Cereal Grains for Whitetails

[phil@thesidehill]

1
Looks great Phil! Are any of brassicas going to seed? Rape is rarely a problem but forage radish and some turnips have short growing season's so if planted to early they can flower, go to seed and become unpaltable. Lots of variables of course so early planting may be no problem at all, just something to be aware of when experimenting ;)

Thanks Paul! The radish started bolting in early September. I knew that was a risk, but i figured the rest of the mix would be good to go...and the radish have produced a solid amount of tubers. I also did not have a lot radish in the mix overall. Since i do not do any tillage, i broadcast directly into killed or mowed sod, i find the larger seed radishes don't germinate at a very high rate. I think they would do better being covered a little more. I do not have a cultipacker or a roller....I do about 95% of my plotting by hand! I basically mow and spray and broadcast by hand and that is it! seems to be effective so far.

 

[SD51555]

Thanks Paul! The radish started bolting in early September. I knew that was a risk, but i figured the rest of the mix would be good to go...and the radish have produced a solid amount of tubers. I also did not have a lot radish in the mix overall. Since i do not do any tillage, i broadcast directly into killed or mowed sod, i find the larger seed radishes don't germinate at a very high rate. I think they would do better being covered a little more. I do not have a cultipacker or a roller....I do about 95% of my plotting by hand! I basically mow and spray and broadcast by hand and that is it! seems to be effective so far.

My brother! We're the same way.

 

[phil@thesidehill]

My brother! We're the same way.

haha! thats great! I am starting to feel that its getting harder each year though. A four wheeler may be in future...lol.

 

[Dbltree]

1
You both do a great job of notill planting!

 

[phil@thesidehill]

1
You both do a great job of notill planting!

Thanks...its not always easy but it seems to work for me!

 

[SD51555]

1
You both do a great job of notill planting!

That means a lot. Many thanks.

A lot of the time, researching and planning is going on right up until I pack the truck and head up. So many things go through a person's head. I really focused on finding the plants and amendments that would do well in a broadcast situation. Next year I'm going out on a limb with some larger seeded things that may or may not work out well. But that's the fun of it. You won't know unless you try. And you may just stumble upon something great you can share with the group.

 

[phil@thesidehill]

But that's the fun of it. You won't know unless you try. And you may just stumble upon something great you can share with the group.

that is exactly it! I like to try different methods and forage species because you never know how it is going to work out until you try it.

 

[SD51555]

I've been kicking around the idea of doing a rye/pea plot, and a soybean/sorghum plot around July 15th next year and holding off with the third component. I'd wait to see how well that comes in, and if it's thin, I'd go back and fill in with a third option like brassica or sunflowers.

 

[non-pro-archer]

Paul, in your experience, if you have a 3 acre spot for a rotation would it be better to do a 1.5 acre plot of each side by side or do say 6 different divisions within the 3 acres?

 

[Dbltree]

1
188
Our clients purchased their farms with one goal in mind, to manage it for hunting mature whitetail bucks. This means they want their land managed to support the maximum number of mature bucks. To accomplish this we have to maximize acres in cover and minimize acres devoted to food sources.


These goals may or may not be yours but it’s important to understand that if someone prefers wide open timber and 20 acres of food plots when they need 2, it’s ok. Goals can change also but ours include getting the highest yields (feeding the most deer) from the least area. This allows us to have more acres in cover, more cover = more big whitetails.

The rye mix portion of Dbltree rotation provides high quality forage that is extremely attractive to whitetails. Unlike corn and soybeans, forage crops continue to grow while being grazed. This is why forage crops are nearly impossible to wipe out and it requires much less land to feed the same number deer.





The rye, oats, peas, forage radish and clover mix is hard to pass up, although some report deer in south passing up peas. First time new plots may sometimes take a season for deer to adapt to, both of those situations are rare. Every plot on every farm was eaten to the dirt the first year we planted them, usually around 100 acres in SE Iowa. As noted in pictures these plots are literally surrounded by ag crops, yet whitetails flock to them daily. Be sure to use exclusion cages and trail cams to monitor usage, over time add tree orchards that include fruit, chestnut and hybrid oaks in and around the feeding area. They will round out the year around attraction and hold deer even when oaks are raining acorns or fields are littered with grain.







