Food plot and a little work today

[Ironman]

Here's what I have found so far. Looks to be about $60 per gallon. Application rate is between 1/2-1 gallon per acre.

http://shop.sumagreen.com/SumaGreen-Forage_c6.htm

[JeffK]

One thing I'm going to do is really try to manage my chicory / clover plots as best I can (spray for grass). I'm gonna try to get to last into the early summer. They loved the chicory last spring/early summer til the flood hit. I expanded the chicory to about an acre and a half this year. The Elbon Rye should really grow really tall and provide some good organic matter once I mow it....planted it very heavy last fall.

For summer plots I think I'm just gonna plant forage soybeans as early as I can so with the spring green up there will be lots of other choices to let them establish. I've never really had a good crop of them because of drought and deer demolishing them.....but always planted them somewhat late in the spring. This year is my year....lol.

Instead of protein pellets I think I'm gonna feed free choice roasted soybean/corn mix (16% protein, ~7% fat). Its more than a dollar per bag cheaper than protein pellets and is easily available at 2 places on the way to my farm. I fed it initially in my protein feeders before switching to pellets last year. The deer at my place really eat the heck out of it. They will empty it almost twice as fast as protein.

I really need to get in and hinge cut and make some better bedding cover. Its been a couple years since I've done this. Noticed the deer were bedding in a different area this year...maybe because one of my next door neighbors moved in full time and not just on the weekends like previous.

More switchgrass for screening too....still have a lot of seed left from last year....gonna plant it in strategic spots.

Did you give up on Sun Hemp?

[unclefish]

Did you give up on Sun Hemp?

Still thinking about the sunn hemp. Since I will have to till a little for the soybeans I may mix some in with it when I plant.

[deer farmer]

First, let me say, you know I love the EB soybeans My favorite to say the least. Sometimes I have problems getting the seeds as early as I would like. April 1 has been a good date but not always available to me at that time, so I will take them when I can get them, which is usually May. I would suggest not planting the Sunn Hemp in with the soybeans because if the hemp is not kept down through deer feeding or by cutting, I think it might drown out the soybeans, the hemp can get tall and thick and might reduce the sunlight to the soybeans. I planted Sunn hemp this past spring in different combinations and amounts. I don't care for it in heavy seeding planting, it gets too thick and too tall and the deer did not eat it so well. But when I added along with Iron clay peas(double seeding rate) and reduced the seeding of the hemp to 2/3rd or 1/2 recommended rate, the food plots did great and the deer kept the hemp from growing over 3 to 4 feet tall, along with the peas providing more forage in that plot. Drought did not seem to effect the peas and hemp as much as it affects the beans. I have learned to irrigate my beans to get the best out of them. I hope this helps, just wanted to pass along what I have seen @ my place in Harrison Co.

[unclefish]

First, let me say, you know I love the EB soybeans My favorite to say the least. Sometimes I have problems getting the seeds as early as I would like. April 1 has been a good date but not always available to me at that time, so I will take them when I can get them, which is usually May. I would suggest not planting the Sunn Hemp in with the soybeans because if the hemp is not kept down through deer feeding or by cutting, I think it might drown out the soybeans, the hemp can get tall and thick and might reduce the sunlight to the soybeans. I planted Sunn hemp this past spring in different combinations and amounts. I don't care for it in heavy seeding planting, it gets too thick and too tall and the deer did not eat it so well. But when I added along with Iron clay peas(double seeding rate) and reduced the seeding of the hemp to 2/3rd or 1/2 recommended rate, the food plots did great and the deer kept the hemp from growing over 3 to 4 feet tall, along with the peas providing more forage in that plot. Drought did not seem to effect the peas and hemp as much as it affects the beans. I have learned to irrigate my beans to get the best out of them. I hope this helps, just wanted to pass along what I have seen @ my place in Harrison Co.

Very insightful deer farmer! Thanks for your perspective!

What I might do is just wait and see how the clover / chicory are doing before making a decision.

[unclefish]

Haven't been to my place since deer season ended. Been working too hard!

Had big plans of filling feeders and cutting some wood today. Right off the bat things went bad....


I went too slow through this little ditch cause I had a thousand pounds of soybeans in the bed. Stuck like chuck! After 30 minutes of being stubborn and thinking I could get it out myself I swallowed my pride and called my dad.

