Buck forage oats vs. other oats

[bornagain62511]

Has anyone done comparison tests with buck forage oats and other oat varieties? Has there been much if any difference? We planted buck forage oats several years in a row many years ago, but we never really did a fair comparison test with other oats. They deer did really hammer them, but not sure if it would have been any different with normal varieties? I plan to plant about 50 rye, 25 pounds of winter peas, and 50 pounds of oats per acre on several acres in mid August and was wondering if buck forage oats would be better or not?

 

[Catscratch]

Lots will tell you BFO are better, and they are right (for them and their area). A long time ago we planted BFO, COOP oats, and winter wheat in strips in 2 different plots. Deer ate all of it but spent most of their time in the wheat. Saw no difference between the 2 different types of oats.

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[strawhead]

We have done a side by side twice. Once with some minimal tilling, and once doing throw and mow."For us", we have found no benefit to pay the extra money for BFO. Both times were fall plots using "Lickcreek" recipe. We used cheapest seed oats we could find. (Had a bad experience with bin run oats once. Saw the weed seed in them, and used them anyways. Shame on me.) Deer browse pressure was moderate at best. Again, for our location we didn't believe there was a benefit to using BFO.

 

[yoderjac]

Yes, Lickingcreek did a comparison between BFO and Bob oats and found no preference for BFO. (Bob is a common variety of oats and does not stand for Buck on Bag in this case). In my area, I see no overall preference differences between cereal grains. Different grains peak at different times so there may be temporary preference that change over time. I typically use WR here because of all the soil and other benefits it offers over other cereal grains.

Thanks,

jack

 

[Charles Clear]

The only oats I saw any difference with was Whitetail Institute oats. They stayed greener longer and the deer really favored them.

 

[SWIFFY]

Ive done side by side strip testing and I have not seen a difference. I usually mix rye and oats in my area.

I think youre timing has a lot more to do with the attractiveness of small grains than the type itself sometimes. Much is out of our hands since we are planting with only a 30-45 day window of growth.

Id buy the cheap stuff.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

The only oats I saw any difference with was Whitetail Institute oats. They stayed greener longer and the deer really favored them.

I plant them one year and had good usage before I knew not to by seed from sporting good stores.

 

[Iowa_Dave]

I can't say that I have ever done a side by side comparison with oats, but I have planted "plain" oats many times and the deer always consumed them just fine. Could the deer possibly prefer one variety of oats v. another one?? I suppose that is possible, but I have never had any reason to think about it too much since the plain oats are fully consumed and much cheaper. Oats are about the least frost tolerant thing that we plant in the late summer/early fall and while popular when they are up...they don't handle freezes at all. So the "limiter" for me as it relates to oats is not whether or not they are more palatable or preferable to the deer, etc, it would be how can they withstand the cold.

Now then, if one variety could stay green and vibrant for say an extra week or two or three in the fall...it might be worth paying some more for that. Barring that, I would not pay up for them IMO.

 

[SwampCat]

I have done side by side with Co-op run feed wheat seed and BFO. Deer favored wheat in my area. BFO yellowed much worse during extreme wet weather. I plant about 35 acres wheat each year at 100 lbs per acre. That would be 70 bags of either wheat or BFO. Wheat is $10 per bag, $700 total compared to almost $3000 for the BFO. No way, no how, are BFO going to be four times better than straight run wheat or oat seed. I could see, if you just wanted to run a comparison and plant and acre or two - but when planting multiple acres - I don't see the value.

 

[TreeDaddy]

Hard to beat a more cost efficient option than cereal grains here in east texas

Deer hammer any and all oats(Bob,Jim,Tom &Jerry,etc,etc)

bill

 

[bowhunternw]

Now I don't know about any preference between the two by deer. I do mix oats and cereal rye, It has been hard for me to get a good stand because to get some growth, I need to plant sometime in second half of august. Problem is where my property is I have seen a lot of dry spells from early august to mid September. So in the future I am hoping to get more foodplots that I can put in early to catch some of the rain.