Cereal Grains and cover crops

dbltree · Feb 19, 2012

February 19th, 2012

Winter rye is one of the ultimate habitat tools to help hold deer year around and the perfect place to start....

shed hunting!

Deer are traveling farther and searching stubble fields as winter wears on them and food becomes scarce but in our year around food source feeding areas....they just travel a few yards from bedding to the winter rye and shed bucks are common on the cams.

These deer have adapted to always having food a few yards away from their bedding area so no need to wander

all of this makes them incredibly easy to pattern because their movements are very very predictable

Between the winter rye and brassicas these feeding areas will keep deer coming back every day all winter

and then the clovers will take over and the patterns continue

Pick a field with rye, any field anywhere and the picture is the same

soybeans and corn are long gone

but the deer are still here...because of the winter rye

We don't have to worry about getting them to "come back"...they are already adapted to or "trained" to make daily trips

to our centralized feeding areas that contain a combination of food sources that keep them fed year around.

That combination is as follows...

dbltree · Feb 24, 2012

February 24th, 2012

It's late winter...and where are your deer???

Sometimes it's a tough row to hoe to keep them content and living on our property especially when there are things out of our control. In some cases landowners struggle with the fact that neighbors are feeding corn and deer have adapted to taking advantage of that. That problem can be tough to overcome but eventually possible if we adapt deer to staying on our property by providing year around food sources, and that can take time, sometimes several years to undo the damage already done.

Growing brassicas one year and cereals the next is NOT providing year around food sources...growing a combination of crops ALL in ONE place...is. I have been able to overcome the problem of deer leaving for almost any reason imaginable by providing for ALL of their needs with thick safe, secure bedding cover adjacent to a hidden feeding area that has food in it every single day of the year.

I not only do this on my own farm but on all the farms upon which I manage the habitat...including farms where whitetails have never tasted winter rye or turnips in their lives AND...with plentiful corn and soybean fields right next door.

The proof they say...is in the pudding or in this case in the thousands of cam pics from the combination feeding areas...

We just don't give these deer any reason to leave...are you?

I'll be at the 2012 Iowa Deer Classic all weekend at booth 406/408 so stop by and say hello if you attend...

and we can talk more about how you can hold whitetails on your property year around using crop combinations like this....

dbltree · Mar 2, 2012

I read a report the other day that indicates much of the Midwest has a 50% chance of a severe drought in 2012, the likes of which we haven't seen since 1988, based on the current La Nina. Hopefully that severe of a drought will not occur but the fact remains that we are susceptible to droughts, anytime, anywhere. Any food source we plant for whitetails then might be all for naught and we can face a disappointing season staring at a burned up "dirt plot" This is just one of the myriad of reasons I am a strong advocate of winter rye and other compatible crops to build up soil organic matter and increase the soils ability to hold water.

Winter rye is one of the better options most frequently used by farmers whose livelihood depends on the ability to successfully harvest high yielding crops. I frequently list all of the reasons rye is a better choice for whitetails (higher in crude protein, grows later, and earlier etc.) but the advantages to our soils are often completely over looked by those who mistakenly believe rye is some how less attractive to deer.

The following is a good article about the advantages of using winter rye as a cover crop in in the heart of corn country where the mere mention of the word "drought" can strike fear into the hearts of the people who quite literally....feed the world.

Rye planted to boost water-holding capacity

The roots of winter rye not only contain allelopathic chemicals that inhibit small weed seeds from germinating and scavenge nitrogen for the ensuing crop but also help create a sponge of sorts to increase the ability of our soils to hold water.

If your soils fail to produce a crop capable of attracting and holding whitetails thru the fall and winter months and your season is a disappointment...then you'll begin to understand there is far more to creating optimum whitetail habitat then planting something just to attract deer....

mshm99 · Mar 8, 2012

I attended a QDMA forum ,in St Louis , that featured Paul , about this time last year.Using the information I gathered ,I gave the plan a try.

My small property is in Pike county Illinois. My tilllable ground is farmed by a neighbor,and most of the time is in alfalfa. I play farmer on the perimeter of the crop fields. My equipment is mostly antique but still serviceable. My tractor is a 42 International H to give you some idea of how old it is.

We had a a pretty wet spring and every time I could get off work to plant Eagle Forage soybeans ,it rained. It just got too late and I decided to go with winter rye and ground hog radish, for the fall.

When it quit raining , it really quit. We did not get any real rain after the first of July. I hoped for the best and pressed on hoping for some fall rain. Which turned out to be pretty minimal.