He shows up and yanks it out no problem. OK now the work can start...
Filled free choice feeders with the 16% soybean blend. 20 bags has me feeling my age right now (46).

The plots are being hammered pretty good. Alot of the radishes and turnips...both tops and the bulbs are being eaten. Not all of them but there was very noticeable browsing.

Dad by the radishes.


Turnips doing fairly well.


Exclusion cage


Deer in the plots just about every day.






Could actually use some rain even after the wet winter we had.

[unclefish]

The chicory and clover have been eaten down to the ground. They are still viable but in the winter its very slow growth. Very impressed with the amount of chicory in the plot. When spring gets here it will explode and I should have a solid 1.5 acres of chicory that I hope will last into July.

[Sergio_III]

Very nice UF. Hope come spring time everything will take off. Won't be long now.

[dogman11]

https://youtu.be/_noiFPBv398

UF,
Idk of you've seen this or not, but it's a pretty nifty way to possible get unstuck.

[unclefish]

https://youtu.be/_noiFPBv398

UF,
Idk of you've seen this or not, but it's a pretty nifty way to possible get unstuck.

That's outstanding! Thank you.

[Nailhead]

Sounds good UF. Do you still have bucks chasing at your place? We have a picture from week before last of a buck breeding a doe and Sunday morning Mom was out in the stand watching and saw again another buck hot on the trail of a doe. So here we are mid February and they are still breeding. Have some bachelor groups running around and some scrapes and fighting going on. Crazy season for sure.

[unclefish]

Sounds good UF. Do you still have bucks chasing at your place? We have a picture from week before last of a buck breeding a doe and Sunday morning Mom was out in the stand watching and saw again another buck hot on the trail of a doe. So here we are mid February and they are still breeding. Have some bachelor groups running around and some scrapes and fighting going on. Crazy season for sure.

Wow...I guess some does didn't get bred the first or second time around.

On my place I have seen no evidence of any rutting activity since December.

[unclefish]

Got this pic tonight from the Covert. Hoping I find lots of sheds in here this spring.

[texasdeerhunter]

I went back and read all the pages, and I think you have me convinced to try the spray, mow, throw method. But just curious on your thoughts about sunflower seed and soybeans. I am planning on planting I/C peas and sorghum, but wanted to mix in some sunflower and soy bean. Do you think I can still get good germination without discing/drilling those seeds along with the peas and sorghum? I have a highline running through my property, and per my calculation, it will be about 10-12 acres total.

I was planning on spraying around the middle of April, and planting around the first of May. Hopefully the sunflower and sorghum will draw some dove in when I mow it in late August

[unclefish]

I went back and read all the pages, and I think you have me convinced to try the spray, mow, throw method. But just curious on your thoughts about sunflower seed and soybeans. I am planning on planting I/C peas and sorghum, but wanted to mix in some sunflower and soy bean. Do you think I can still get good germination without discing/drilling those seeds along with the peas and sorghum? I have a highline running through my property, and per my calculation, it will be about 10-12 acres total.

I was planning on spraying around the middle of April, and planting around the first of May. Hopefully the sunflower and sorghum will draw some dove in when I mow it in late August

Hey texasdeerhunter...some thoughts:

Throw and mow really depends on alot of factors.

Do you have something planted there now that will get thick that you can broadcast into and then mow over the top? That's why I plant the Elbon Rye in the fall...gets very tall in late spring and will provide lots of thatch to form a good germination environment.

I think the soil type matters too...sandy soils will work a little better IMO than heavy clay soils when you throw seeds on top.

For your specific seeds: Sunflowers and sorghum should work pretty darn well if you have good thatch. I've tried both cow peas and soybeans using throw/mow. Peas are a little smaller than soybeans so they worked better than the beans. Soybeans were marginal at best.

One possible bad thing about throw & mow is inoculation/nitrogen fixation. The rhizobia bacteria that fix Nitrogen from the air into the soil need to be buried pretty quickly and can't be exposed to direct sunlight very long.....so I'm not sure throw & mow allows the rhizobia to survive in order to fix N.

For fall plots its a no brainer......for summer plots its alot more challenging.

I'm finding that by not tilling every year the soil gets better (more organic matter) suited for the throw and mow method. Elbon Rye is a big factor in this.