Thought I'd post this and see if anyone has any ideas why one of my bean plots is really not being hit very hard by the deer or turkeys.
I've got a 2 acre plot east of my house and it is a decent stand of beans (probably 35+ bushel/acre stand). There is timber to the north (about 20 yards from the plot which includes a 15 acre thick, nasty bedding area that I stay completely out of from about July on). Most of the plot is not visible from the road with a stand of switch grass and more timber to the south of it (between it and the road) My question is that there is still about 60%+ of the plot left (I know, a nice problem to have in some ways!) - which is wierd by this time of the year. Additionally, my other bean plot has been obliterated since about mid-November and the corn plot has been gone since early December. I assumed it was because the other plots are in CRP which is surrounded by timber and are 1/2 mile from the road/house. I also figured that once the other plots were gone, they'd focus their attention on the remaining one. The nearest crop field is about 3/4 mile away so there is not a lot of other close opportunities for them for beans/corn. The plot in question is close to the house and I assume they were cautious about approaching it in daylight. I have seen a few deer/turkeys in it but not like in the past. Last year this plot had gotten hammered and was gone by this time. It wasn't unusual to sit over it and see 12-15 animals in an evening. I haven't hunted it much this year but have not seen very many on the few occassions I have. I have "taken inventory" with a spotlight at night and there is usually 1 or 2 deer in it - not the usual numbers.
Any thoughts on why it doesn't appear to be as attractive to the animals as in the past? Is there anything (like the particularly dry August/Sept we had) that could cause the beans to not be as palatable to them? Is viewing them at night with a spotlight driving them away (wouldn't explain the turkeys relative lack of interest)? Any thoughts or theories would be welcome! Thanks.
I've got a 2 acre plot east of my house and it is a decent stand of beans (probably 35+ bushel/acre stand). There is timber to the north (about 20 yards from the plot which includes a 15 acre thick, nasty bedding area that I stay completely out of from about July on). Most of the plot is not visible from the road with a stand of switch grass and more timber to the south of it (between it and the road) My question is that there is still about 60%+ of the plot left (I know, a nice problem to have in some ways!) - which is wierd by this time of the year. Additionally, my other bean plot has been obliterated since about mid-November and the corn plot has been gone since early December. I assumed it was because the other plots are in CRP which is surrounded by timber and are 1/2 mile from the road/house. I also figured that once the other plots were gone, they'd focus their attention on the remaining one. The nearest crop field is about 3/4 mile away so there is not a lot of other close opportunities for them for beans/corn. The plot in question is close to the house and I assume they were cautious about approaching it in daylight. I have seen a few deer/turkeys in it but not like in the past. Last year this plot had gotten hammered and was gone by this time. It wasn't unusual to sit over it and see 12-15 animals in an evening. I haven't hunted it much this year but have not seen very many on the few occassions I have. I have "taken inventory" with a spotlight at night and there is usually 1 or 2 deer in it - not the usual numbers.
Any thoughts on why it doesn't appear to be as attractive to the animals as in the past? Is there anything (like the particularly dry August/Sept we had) that could cause the beans to not be as palatable to them? Is viewing them at night with a spotlight driving them away (wouldn't explain the turkeys relative lack of interest)? Any thoughts or theories would be welcome! Thanks.
