Soybean seed

[Mahindra3016]

I tried soybeans 2 years ago, around 1/2 acre of mean bean crush tractor supply clearance seed, I live in ag country, the plot did get browsed some in the summer, but did canopy and make pods, It was a big draw mid bow season, the deer ate the pods and even a lot of the stems.
This year i want to expand the plot to closer 3/4 acre. I am in south central Pa, I want to try rr ag beans, what do i want to ask for at the co op? what maturity rate ect? Is shatter resistance something i need to specify when buying seed? I thought about trying real worlds but i'm not about to pay 25.00 or more for shipping.
Thanks, Ben

 

[Greta&Gus]

For me personally, on a bean plot that is less than an acre I would be interested in a forage bean that will produce more leaves. You can hunt the plot early season before it yellows. I wouldn't worry about shatter resistance in a small plot because I don't think you will produce enough pods to make it a big attractor.

 

[yoderjac]

I tried soybeans 2 years ago, around 1/2 acre of mean bean crush tractor supply clearance seed, I live in ag country, the plot did get browsed some in the summer, but did canopy and make pods, It was a big draw mid bow season, the deer ate the pods and even a lot of the stems.
This year i want to expand the plot to closer 3/4 acre. I am in south central Pa, I want to try rr ag beans, what do i want to ask for at the co op? what maturity rate ect? Is shatter resistance something i need to specify when buying seed? I thought about trying real worlds but i'm not about to pay 25.00 or more for shipping.
Thanks, Ben

In south central PA, I would not worry about shatter too much. RWB won't offer you much. If you want archery season attraction, I'd consider Eagle RR beans. They are expensive but they are very late maturity and produce a lot of summer forage. Here in central VA, they are still green and attracting deer to the forage in the middle of October. By then, most of the ag beans the farmers plant will have turned yellow and be less attractive. I'm not sure if there is a dealer in driving distance but here is the list: http://www.eagleseed.com/dealers.html On the surface Eagle beans look a lot more expensive than ag beans but when you look at the suggested planting rates of forage beans compared to ag beans the premium is not as high as it seems.

If your objective is pod production for later in the year, ag beans are a good choice. Whatever you local coop has in stock will be a reasonable maturity for good pod production in your area. It is when you plant something that is way early or late for your area that you coop will need to order beans.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Greta&Gus]

I agree with Jack on eagle beans. I have planted ag, RW, and Eagle beans and from a small plot perspective Eagle is superior. If you had larger plots or were targeting late season hunting than other options would be better. Some years I get no pods on Eagle beans.

 

[Mahindra3016]

I have also been considering Larado , or Tyrone or something like that, When i did the mean been crush plot i seeded it a little heavy, and sprayed cleth when the beans were about 6" to knock the grass back, I had ragweed in the plot, but the deer browsed that too. The closest Eagle dealer to me is over 2 hours away, closest RW dealer is about 3 hours away. If i go that route shipping would be less than driving. I am in a dead zone for those companies, hmm maybe a business opportunity there. Another reason i was considering rr ag beans, is the ability to over seed in early fall/ late summer.

 

[wiscwhip]

You do have another viable option beside paying for the RR trait in Eagle Beans. IF you have a very clean plot and your weeds are primarily grasses, and you do not have excessive issues with broadleaf weeds, there are a number of Non-RR forage soybeans that are adapted to your area. Tyrone, Laredo, Derry, Donegal, or Quail Haven, just to name a few. You would have to spray Clethodim if grasses became an issue, but I hear so many guys on these sites telling everyone that "weeds in a plot are not a terrible thing as long as they don't take over", which is why I do not understand why more guys aren't trying the non-RR beans. We planted them on our old place and they grew just like an ag bean for us with the same result, eaten to the ground before they reached 8" tall. Believe me when I tell you that in a non-ag area with no crop fields for 5+ miles, on a half acre unprotected plot with 30 DPSM, you will not get even Eagle Soybeans to keep up with the browse pressure, just not going to happen.


EDIT: HAHAHA, you must have posted that ^^^ while I was typing, lol!

 

[wiscwhip]

Here is a link I posted in another thread on this very subject. It is about all the different herbicides one can use in soybeans. I just posted the link because the other thread ended up being a chest pounding dumpster fire, so no need bringing that back to the forefront. I would rather just post answers, not rhetoric based thesis statements.

https://igrow.org/up/resources/03-3000-2013_1.pdf

 

[Bill]

Didn't look over wiscwhip's link yet but I will as I'd like to get away from gly. But for me personally there is a reason I won't use forage beans or non RR or some herbicide resistant bean.
That is simply "winter rye". I want as clean a plot of beans as possible so I can broadcast rye into them in mid September. RR may be over kill for this, I've never tried regular beans.

