and other prime food sources in the neighborhood. For most of us hunters, we want to see deer - and food plots (in my opinion) - are better for seeing deer than are natural food sources. I believe deer are fairly lazy creatures and will still elect to do some of their feeding in easy areas like food plots, just because large quantities of palatable, and oftentimes, nutritious foods - are easily had in quantity.

I have two different 100 acre, less than five year old, clearcuts that border my property. They are full of deer food and bedding cover. Thousands of acres of swamp and bottom land are right next door. On my land, the challenge is pulling deer to my land from the high quality adjacent lands. Natural food that is a available on 1000’s of acres of adjacent land doesnt really attract deer in high numbers - to my place. I do have a fair bit of high quality natural food sources on my own property - but when I want to see deer - and lots of them - I go to a food plot.

I have about 27 acres of wheat/clover food plots on my home ground 300 acres in nine different food plots. Even with all the readily available natural food in the area, every inch of every food plot is pretty much eaten to the ground by mid February. This holds true even in years with large acorn crops.

The average deer density in the area is 20 dpsm. Most times, there are a lot more deer than that on my place - not because I have great cover or great natural food sources, but because I have food plots.

I live in the south. Our stress period is in late summer. There is no row crop in my area. There is a lot of cover and a lot of natural food. The key to seeing deer is pulling them out of the cover and away from the natural food. This is the way it works at my place and there is no doubt, my place doesnt represent everywhere. If I had three acres of soybeans with bean pods on the vine that was fenced to keep the deer out - and took the fence down Nov 1 - there wouldnt be a bean pod left in five days.

 

[TreeDaddy]

At 5:00 a.m., second thing in the morning (behind feeding the baby) I obviously already have deer on the mind. One question I asked myself was “How much Ag can we leave in our fields to make a good, sustainable food plot?”

I understand this is a complex question. Typically the deer density is quite high on most of our farms. A 2-3 acre standing patch of beans will fall short and be gone by end of December, beginning of January.

Would I need to nearly double that? The obvious answer is the more the merrier but we need some income off the farm (not primary source).
Let me know I anyone has any thoughts.

Love the opening sentence

Like most of us,your addiction is pretty bad

bill

 

[FarmerDan]

There's a lot to consider in your question. Leaving a production crop in the field for a food plot seems expensive at today's cash prices. One acre of soybeans might yield 40, 50, or 60 bushels. Don't know where you are, but that has to have some bearing on the answer. With 'beans at $15- $16 a bushel leaving a portion of the crop reduces your revenue as much as $1,000 at the top end. There's no reduction in production cost, probably not even in harvest cost. So, that thousand comes directly off your bottom line.

I only offer the observation to ask what else you might do that preserves most of your revenue yet accomplishes what you might seek. Harvest loss will leave some beans, but today, most have reduced that to a mere decimal point percentage of the total. I guess what I'm thinking - asking - is can you buy a couple hundred (?) dollars of seed, maybe rye and clover, to over seed into your existing commercial crop? Maybe there's a local Soil & Water Conservation District or NRCS offering some financial help to plant cover crops after harvest?

 

[yoderjac]

I would piggyback FarmerDan's response. Many farmers plant a cover crop broadcasting into standing beans with no hunting or deer in mind. They do it because a cover crop makes long-term economic sense. In some cases, the economics are enhanced by incentives. Most of those cover crops make outstanding food. Granted, I'm further south of you have less winter stress, but relying on a cash crop for wildlife seems like an expensive way to do it. I know when I live in PA, some farmers would leave some corn standing until after hunting season, but eventually they would harvest it. It extended the time wildlife have it available, but except for what they ate, the farmer still made money on it.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[SwampCat]

I think if you were going to dedicate three acres ground for the deer, you would plant something much cheaper and would provide at least some attraction much longer.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

I think if you were going to dedicate three acres ground for the deer, you would plant something much cheaper and would provide at least some attraction much longer.

Get a .7 soybean and plant radishes, rye, and lentils when the leaves are yellow. The early maturity group of beans still produce good but they’ll allow you some extra time to put on growth of your cover crop.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bill]

I only offer the observation to ask what else you might do that preserves most of your revenue yet accomplishes what you might seek.

Dang it Dan, I never considered this. I planted over 10 acres that I’m leaving and leased a production field out for 1/3 of the crop and no input costs. I was going to leave that 1/3 stand in the field

maybe not. That 1/3 covers a lot of my other input costs.

if my deer get belly growling I’m sending them to talk to you.

last year that 1/3 left standing was my ace in the hole. Farmer planted way earlier than I could. My plots failed and his saved my butt.

 

[FarmerDan]

Dang it Dan, I never considered this. I planted over 10 acres that I’m leaving and leased a production field out for 1/3 of the crop and no input costs. I was going to leave that 1/3 stand in the field

maybe not. That 1/3 covers a lot of my other input costs.

if my deer get belly growling I’m sending them to talk to you.

last year that 1/3 left standing was my ace in the hole. Farmer planted way earlier than I could. My plots failed and his saved my butt.

Bill, your tax account loves your strategy and I would do the same....
If I were a rich man,
Yubby dibby dibby dibby dibby dibby dibby dum.
All day long I'd biddy biddy bum.