Do BOB seeds get a bad rap sometimes?

[SD51555]

I don't know. I have a hard time believing one variety of corn is the same as another variety of corn. Pick any crop. Wheat, oats, tomatoes, soybeans, etc. Different varieties have different traits. I think the deer thought there was something different with these oats.

I'm sure there's something to it. That's one of those situational things. I've poured all my energy the last however many years trying to find things deer don't want to eat right away.

Up by me there is immense hunting pressure, but almost no pressure when it comes to the habitat improvement cold war. I've been trying to slow the deer down in terms of attraction, or they'll clean my plate long before gun season.

I once dropped $200 on a bag of floury corn. It was a corn bred for animal consumption that had a far thinner outer hull than standard corn grown for yield or ethanol. I also side by sided some grazing corn with it. That was back before I quit fighting against my environment. Corn, beans, and apples are an almost impossible crop up by me. But I did buy an apple tree this year. It's a human food tree, and it's on my lawn, so that doesn't violate my pledge to never buy another tree ever again.

 

[BenAllgood]

I wonder how the soil conditions play a role in that? Is it that the variety is preforming better under those conditions?

I haven't seen the published data yet. I'm sure, as with any university research project that will be peer-reviewed and hopefully published, that they factor that in.

 

[Barndog56]

I hope the deer don't read that study. The last thing I need is them nagging me to buy some LSU oats!

I'm sure there are some differences in varieties, and if I planted 10 different kinds of oats some would get eaten more than others. But when they come walking through my plot they're going to eat whatever I have out there.

 

[Native Hunter]

I'm sometimes willing to pay a premium for superior cultivars of a specific species. We assume that all BOB seed are superior cultivars, but sometimes that is not the case. You still need to read the labels and research if necessary.

This year I bought a 3 lb BOB bag of chicory that I really like and can't find any other way to obtain. However, I was able to buy a superior cultivar of medium red clover at a local feed store for about $2.60 a pound rather than pay $6 a pound by buying BOB. This cultivar of red clover rivals and even exceeds some of the best red clover cultivars that the BOB seed companies sell. So, what I did was buy BOB when I didn't have a choice but reject BOB when I could save money.

 

[GMan5465]

Last year I ran out of seed and made a run to Fleet Farm and picked up some "Hot Mamma" and "Brassica Buffet" for one of my plots. I was standing in line waiting to check out thinking to myself, "What the hell am I doing?" I only broadcast it, and it turned out surprisingly well. So, who knows. Overpaid, but it worked.

 

[Foggy47]

I wonder how the soil conditions play a role in that? Is it that the variety is preforming better under those conditions?

^ Yep....why they say things like "your results may vary".......or always read and follow label directions. Or, what they might say is "cover your ass" idiot.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I wasn’t aware of there being much for improved varieties specifically for deer but I remember buck forage oats being a talking point. What are some other examples besides the LSU oats?

I have a little bit of time reading about improved varieties of seed but it’s almost always about more biomass for hay or pasture. Stuff like dynamite or freedom MRC vs VNS, fixation balansa, buck or haywire forage oats, etc.

Not sure how to define BOB seed these days but it seems like there’s lots of stuff out there that’s probably pretty good seeds and blends of standard stuff you could get elsewhere for cheaper as well as the shitty stuff with lots of filler.

 

[BenAllgood]

I wasn’t aware of there being much for improved varieties specifically for deer but I remember buck forage oats being a talking point. What are some other examples besides the LSU oats?

I have a little bit of time reading about improved varieties of seed but it’s almost always about more biomass for hay or pasture. Stuff like dynamite or freedom MRC vs VNS, fixation balansa, buck or haywire forage oats, etc.

Not sure how to define BOB seed these days but it seems like there’s lots of stuff out there that’s probably pretty good seeds and blends of standard stuff you could get elsewhere for cheaper as well as the shitty stuff with lots of filler.

Mossy Oak Biologic brings in newly developed varieties. They introduced a new radish this year.

 

[Native Hunter]

I wasn’t aware of there being much for improved varieties specifically for deer but I remember buck forage oats being a talking point. What are some other examples besides the LSU oats?

I have a little bit of time reading about improved varieties of seed but it’s almost always about more biomass for hay or pasture. Stuff like dynamite or freedom MRC vs VNS, fixation balansa, buck or haywire forage oats, etc.

Not sure how to define BOB seed these days but it seems like there’s lots of stuff out there that’s probably pretty good seeds and blends of standard stuff you could get elsewhere for cheaper as well as the shitty stuff with lots of filler.

I think another example could be the different forage chicory varieties. My deer aren't picky when it comes to chicory, but I do think there is one cultivar that seems to stand out from the crowd to a degree. And, as you mentioned, I do see quite a bit of difference in medium red clovers when it comes to longevity.

