Food plot and a little work today

[deer farmer]

I think the deer are going to love the SH. QDMA has good reports on it. I have picked out two places to plant it. Giving me about 4 acres of the stuff. Looks good Uncle Fish. I like it

[Mitch914]

Wow....I have left this up on my laptop for 3 days now while I've read through all of the posts. AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME
My wife and I just bought 200 acres in the Arbuckle Mountains area near Ardmore, OK. I can't wait to get out there and try out all the knowledge I've gained from Uncle and everyone else on here.

A little bio on our land....we are going to run feeder cows out there because the cows are going to eventually pay for a log home on our land in 10 years So I can't negotiate on the cows much. They did not bother my corn feeders in the past so i'm pretty confident I can keep them out of my plots. Deer density isn't very high but hoping to change that in the coming years
It's littered with cedar trees and oaks. Lots of oaks. Not a lot of hunting pressure from the neighbors. There are 3 ponds on the land and I made 2 really nice sized water holes for the cows with a dozer last fall when we were knocking down cedars. Really hoping to get some fruit trees planted where we want to build along with some bur oaks.

[unclefish]

Wow....I have left this up on my laptop for 3 days now while I've read through all of the posts. AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME
My wife and I just bought 200 acres in the Arbuckle Mountains area near Ardmore, OK. I can't wait to get out there and try out all the knowledge I've gained from Uncle and everyone else on here.

A little bio on our land....we are going to run feeder cows out there because the cows are going to eventually pay for a log home on our land in 10 years So I can't negotiate on the cows much. They did not bother my corn feeders in the past so i'm pretty confident I can keep them out of my plots. Deer density isn't very high but hoping to change that in the coming years
It's littered with cedar trees and oaks. Lots of oaks. Not a lot of hunting pressure from the neighbors. There are 3 ponds on the land and I made 2 really nice sized water holes for the cows with a dozer last fall when we were knocking down cedars. Really hoping to get some fruit trees planted where we want to build along with some bur oaks.

Glad you find the thread useful. There are alot of these threads in here now and they all have lots of useful info. I love to read them all.

That's some beautiful country up there. As far as the cattle go....they are the cash king right now so it's very wise financially to have them. Good fencing makes for well behaved cattle.

Start a thread and we will follow the progress of your place.

[Mitch914]

I was cringing when I read your post about your neighbor leaving the gate open....my heart would just sink upon seeing that I think. Like you said, lets hope for well behaved cattle! There had been cattle out there the previous 15 years so i'm not really worried about the cows pushing the deer out.....they are used to seeing them. If anything, the cattle will keep the deer in the timber where I hunt and not free to roam the open pasture and cedars like they do now. Believe it or not, this year I saw fewer deer and there were no cattle out there. I saw more deer while hunting the previous year when there were 100 head. I figured it would be the other way around.

[unclefish]

The main thing I don't like about cattle (other than them eating my food plots) is when they tromp thru the bedding areas I've made. The mature bucks that frequent my place will get boogered pretty good just when I think I have them patterned.

[Mitch914]

I'm going to hinge cut real deep and pile up some cedars so the cows can't get in. Hopefully that works but I hear ya. They tromp through the cedars but don't bother the timber at all.

I should be getting soil samples back soon. This first year i'm just going to keep it very simple and kill off existing weed growth on two very small areas.....areas where I currently have corn feeders so the deer will be accustomed to going that way. Kill off the weeds...wait a week....broadcast durana clover with possibly some kale. Broadcast winter wheat at some point but just not sure when. I really like the look of sunn hemp...read some really good things on it. I do have a 2 acre plot picked up for an upcoming season for some eagle RR beans once I get the hang of this stuff.

[unclefish]

Snuck off to the farm this morning to do a little work.

Cleared out an area near my stand in the thick woods.




Busted a hydraulic hose in the process.


Pulled the TC cards on the back plot. Lots of deer in there every morning/evening.




This group is all young bucks.


I hope this dude sticks around all year and turns into a big one.




Fresh batch of swine....oh and there are 23 piglets so you don't have to count.

[jkelbe]

Man those are perfect size to skin whole and put on the smoker. They skin easy too.

[deer farmer]

I see u have some young bachelor group running together and that's cool. I am still seeing active scrapes and rubs. Got a picture of a nice 9 this week working a scrape. And like you I am hoping he will stick around. We have does, yr round food plots and water and some good cover, so why would he go anywhere else haha. Unclefish, I understand your pleasures around the place.

[unclefish]

Very profound statements deer farmer. I guess owning and getting pleasure out of land is instinctive to all good redneck country folk. I imagine the people who have spent all their life in a concrete jungle have had that instinct severely diminished.

Jkelbe I agree they would be perfect!

[unclefish]

I set up an old protein feeder today in the back plot.



Also bought some cattle mineral from TSC and churned it into the soil right next to the trophy rock. Covert Texting camera is set up over it so I'll post some pics when I get some good ones.

[EastTexun]

Fish, I was looking at some of your old posts and saw that you used Hutcheson soybeans a while back. Did you ever get them to produce or did they get browsed too heavily to really do anything? Given the price of I/C peas this year, I am considering doing Hutcheson's mixed with the SH and alyce clover, with the hope and intention that the SH helps the soybeans to get established before they are overgrazed.

I have also thought about going to Laredo/Tyrone route instead of Hutcheson. Any input on that from the greenscreen?

[gingib]

Curious to see what kind of action you have on that mineral site..keep us posted!

Need to build a big trap and catch all those hogs, they are staying/bedding close somewhere with the daytime pics. They will tear up your plots sooner rather then later, I know from experience

[unclefish]

Fish, I was looking at some of your old posts and saw that you used Hutcheson soybeans a while back. Did you ever get them to produce or did they get browsed too heavily to really do anything? Given the price of I/C peas this year, I am considering doing Hutcheson's mixed with the SH and alyce clover, with the hope and intention that the SH helps the soybeans to get established before they are overgrazed.

I have also thought about going to Laredo/Tyrone route instead of Hutcheson. Any input on that from the greenscreen?

The Hutcheson's were a fail. They are an Ag bean which doesn't produce the forage as the Forage soybean varieties like Eagle, Tyrone, Real World ,etc...

The deer wiped them out soon after they sprouted. I would try a forage bean to plant with the SH.

[unclefish]

Curious to see what kind of action you have on that mineral site..keep us posted!

Need to build a big trap and catch all those hogs, they are staying/bedding close somewhere with the daytime pics. They will tear up your plots sooner rather then later, I know from experience

Yep I hope to get some good pics.

The hogs are thick at my place at times.....but so far they have never torn up a plot in the 5 years I've owned it. They tear up coastal fields all around my place but they don't root in my plots....so far. But you are right.....its just a matter of time.