Small plots with E Fence and Corn

MNFISH

A good 3 year old buck
..
 
Last edited:
I did 1.3 acres this year and lowered the fence 2 weeks ago. My deer seem afraid to enter after the hits they took this summer. Worst year for deer pictures in the area as well. Coincidence - I don't know. No bear or coon damage though. Will see what I see after this snow changes things.
 
I will be very curious to read your experiences! I'm am getting to the end of my deer management options for my 60. If it wasn't for the fish ponds, I think I would have pulled the plug already. I may be changing my name from MNFISH to WIFISH

Get your stakeholder app in and vote the max. If it makes sense for those zones. Which it does.
 
I did a couple acres this year and the deer browsed them heavily but with the ag around they did fine. I believe its Mobuckchaser that plants his soybeans in narrow rows to offset the heavy browse pressure. This might be an option. I have also heard of guys planting a small portion 15-20% of their soybeans with Eagle forage beans to offset the browse pressure. I have heard deer prefer the Eagle beans and will hit them hard and give your regular beans a chance to establish.

I would not give up on beans and would fence a portion just to give the rest a chance to make it.
 
Last edited:
Last night was a great night for JW....With the MN snow and cold the deer starting piling in at my place last night ("piling in" a relative term with our numbers; probably like 6-8). Hitting the mix of rye grain, and brassicas, HARD! I only have 1 acre of it and at this rate it won't make it to Dec! Sure doesn't take too much to get me excited but seeing as there was not a track until last night....glad to see the deer using the food source. AND I may have found some ground in WI to hunt next year along with developing some purchase prospects in WI.

BYE-BYE to 3 tags next year Leslie and thanks for the memories. And now there will be a 60acre doe factory the MN DNR will have no control over ;)

I can not tell you how many times this story has repeated itself. Passionate deer hunters quit hunting MN. Without change I will be joining that phenomenon.
 
It just sad because the whitetail resource, managed correctly, has such great potential in my born and raised state of MN. It will be interesting to see how bad it has to get before it gets better.

When your passionate leaders all hunt out of state, you are not left with much to make it change.
 
My corn does fine in small plots without e fence at present.

Foodplots for this year. Corn was the only success.

Stranding beans were used little this fall. As usual brassica not used, rye got little use, sugar beets little use. Radishes same thing.

rye is a benefit to the herd in early spring.

Even the rye and brassica in zone 1 were just nibbled on.

I read things on this forum about no till rye/wheat and brassica blends, don't plant corn, plant beans instead. And so on. I just don't buy it. There are regional differences and even differences within a few miles as well as between different years.



If you can do it, plant corn in the northland. Deer don't survive on brassica and rye/wheat under 3 foot of snow.
 
My corn does fine in small plots without e fence at present.

Foodplots for this year. Corn was the only success.

Stranding beans were used little this fall. As usual brassica not used, rye got little use, sugar beets little use. Radishes same thing.

rye is a benefit to the herd in early spring.

Even the rye and brassica in zone 1 were just nibbled on.

I read things on this forum about no till rye/wheat and brassica blends, don't plant corn, plant beans instead. And so on. I just don't buy it. There are regional differences and even differences within a few miles as well as between different years.



If you can do it, plant corn in the northland. Deer don't survive on brassica and rye/wheat under 3 foot of snow.

Bears raise hell on corn. I have watched 5 acre fields completely destroyed.
 
Bears raise hell on corn. I have watched 5 acre fields completely destroyed.
Brooks-bears taste great, also!

In all truth, I am glad I am beyond the major bear range.
 
I can not tell you how many times this story has repeated itself. Passionate deer hunters quit hunting MN. Without change I will be joining that phenomenon.

I agree Brooks. Many of my friends are very serious about chasing big whitetails and they are all looking at buying land in other states...SD, KS and MO because our state cannot manage our herd. None of them want to be away from their families for the rut but if you want a quality rutting experience it is tough to find it in MN. All of my relatives live and hunt in MO and wow is their herd so much healthier and well balanced in regards to the age structure.

I have given up on the DNR. I will support and push the MDDI but I think if you want to see results sooner it is all about working with your neighbors.
 