We plant roughly 3 acres for every 80-120 acres, the timber is managed to provide the maximum browse and cover. This means all their needs are met 365 days a year and planted food sources get heavily use.

Whitetails are opportunistic and take advantage of food sources closest to their bedding areas, dominate doe groups take the choice area. If that area is wide open timber, very few deer will be using the plot, there are then many variables involved that affect usage.




We don’t just plant plots we improve all facets of whitetail habitat, for that reason our success may vary widely from someone who doesn’t. It’s important to keep these things in mind when comparing or measuring success, one may buy a farm with outstanding cover and another may have to work hard for many years to create it.

Food sources of any kind aren’t worth a hoot without premium cover and many landowners have no idea what that entails, but top notch cover holds a lot whitetails and that in turn requires crops that can withstand heavy grazing.

The rye mix portion of our food sources is able to do just that and yields can further increased by adding higher levels of nitrogen.




You may own your property for a variety of reasons and perhaps killing a big whitetail is way down your priority list. The crops we use will work regardless of goals, including low budget and no equipment landowners. Add milo to the rotation if you enjoy upland game birds, when combined with NWSG and edge feathering it makes outstanding pheasant, quail and big whitetail habitat.

 

[Dbltree]

1

Paul, in your experience, if you have a 3 acre spot for a rotation would it be better to do a 1.5 acre plot of each side by side or do say 6 different divisions within the 3 acres?

The only advantage to multiple strips is that deer tend to move across the strips (grass is greener) which can bring them in range versus staying in one spot.

They will also follow the edge between two crops so one use that to bring them by a blind or stand ;)

 

[non-pro-archer]

I can't wait to get a rotation going. I may split it in 3 sections one brassica, one cereal grain, and one dipper style plot, then it would basically be a 3 year rotation rather than a 2 year. One acre in each with a clover buffer all the way around

 

[Dbltree]

1

I can't wait to get a rotation going. I may split it in 3 sections one brassica, one cereal grain, and one dipper style plot, then it would basically be a 3 year rotation rather than a 2 year. One acre in each with a clover buffer all the way around

That should work out great :

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Congrats, Paul, on receiving the Game Manager of the Year Award !!! Very much deserved.

My camp tried to build the soil this year on a piece of plot. We planted buckwheat this spring - plot was limed & fertilized - and it got to about 3 ft. tall. It went to seed, we mowed it down, then broadcast a mix of brassica over it. Then we cultipacked it as there was plenty of soil showing. The brassica came up really well and the buckwheat is decaying nicely. The brassica mix is DER, GFR, PTT, Pasja forage brassica, and Barnapoli forage rape. We may get some volunteer BW coming up. What would you recommend for this plot come spring? ( It's about 1 ac. )

On another strip, we planted 1 ac. rye, 1/2 ac. brassica mix, then 1 ac. winter wheat. This long strip was plowed, disced twice, then harrowed w/ spring-tooth first. It had been limed at 2 ton/ac. and fertilized w/ 400 lbs./ac. 19-19-19. This strip is doing well. We needed some winter food sources besides all the clover we've had planted. Lots of red & white oaks in surrounding woods. Thanks for all the expert advice you give us. Are we on the right track?

I'll keep the prayers coming for you and your family, Paul. GOD BLESS !!!

 

[Dbltree]

1
Sound's like you are on the right track but you might try the rye mix instead of rye and wheat

 

[phil@thesidehill]

Congrats, Paul, on receiving the Game Manager of the Year Award !!! Very much deserved.