 

[Foggy47]

I possess a sign that my dad had on the wall in his office. He was an implement dealer and a pretty good negotiator...especially back when folks would really haggle on price. The sign said:

"If you want good, clean oats.....you must pay a fair price.
.....but, if you can be satisfied with oats that have already been run through our horses.....well, those come a little cheaper.

^ good advice.....or at least good for a few more dollars.....grin.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

^ Yep....why they say things like "your results may vary".......or always read and follow label directions. Or, what they might say is "cover your ass" idiot.

I always figured that if most everyone was managing for poor soil conditions then it would make sense that modified seeds would be tailored to preform the best under those less than ideal conditions. What if you change those conditions though?? Was that variety just the one that did best in a poor environment?? That’s kinda what I was getting at.

 

[SD51555]

I wasn’t aware of there being much for improved varieties specifically for deer but I remember buck forage oats being a talking point. What are some other examples besides the LSU oats?

I have a little bit of time reading about improved varieties of seed but it’s almost always about more biomass for hay or pasture. Stuff like dynamite or freedom MRC vs VNS, fixation balansa, buck or haywire forage oats, etc.

Not sure how to define BOB seed these days but it seems like there’s lots of stuff out there that’s probably pretty good seeds and blends of standard stuff you could get elsewhere for cheaper as well as the shitty stuff with lots of filler.

I don't know that anything is developed for deer. It's more likely developed for cattle. And what's good for cattle will be good for deer. One fork in the ag road is driven by yield with no regard for quality. The other fork in the road is driven by quality first, and then yield. That's where you find some neat forages. Most farm universities are all cross breeding all sorts of stuff to try to make improved forages for better milk, better forage finished meat, longer productivity out of livestock. Back when rBST was a thing, it did wonders for milk yield, but I remember those cows aged so fast, they'd be about dead after 1-4 years of production. I don't know if that stuff is even used anymore.

Anyway, there are probably 10+varieties of oats and wheat in every state which are usually crosses of two strains they already have. I've got a sorghum trial going in my asparagus bed right now between 4 types, and two are complete losers, and two are showing really well. Super sugar, Coes, Endurance, and plain WGF. The Coes and Endurance are duds. WGF emerged quickly and had a high germ. Super sugar was a little slower, but has shot up since, and is shooting out way more tillers than the WGF. To be fair, WGF seems more geared towards grain, and super sugar is more geared towards edible biomass.

I had to yank all the collards out. They were on track to consume the whole bed.

 

[BenAllgood]

I always figured that if most everyone was managing for poor soil conditions then it would make sense that modified seeds would be tailored to preform the best under those less than ideal conditions. What if you change those conditions though?? Was that variety just the one that did best in a poor environment?? That’s kinda what I was getting at.

I'm not sure what the growing conditions are in that university trial, but I would assume they're not using regenerative ag practices.

 

[bigboreblr]

Oats, there are cultivars good for seed production and cultivars good for forage production. Guessing the deer were liking a forage one here.

Deer loves apples, deer eat apples, but the deer wish there were more apples in a particular tree for sure......

Got to give a thumbs up to plotspike. They have reasonably priced blends that produce good results. Our cereal grain, brassiica, and clover formulas most guys on here use is in a bag from them. No magic beans, but some austrian peas though.. Plotspike forage feast. Used it for years and still buy it to mix with bags of aots and rye. Plotspike clover blend is nice. Thought the crimson clover in the bag was a bit of a waste, but I kept mowing spots and couldnt see the seedheads. Didn't mow this year in a rye mix.

Imperial clover. I have a mix mess of clover seeds I use. Medium red, ladino, and white dutch. I am phasing out white dutch. Ladino I am using durana and patriot now. My local seed seller by the lb went up in price a good bit. Still buy from him, but his ladino is 1 dollar less a pound than I can order durana and patriot.

Guys with a kill plot or two, thats who they're after with BOB. Quantity which I am climbing towards a touch, it doesn't make sense. Expecially when most of us aren't focused on maximum output per acre. Doing less tillage, less to no fertilizer, heck some guys are irrigating their plots out there. I was and may still be one of them.

Like most, I live a good ways away from where I hunt. So time is important to me. I use an ATV, so I make up inn lack of implement power with more seed. Probably around 2 acres with spring tines and a cultipacker.

Im not every buying seed really anymore. I use feed oats, rye, and wheat. Turnips / raddish are VNS. I do think clover matters in certain extreme environments. I have sandy soil in zone 3. Winterkill is a big issue in some spots up north. I've been trying to get dandelion in my club lawn and snowmobile trail areas for 5 years now. No luck. Plantains survive though. OF course, wish BOB would sell certain weeds I want around........