Forage or Eagle beans IME just stay green to long for the Rye to get a good start in the fall.

I really like having that rye in there as it is one of the first things to green up and it gets pounded in the early spring. Planting beans without broadcasting rye in the fall is wasting half the usefulness of a food plot. IMO.

 

[Greta&Gus]

I have not dived into what wiscwhip posted yet either but I am going to pose a slightly different view. In my experience, in a smaller plot (under 3 acres for beans) when I plant ag beans they do not last long or grow significantly enough to be of much value due to browse pressure. Then it is a must to overseed with rye or turnips but in some cases it has almost been a waste to plant the beans in the first place.

For me, once we switched to Eagle beans we were able to plant small plots and still have significant growth into the fall. We get a lot of early pressure from does with their fawns in our bean plots in the summer. Come mid August I typically am able to still overseed with a second or third crop and have the beans provide food in September while the turnips or rye provides food in October through December.

I know there are some that do not like forage beans like Eagle because they believe they are over priced and just do not produce to a level that they want. I was converted as a believer based solely on their production compared to other beans, but even with all that said we are not planting any this year due to the cost and crop rotations.

 

[Bill]

^^^^^that is a very good point. I'm dealing with 3 plus acre plots that can take browse pressure.

 

[yoderjac]

Didn't look over wiscwhip's link yet but I will as I'd like to get away from gly. But for me personally there is a reason I won't use forage beans or non RR or some herbicide resistant bean.
That is simply "winter rye". I want as clean a plot of beans as possible so I can broadcast rye into them in mid September. RR may be over kill for this, I've never tried regular beans.

Forage or Eagle beans IME just stay green to long for the Rye to get a good start in the fall.

I really like having that rye in there as it is one of the first things to green up and it gets pounded in the early spring. Planting beans without broadcasting rye in the fall is wasting half the usefulness of a food plot. IMO.

Good points. The OP mentioned he lives in Ag country. I have not row crops within 3 miles. I don't have a gly-resistance problem in general, so RR crops are a good choice for me. Gly is very easy but if you take the time to learn how and when to use alternative weed control methods, non-RR forage beans can be just as effective.

Another good point is that when you use forage beans, they yellow so late, I don't have too much time for a cover crops to establish in the fall. I solved that issue with a bushhog. When using forage beans, I bushhog lanes through the beans when I'm ready to broadcast my cover crop. It was hard to do and seems counter intuitive but it works. Deer brows soybeans along the edges first. Bushhogging lanes actually creates more edges and more food access even though it removes tonnage that wouldn't be used anyway. This results in a cover crop growing primarily in the lanes. The effect is like strip planting.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[buckdeer1]

You will have to get monseto card to purchase RR seed unless you do through something like real world.Another issue can be what weeds are RR resistant in your area?Some of the new beans you can spray with dicam and some other chemicals.Most likely a COOP won't sell this seed.

 

[yoderjac]

Getting a Monsanto number is painless. I presume RWB requires it like every other RR bean seller.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[j-bird]

I have also been considering Larado , or Tyrone or something like that, When i did the mean been crush plot i seeded it a little heavy, and sprayed cleth when the beans were about 6" to knock the grass back, I had ragweed in the plot, but the deer browsed that too. The closest Eagle dealer to me is over 2 hours away, closest RW dealer is about 3 hours away. If i go that route shipping would be less than driving. I am in a dead zone for those companies, hmm maybe a business opportunity there. Another reason i was considering rr ag beans, is the ability to over seed in early fall/ late summer.

I can plant small plots of beans and get away with it as well. A combination of low deer numbers and TONS of ag in my area simply spread the deer out. I plant ag beans all the time - I have never planted a forage bean. I plant what farmers in my area plant. The biggest issue I see with that is that these beans will dry down prior to my archery season (oct 1st). So to get deer food then - I can run over the dried seed with the disc and thus create deer candy! If the deer don't eat them all the frost will kill it. I however like the early dry down as I can then overseed cereal grains and brassica in as additional food as well and I have a grain for the winter as well. I can get seed from farmers drill/planter if you wait until they are done planting or by going to the local co-op and tell them you want cheap and RR beans and they will hook you up. Some will sell you broken bags or even give you sample seed. The trick is the timing - you want the majority of planting season to be done - that way your not getting in the way and they are motivated to getting what they have out of there. I simply offer to help clean out the planter or drill IF I can have the left over seed - I get dirty, but I get free seed and often more than I need. Production farmers just throw it out for the birds anyway! Tell them you are planting it to help kill more deer if they need a further push! I do the same way with corn as well. Let a neighboring farmer know your interested and talk to him and if your killing deer - he is likely to help you in those efforts - just don't be a pest and don't get in the way. For a price he may even plant them for you!

 

[Mahindra3016]

Thank you for all the replies and good advice.