Planting Soybeans

[nrowles]

I was going to post this in the other recent soybean thread but I have a couple questions of my own that weren't answered there so I figured I would post my own thread. I also have a 1.5 acre plot. A couple years ago I had planned on at some point putting corn in and letting stand over winter so I bought a 2 row corn planter. Since then a few hundred acres of corn has sprung up within a mile of me. Guy cleared pulpwood for fields and another started farming overgrown fields. At least this year, no soybeans within a mile. I'm now thinking that if this happens again within the next couple years of trying soybeans on my 1.5 acre. There are a lot of deer in the area but I only have a few (8 or so) regulars on my 14 acre property. I want to put soybeans in for summer candy and attraction. I'm not too concerned with the cost, so if they mow them down in a months time I'm fine with that and it served its purpose. I would just hope there is enough time to plant something else.

For PA, would you recommend planting as early as possible and if they do mow them down I could probably still get something like buckwheat in for the summer and then plant again in the fall?

Or would you recommend planting as late as possible and if they mow them down let the plot go until fall planting late August?

 

[Wild Thing]

I have a high deer density here and some of my smaller, unfenced soybean plots get hammered pretty hard. I just plant another crop right over top of them so I know there will be some forage for fall/winter as well. Example - I just broadcasted brassicas over 3.5 acres of mostly beans yesterday. Next month, I will drill cereal grains right over top of the rest of the beans that have played out.

Second scenario - some guys like to plant beans late so they still have some green protein for early bow season. I guess it boils down to what your goals are.

 

[nrowles]

What happens when you drive over beans with your tractor? Does it lay them down / kill them / etc.? Or do they stay all good?

Primarily this is a hobby with the hopes of attracting deer year-round. Here is my thought. This fall I am going to plant 1/2 acre (in addition to a 1/2 acre secluded plot) of the 1 1/2 acre in clover/chicory and the remaining acre clover with small amount of brassicas. Then next spring, plant beans if all corn planted around me again. Then terminate for fall planting.

I think my fall planting will most likely always be a clover mix unless I do plant corn and let it stand. Then plant something for the summer such as beans or possibly let the clover be until fall again. This is all new to me so I'm not exactly sure how it will work out yet. I just know that beans are highly attractive and that's what I'm going after. If they mow them down replant or plant something else.

 

[Nova]

If I had 1.5 acres that I wanted beans in with high deer density I would plant Eagle forage beans. The more they browse them the more they grow, unlike ag beans that die if over browsed. This is a 1/4 to 1/2 acre plot that has between 4 and 8 deer in it every night and they can't keep up with the beans.

 

[Wild Thing]

Young beans are very resilient. We drive over them to spray them when weeds start emerging and they just pop back up. Late season if the deer have kept them mowed down they aren't going to be tall enough to be damaged either....and at that point - it really doesn't matter anyway as you are planting a new crop over top of them. I just drove my tractor/cyclone spreader over heavily browsed beans yesterday to spread Urea fertilizer for the brassicas I broadcasted over them. I doubt if I killed any beans at all - but it really doesn't matter because there wasn't much there anyway and I will soon have brassicas germinating.

With only 1 1/2 acres to plant I would strongly recommend planting the Lick Creek or Dbltree rotation of perennial clovers in 10% of the plot and then rotating cereal grains and brassicas in the remaining 90%. The only variation I do from planting 3 strips is that I plant a ring of clovers around the outside of all my plots so there is always clover there for the taking. You don't need to replant clovers every year.

 

[nrowles]

If I had 1.5 acres that I wanted beans in with high deer density I would plant Eagle forage beans. The more they browse them the more they grow, unlike ag beans that die if over browsed. This is a 1/4 to 1/2 acre plot that has between 4 and 8 deer in it every night and they can't keep up with the beans.View attachment 19404

Wow. Eagle Forage Beans it would be!

 

[Wild Thing]

If I had 1.5 acres that I wanted beans in with high deer density I would plant Eagle forage beans. The more they browse them the more they grow, unlike ag beans that die if over browsed. This is a 1/4 to 1/2 acre plot that has between 4 and 8 deer in it every night and they can't keep up with the beans.View attachment 19404

That may work for you and some Nova but it didn't work for me. I planted Eagle Forage Beans and regular ag beans in separate plots several years ago as a comparison test and I found no difference. The Eagle beans were browsed down to the same level as the ag beans. This is in a high deer density area where small plots of beans face a real challenge. Truthfully, my ag beans that year, planted in a larger field actually did much better than the forage beans, which admittedly were planted in smaller plots.

Nice looking beans....and deer.

 

[j-bird]

It all depends on if your wanting to feed the deer in the summer or in the fall/winter.

I would look at it this way. I'm going to plant a traditional fall annual plot of cereal grains and brasica anyway in the same plot when the time comes. The only difference is what condition the beans are in at that time. Forage beans may need to be terminated, ag beans may be already wiped out or you plant when the leaves start to yellow via broadcasting.

Why thought process is that if I want grain for the fall/winter....that means ag beans, even though I know the risks. If I just want summer forage I plant the forage beans knowing the will tolerate the foraging process, but normally not produce a grain.

Keep in mind that acres of corn around you will only slightly reduce the pressure on your summer time beans. Yes deer will feed on growing corn, but in my area they prefer the fresh soybeans by a wide margin. The deer here do not hit the corn as a food source until the cobs start to fill and on into the actual grain is formed.....which is mid summer and beyond. Once young soybeans start popping out of the ground.....it's game on as far as the attacking the beans is concerned! If those other fields are planted in soybeans then that is a different story, but you can't always be reactive like that. Plant based on what you want to do. If you are only looking for summer forage from the soybeans, you may choose other options like lablab or cowpeas as well as a more cost effective means or at least conventional (non-RR) beans.....