My camp tried to build the soil this year on a piece of plot. We planted buckwheat this spring - plot was limed & fertilized - and it got to about 3 ft. tall. It went to seed, we mowed it down, then broadcast a mix of brassica over it. Then we cultipacked it as there was plenty of soil showing. The brassica came up really well and the buckwheat is decaying nicely. The brassica mix is DER, GFR, PTT, Pasja forage brassica, and Barnapoli forage rape. We may get some volunteer BW coming up. What would you recommend for this plot come spring? ( It's about 1 ac. )

On another strip, we planted 1 ac. rye, 1/2 ac. brassica mix, then 1 ac. winter wheat. This long strip was plowed, disced twice, then harrowed w/ spring-tooth first. It had been limed at 2 ton/ac. and fertilized w/ 400 lbs./ac. 19-19-19. This strip is doing well. We needed some winter food sources besides all the clover we've had planted. Lots of red & white oaks in surrounding woods. Thanks for all the expert advice you give us. Are we on the right track?

I'll keep the prayers coming for you and your family, Paul. GOD BLESS !!!

i've had some good luck with crimson clover following brassicas. You planning on keeping that plot in one solid planting next year or maybe doing some strategic strip plotting in the one acre field? If strip plotting the crimson will be a good late spring/summer food source and will get some nitrogen in the ground for fall planting as well....especially if you get some strips of brassicas in there. I bassically did a similar thing. I planted the entire plot to brassica mix last summer, then in the spring i planted the whole thing to crimson clover, then in late june i mowed and sprayed strips into the crimson for my brassica planting in july. then i mowed and sprayed the remaining strips for the rye/oats mix..i had some extra crimson and medium red clover that i added as well. then this spring i will seed crimson into the spent brassicas. Then i will rotate the the strips for their fall plantings...ie brassicas in this years rye mix and then rye mix in this years brassica strips.

 

[Dbltree]

1
Thanks Phil, I missed that question. We use oats and a mix of berseem and crimson clovers, the amounts are listed post in the seed list. Crimson is fine alone as Phil mentioned, just get a legume growing that will fix nitrogen and feed deer :)

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Phil - I've read that you should not plant brassicas on the same ground 2 yrs. in a row because of some root diseases or pests. Have you had any probs. with that even though you're planting on the same ground as the brassica plot you mentioned in post #36? At least part of that plot would have been re-planted to brassica, right - or did I miss something? ( probably the case !! ) And - you do yours no-till, correct?

Paul - This past spring we also planted a 1 acre plot of Ladino, Alsike, and Dutch white clover with bin-run oats as a nurse crop. It came up great and when the oats got heads, we mowed them and the clover took off. Deer had been hitting the oats and hid fawns in them and our other plot of buckwheat that I mentioned earlier. The camp members are very budget- wary. Would it be O.K. to let that stand of white clovers stay for a few years, saving seed, gas, and SOME fertilizer money?

 

[phil@thesidehill]

Phil - I've read that you should not plant brassicas on the same ground 2 yrs. in a row because of some root diseases or pests. Have you had any probs. with that even though you're planting on the same ground as the brassica plot you mentioned in post #36? At least part of that plot would have been re-planted to brassica, right - or did I miss something? ( probably the case !! ) And - you do yours no-till, correct?

Paul - This past spring we also planted a 1 acre plot of Ladino, Alsike, and Dutch white clover with bin-run oats as a nurse crop. It came up great and when the oats got heads, we mowed them and the clover took off. Deer had been hitting the oats and hid fawns in them and our other plot of buckwheat that I mentioned earlier. The camp members are very budget- wary. Would it be O.K. to let that stand of white clovers stay for a few years, saving seed, gas, and SOME fertilizer money?

By double cropping the field you are breaking the cycle of back to back brassica. Essentially by planting the crimson in the spring you are breaking that cycle and presumably altering whats going on in the soil. Not to mention you are planting a mix of brassicas and not a monoculture of say just PTT or just Radish. So far I have seen zero evidence of disease or pests..and I don't expect to either. Also if doing strips you will only have strips planted to brassica in consecutive growing seasons in the first year....after that you are rotating the brassica strips out of brassicas each year. and yes i do no till...spraying, mowing and broadcasting.

 

[strawhead]

CONGRATULATIONS on receiving that award Paul. As stated previously WELL DESERVED.