The ground was as hard as woodpecker lips and I did the best I could to turn it over.

I could not get back right away. So I later ran the disc, and broadcast a lot of seed, since the gond was so hard and chunky ,I did not think the seed drill would do any better.

We did not get any rain , but when I checked back,I was surprised to seen signs of life. We must have had enough dew to get the job done.

A few weeks later.

Satisfied customers

Current pics. We have 20 acres of winter wheat about 200 yards from this plot,and it looks great. This plot looks like it's been mowed. And it really supresses grass.

Thanks Double Tree

Mike in Pike

The following pics verify what Paul has said about the aliopathic properties of the winter rye. The yellow flowers are the bolting groung hog turnips. Notice the weeds,uphill, on last years corn field.

I got my son in law to start the plowing for this years plot. Unfortunately , we had some tractor problems. It happens when you use a '42 International H. So I'm going with RR forage soybeans on the plowed have and we will do a fall planting on the other half. I'm interested to see the rye mature anyway.

My neighbor was discing the corn field and he was nice enough to run over my plot, so I'm ready to plant.

Will move now to the soybean thread.

Mike in Pike

dbltree · Mar 9, 2012

Nice work Mike! Thanks for the pics! :way:

March 8th, 2012

They just keep coming back...every day, day after day...on over 30 different feeding areas across SE Iowa where I have planted the winter rye combination....the pictures don't lie....

The combination of a number of food sources all in one centralized feeding area keeps them fed year around and winter rye is just ONE of the tools I use to accomplish this.

Feeding deer in one place year around cause deer to adapt to coming there making them extremely predictable and far easier to kill. It's not just about rye...or clover...or soybeans...or "insert crop type"...it is about an over all habitat management program that provides for ALL a whitetails needs....YEAR AROUND!

In 1996 I bought 80 acres in Davis county Iowa and before I even closed on the land I had plans already made! I re-enrolled it in CRP, I killed the brome grass and planted Cave In Rock Switchgrass and mixed NWSG. I screened the entire farm with shrub, conifer and hardwood tree plantings, I did TSI and hinge cuttings, I planted thousands of oaks including hybrid oaks that produce sweet low tannin acorns, I planted fruit tree orchards and lastly....I established ONE CENTRALIZED FEEDING AREA.

At first I could grow corn and soybeans but over time deer adapted to feeding in the hidden secluded, safe, secure area of roughly 6 acres...surrounded by NWSG and timber. Eventually they refused to go to the neighbors crop fields only feet away and ignored neighboring food plots that did NOT provide feed year around a I switched to year around food sources.

I also created funnels that allowed me to quickly and efficiently harvest a mature buck and it took me only two days to do so this past fall.

I sold that farm recently and checked the trail cams for the last time. The following pics a from a runway leading to the winter rye in the central feeding area...about 30 yards behind the cam. Note the times...within a matter of minutes nearly a dozen bucks come thru here...80% of them shed....

These bucks are adapted to coming to this ONE CENTRALIZED feeding area where I have had food year around for twice their lifetimes.

The fact they are here is not only a testament to the value of winter rye as a habitat tool but to an overall outstanding habitat program

I don't need forage beans or IWC clover to attract, hold and adapt whitetails to ANY properties

instead I provide them with what they REALLY need....awesome thick cover and

a combination of food sources that feed them every single day of the year

Friends...are you consistently successful in holding mature whitetails on your farm?

are you consistently able to harvest those mature bucks with archery equipment?

are you consistently able to harvest them in a relatively short period of time?

If the answer to any of those is no...then consider ALL of the habitat improvements necessary to change that

Tremendous bedding cover and browse created with TSI/hinging/tree planting/NWSG, screening with Egyptian Wheat and conifers, manipulating movements with edge feathering and hinging and providing year around food sources in single feeding areas

Everyone is looking for a quick fix, a magic potion, a food source that is the answer to all their problems...

but the answer friends is not to be found in a bag of seed...it's in years of hard work by those dedicated to creating a whitetail haven using every habitat improvement necessary. Winter rye is not just great...it's fantastic, but...it is NOT the answer anymore then any crop...it is just one piece of the puzzle....

The following is one of the most productive crop combinations you can plant in centralized feeding areas...and the combination to which every deer I share pictures of...is headed to...365 days a year...

OKplotter · Mar 17, 2012

Rye and clover going strong this Spring

Spring has already arrived in Oklahoma. Rye/Oats/Clover plots are green and getting hit hard.