 

[Wild Thing]

It all depends on if your wanting to feed the deer in the summer or in the fall/winter.

I would look at it this way. I'm going to plant a traditional fall annual plot of cereal grains and brasica anyway in the same plot when the time comes. The only difference is what condition the beans are in at that time. Forage beans may need to be terminated, ag beans may be already wiped out or you plant when the leaves start to yellow via broadcasting.

Why thought process is that if I want grain for the fall/winter....that means ag beans, even though I know the risks. If I just want summer forage I plant the forage beans knowing the will tolerate the foraging process, but normally not produce a grain.

Keep in mind that acres of corn around you will only slightly reduce the pressure on your summer time beans. Yes deer will feed on growing corn, but in my area they prefer the fresh soybeans by a wide margin. The deer here do not hit the corn as a food source until the cobs start to fill and on into the actual grain is formed.....which is mid summer and beyond. Once young soybeans start popping out of the ground.....it's game on as far as the attacking the beans is concerned! If those other fields are planted in soybeans then that is a different story, but you can't always be reactive like that. Plant based on what you want to do. If you are only looking for summer forage from the soybeans, you may choose other options like lablab or cowpeas as well as a more cost effective means or at least conventional (non-RR) beans.....

Excellent point J-Bird. Summer corn doesn't take any pressure off of summer beans.

 

[j-bird]

Excellent point J-Bird. Summer corn doesn't take any pressure off of summer beans.

Obviously that is a generalization as the deer WILL eat young corn plants.....and those corn plants being there are better than nothing. But it's not going to save a small young bean plot from potentially being hammered. I personally only treat corn as a fall/winter food source. The nice thing about ag beans is their ability (if allowed) to provide summer forage AND a fall/winter gain AND the ability to overseed a cereal grain/brassica mix for more food. You can get a lot of food from the same piece of dirt......almost to the point of being year round. The key is deer numbers or protection measures taken.

 

[SwampCat]

The important time for eagle seed beans is the first month. If they escape getting eaten to the ground and start branching - they should be good to go. I have planted a lot of ag and a lot of eagle seed beans. If either gets browsed to the ground in the first month, neither is going to make it. Once they get up and going, my eagle seed far out does my ag beans. Eight deer can put a lot of pressure on 1.5 acres.

 

[FarmerDan]

Central Pennsylvania? My mother was from Northumberland County. It's kinda' central Pennsylvania. I'll use it as a guide for soybean planting. And, I should say I really like soybeans. Here in Virginia I try to do as many as four plantings. It rarely happens, but its a plan! April, May, June and September. The earliest planting date for soybeans in Northumberland County is 4/21 and the last planting date is 6/20. Those are crop insurance requirements. You can go earlier and later. It's good, actuarial information.

You have lots and lots of options. Well, maybe not so many on ab acre and a half. One option is to plant at the end of April. At the end of May assess the situation. If your field its eaten to the ground, plant another crop. Then, there are all kinds of variations on that theme. It's where your artful side helps you make decisions! Should it be unclear, my September beans are for grazing only. I've enough land to also plant rye, oats, radishes, and various brassicas.

 

[yoderjac]

I was going to post this in the other recent soybean thread but I have a couple questions of my own that weren't answered there so I figured I would post my own thread. I also have a 1.5 acre plot. A couple years ago I had planned on at some point putting corn in and letting stand over winter so I bought a 2 row corn planter. Since then a few hundred acres of corn has sprung up within a mile of me. Guy cleared pulpwood for fields and another started farming overgrown fields. At least this year, no soybeans within a mile. I'm now thinking that if this happens again within the next couple years of trying soybeans on my 1.5 acre. There are a lot of deer in the area but I only have a few (8 or so) regulars on my 14 acre property. I want to put soybeans in for summer candy and attraction. I'm not too concerned with the cost, so if they mow them down in a months time I'm fine with that and it served its purpose. I would just hope there is enough time to plant something else.

For PA, would you recommend planting as early as possible and if they do mow them down I could probably still get something like buckwheat in for the summer and then plant again in the fall?

Or would you recommend planting as late as possible and if they mow them down let the plot go until fall planting late August?

Without a Gallagher style fence, I wouldn't recommend planting them at all on 1.5 acres as you describe your situation.

 

[FarmerDan]

Without a Gallagher style fence, I wouldn't recommend planting them at all on 1.5 acres as you describe your situation.

But I would....so there ya' go!

 

[JFK52]

I overseed my RR ag and Eagle beans with winter rye before they canopy. Winter rye is $15 for a 50 pound bag. I just use a belly seeder and the seed sits on top of the ground. I try to do this just before a rain is forecast. My beans are primarily planted for an over winter food source as all ag beans in the area are picked by farmers. I get a green crop in the soy beans when they are yellowing and the deer do not want to touch the beans. Then I get a green cover crop in the early spring that keeps the weeds out of the food plots. This is what works for me in Central Wisconsin and I have a medium to high deer density.

 

[yoderjac]

But I would....so there ya' go!

No problem with a difference of opinion here. My experience has been that without protection, even forage beans don't provide enough benefit to be worth the cost and time when planted in small acreage where no other soybeans (or similarly attractive crops) are present.

In a situation like this, I'd be more inclined to plant a less attractive crop like Buckwheat for summer forage that is used but generally not abused by deer for the summer and then plant an attractive crop in the fall for in-season attraction. The reality is that he won't know for sure what works in his area until he tries it.

Thanks,

Jack