I can not tell you how many times this story has repeated itself. Passionate deer hunters quit hunting MN. Without change I will be joining that phenomenon.
I will hopefully be hunting Kansas next year if I can draw. I will still buy one tag in Mn but I've had more than enough of this state. Twenty more years of work then I'm outta here.
 
Art, when you say small plots for corn, what size are you talking? I too don't have much for bear but have a lot in the way of coon's. Fish ponds and raccoons go together like peanut butter and jelly! Do you have much in the way of coon damage?
My coon numbers seem to be at a low for now. Their populations cycle with fur price and disease. My neighbor also has many acres of sweet corn. That might take pressure off of my corn.

I have about 2 X 1 acre plots for now and one is mixed in with the 2 year old corn. By my driveway if you remember the 3 acre field.
 
I have had 1.5 acres of e fenced corn open for almost 3 weeks now. Way more deer over on the neighbors soybeans. And you can see his plot from the major road. Mine is hidden in the woods. Saw 2 deer in his beans at 4 pm last Saturday on the way to the beer store (kid killed his buck at 3.20) and there were five I could see with 30 minutes legal shooting light left when we came back.

Between Bur and Stus post you may have some research to do locally on what the deer prefer. If I don't get a good uptick in the next 10 days I will have a complete efence setup you can buy as I will ditch the corn and go back to beans. My results to date are leaps better.
 
Beans are THE major draw here right now. Standing corn on the other side of the road (maybe 60' away) is seeing minimal usage. Its ALL about those standing beans. That may change if we get more snow, but I'll bet the deer are in those beans until they're gone (which is gonna take awhile, must be about 50-60 acres of them) or until they're totally covered with snow.

Driving me nuts. His beans were not even fertilized, and that plot has had virtually no fertilizer in about 4 years with all annuals. I poured the fertilizer to that corn. But muzzleloader will tell the tale of the plots. Still 2 really good bucks that MAY still be hoofing.
 
Beans are "hot" for me right now. The traffic in that 1.5 acre field is nuts. I'm drawing in deer from all over
 
Beans are "hot" for me right now. The traffic in that 1.5 acre field is nuts. I'm drawing in deer from all over

Beans are really active for me also. I have corn planted next to the beans and the corn is being used but the beans are the draw now. Brassicas are seeing little use and the LC mix almost none at this time. The raddish in the LC mix was hot in early fall and now there is not a radish left.

For a late season draw in northern areas beans and corn work.
 
My beans are only tiny plots. I need to see if beans are left in them. From one box stand I can see the beans and all of the tracks are in the corn.

My deer have been under intense hunting pressure for years. Could it just be the corn is preferred because of cover?

Deer are just not seen out in the open during deer season daylight hours. Seldom even seen in daylight during the summer.
I am speaking of the sandbox-zone 2. Rifle zone, 2, 5 or more doe permits for years, open country, and road hunters. Anything pokes it's head out and somebody is shooting at it.

Here is a picture from my neighbor in zone 1. These deer were in his yard on the second Sat. of deer season. No one in his party has a doe permit.

IMG_0105.JPG

This has not happened where I live since we had the big efforts for herd reduction/elimination. Thanks, Beau!
 
If you guys had to guess with the bean usage that you are seeing, how long (# of days) would an average 1 acre field of beans (like 40 bushel) last with 6-8 deer on them.

Note: I noticed the GH radishes and red clover were a good draw early. My LC mix was ok but not fantastic. It was secluded up against good bedding. PTT almost zero eaten so far

Hard to say on the beans as there are allot of variables. Do you have competing ag in your area so the deer herd has alternatives? If I had zero ag near me I would e fence or plot saver the soybeans until 2 weeks before you want them to attract deer. if you did that an acre should provide enough food to last you for a month and would work from Mid October through rifle season.
 
^^^x2
 
If you guys had to guess with the bean usage that you are seeing, how long (# of days) would an average 1 acre field of beans (like 40 bushel) last with 6-8 deer on them.

With 6 - 8 deer an acre of beans can be planted unprotected and pod usage will accelerate with the snow. Once the acorns and rye are hard to get to they will really be on the beans, and at 30 bu per acre you would have enough beans to feed 8 deer for a couple months.
 
Top