Can't see it in the picture but there are some winter peas in the enclosure that made it thru our mild winter.

dbltree · Mar 17, 2012

Thanks for posting! If the peas don't get eaten to the ground they often survive :way:

plainjim · Mar 19, 2012

walken winter oats vs spring oats

I plan to plant the fall seed mix on my NE WA property this August as an attractant during the Nov/Dec Archery season. My question is-would the winter oats sold by Frigidforage bea good substitute for spring oats in the mix? Would it up better in freezing Nov temperatures? It is more expensive.

dbltree · Mar 19, 2012

If you use winter rye...Ii would not spend the money for "winter oats" because in fact they probably will not survive more then a few days longer then any common spring oat

Qdmaer · Mar 20, 2012

Winter Rye in my garden.

These deer were 40yds from the house the other night.

Reno · Mar 21, 2012

I can't wait to get started on this new food plot plan! I have done a lot in the past but it was hit and miss on my part as I did not know at all what I was doing! I would try the newest, greatest thing to attract deer for bow and late muzzle loader seasons. Some worked for one season and not the other, etc. One year I tried forage oats and they worked great, right up to just before rut! This idea of multiple food sources in one place is going to rock! In the past the deer on our property left for unknown places after our food ran out. That is about to end! I am so glad I discovered the information Paul has put out on this site. THANKS PAUL! You put an amazing amount of effort into deer / wildlife management and are kind enough to share with us. Again, THANKS!

dbltree · Mar 22, 2012

Thanks friend...I appreciate the encouragement....:way:

March 22nd, 2012

With more then 350 acres of TSI work behind me perhaps I can catch up on posting more current pics but some of these are from a few weeks past. Irregardless, the attributes of the winter rye combination are notable anywhere we include them in our year around feeding areas. On farms that I manage where the landowners have Buckeye cams (that send pics instantly to their computer and smart phone) they comment that they have never seen so many deer utilizing a feeding area this time of year.

The advantage of dividing the feeding areas and using a combination of crops that fulfill a whitetails needs year around should be more the obvious, because it adapts them to living right there rather then traveling in search of as many force them to do with single crop plantings. Every day of the year...we have have feed and deer become very predictable as they beat well worn paths to these feeding areas....and they are never disappointed... (note there is a large cornfield only feet from where I took this picture)

The strip in the center was once a lush brassica planting but every last scrap has been devoured, if it were the only thing planted we would force deer to go elsewhere...I am not aware of anyone who wishes their deer would go to the neighbors place?!?

The lush winter rye and red clover planted with it last fall are growing rapidly now and heavily grazed

Some winter peas survive to compliment the spring food sources....all of which is extremely important to winter weary whitetails who need good quality high protein food sources such as the winter rye and red clover.

This field was a first time planting last fall, endured a terrible drought, germinated late because of lack of moisture and was planted in old CRP brome grass sod that had not been tilled in a decade. Whitetails had never, ever tasted rye in their lives on this farm....pic from about 10 days ago

None of that phased the deer living here in the least and they have beat a path to the winter rye from the moment it came up last fall and continue on a daily basis

Like every single feeding area I plant across SE Iowa...this plot is only a short distance to crop fields, in this case 80 yards from a corn field. That is not to imply that deer did not visit the corn stubble when it was harvested, they certainly did but they are adapted to coming to the feeding area first and bed as close to it as they can....without it they would be scattered and would have no point of focus in their travels.

The following is the combination that works best for us and any landowner can add corn and soybeans to this combination if you so desire, we just have found them unnecessary, expensive and their usefulness short lived....

dbltree · Mar 29, 2012

March 29th, 2012

Seems spring came a month early this year so keep in mind these pictures of rye and clover growth are not normal relevant to the time period, but are what you can expect when weather warms the spring following the rye combination planting.

The red clover in the mix (and in this case white clovers also) already started the fall previous now begin to grow rapidly providing whitetails with lush high quality forage that provides protein far in excess of what they can even utilize.

One of the reasons I use winter rye rather then winter wheat is because wheat tillers rapidly and quickly begins to suffocate the clovers unless chemically killed, rye however is non-tillering and makes a perfect companion to leave standing if you wish.

The red clover will feed deer until being tilled under for a rotation to brassicas in mid July at which point it will feed the soil with tons of bio-mass and feed the brassicas nitrogen as the slowly decomposing plants release N.

Rye and red clover....hard combination to beat in most areas of the country... :way:

dbltree · Apr 6, 2012

April 6th, 2012

Red Clover is an essential part of the rye combination mix that allows the mix to feed deer literally year around yet is the component most often ignored and left out!

Right now the red clover is exploding to life and quickly filing in and providing lush high protein food at a critical time for whitetails

Winter rye was the essential element that kept them fed all fall, winter and early spring...growing thru the winter when other cereal grains could not....

But now all winter cereals will grow quickly and soon reach the unpalatable stage and deer need something to take it's place

White clover will certainly work and I usually start any white clovers with rye in the fall but since these areas will be tilled under for brassicas in July, the less expensive "mammoth" red clovers provide more food, more biomass and a tremendous amount of nitrogen in a short time period.

These pics are from a very small feeding area...note the large number of deer feeding on the winter rye in early March, there is a strip of white clover in the foreground that appears "brown"

Soon however the white clover strip begins to grow

and gradually deer begin to shift from the rapidly growing rye

To the tender young white clovers and in this case, the young red clovers planted with the rye are beginning to recover and the combination of whites and reds will keep them well fed and returning every single day to this feeding area.

Planting the right combination of crops ALL within one feeding area will soon make your whitetails very very predictable. Utilizing edge feathering and funneling techniques we can harvest them easily as they travel from bedding to feed and vice versa.

None of this is complicated nor expensive and in fact compared to almost any other type of food sources is the one that will eventually allow you to use NO herbicides and far less fertilizers! Inexpensive, effective, great for deer and your budget....read thru the following carefully and consider implementing this crop rotation in your feeding areas...this year....

showstopper · Apr 6, 2012

When you say 400#'s I assume you are saying 400 per acre. What do you suggest a guy buying with limited funds to spread this? I have looked at a number of things that are "non-corrosive" fertilizer spreaders too. Do you have a company or style of spreader that you would recommend also? Thanks again!

Sligh1 · Apr 6, 2012

If you're on a "budget", I am guessing you are going to spread a smaller amount of acres??? How many acres? If it's like 1-2 acres, go as cheap as you can get- like a $25 spreader that you push. It'll take u a bit longer but who cares. If you are going to spread more than 2 acres, I might have a different opinion & some different advice.

dbltree · Apr 6, 2012

Yes...everything is in pounds per acre...as far as a spreader there are lots of options so if you can tell me what you are looking at that would be helpful?

ATV or tractor mount for instance?

You might look thru this thread on equipment under spreaders and seeders for a few ideas...

Equipment for small farms

mshm99 · Apr 15, 2012

I have added more info on my post #664 on page 67

Mike

dbltree · Apr 17, 2012

April 17th, 2012

People who planted winter rye with intentions of spring planting into it, wonder this time of year, which is best...tilling under the rye or just discing it in and a good question at that...

In most cases where we have added clover, the rye can just be clipped off, sprayed with clethodim or even left standing but where one is going to follow it with a spring crop like corn or soybeans and the addition of organic matter is the question, what should we do?

The most beneficial part of winter rye is in it's massive root systems which hold scavenged nutrients along with a great deal of organic matter, the potion above ground is just frosting on the cake so to speak. That said, I prefer to spray the rye with gly and just no-till into it but lacking no-till equipment you can easily disc it down, incorporating the leaf and stem potions into the upper 2-3" of soil. Then plant your crop which can then utilize the nutrients that the rye root systems have scavenged as well as enjoy the benefits of the moisture holding organic matter.

Farmers over seed winter rye into thousands of acres of standing corn and beans each fall to take advantage of this outstanding cover crop and this is even more important now that every bit of stalks are being harvested for bio-fuel. Adding WR to your habitat program then....does a whole lot more then just feed deer! In time you'll lower your herbicide and fertilizer inputs to boot!

The Austrian peas that survived the winter and heavy grazing are growing well along with the rye!

This area will go back to Egyptian Wheat in early June so i sowed the peas at 100#'s per acre rather then add red clover

Peas being legumes are not only favored deer forage but nitrogen fixing plants as well

I will till this under (into the top 3-4") in late May and rotate the EW strip to this side...the EW will take advantage of the rye and pea cover crop, utilizing scavenged nutrients from the rye and nitrogen released from the killed peas.

Use a combination of the right crops and you will be able to feed deer year around and...feed your next crop at the same time and that's exactly what the following crop combination can accomplish....

mshm99 · Apr 17, 2012

Thanks for the tips.I've got smaller plots in rye,gh radish and volunteer pt turnips that I'll just disc and plant the eagle rr forage beans this week end. I think I'll broadcast some winter rye in the cash crop corn this fall as well.

Mike in Pike

Cereal Grains and cover crops

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