The two main questions: 1. Can you get any equipment into the bottom you want to plant? If you can then you could hire the work done. 2. Do you have exclusive access to the property? If you do have exclusive rights I would invest in planting row crops with a clover border. You would want to have the grass killed off after green up in the spring with some roundup. Then drill in soybeans over the entire two acres (make sure to have drilled in 24-30 inch rows). I would then come back in mid to late August and broadcast imperial whitetail clover and buckforage oats around the the edge (in the bean rows) in about a 15-20 yard wide strip. The oats will take a lot of browsing and provide a cover crop for the clover to get established. Both are loved by deer all fall until killed by a hard frost. The beans will provide your late season attractant along with the top field you mentioned. Then the next year you will have a good clover strip established around the edge. Plant the remaining acres to corn that year. The third year you can than put half in beans and half in corn (so half will be corn on corn...that means corn planted where corn was planted the year before). Then rotate the beans and corn every year after that. That way you will have corn, beans and clover each year on that plot. You will have everything you need to grow and attract a booner. This will cost you some serious $$$$ to do it right. Spray, fertilizer, lime, chemicals, seed, hiring the work done, ect. The first year will be the most costly. But the rewards will be worth it. You will have your own honey hole, awesome trail camera photos, a big bucks in the back of your truck, everyone on this site ooohing and awwwing over the pictures of you and your harvests. If you can't afford to do this (you know...because of the wife) or can't get equipment to the area you want to plant. I would then just hand spray the area late next summer (August) and then broadcast imperial whitetail clover over the area just before a good rain is predicted. That will ensure good seed to soil contact and thus good germination. Be sure to follow spray instructions. Like time of day to spray and how long to wait after spraying before seeding ect. You will want to get your chemicals from a farmer because they get it 50%- 75% cheaper than you can because they buy it in bulk and it works better because it has an oil added to it(which adhears to the leaves of the weeds) which will ensure a better kill. The chemical should cost you 15-25 dollars for enough roundup for two acres. Be sure to get a soil sample to determine lime/fertilizer requirements (very important). I would guess the 2 acre plot could be done for around $300.00. That would include the hand sprayer, hand broadcast seeder, chemical, lime, fertilizer and seed. I would not recommend planting in spring due to increased weed competion otherwise you will need to do additional spraying during summer and possibly mowing to control the competing weeds/grasses. Once the clover is established, you will need to fertilize and spray grasses as needed. Clover that is maintained properly should last 4-6 years. The flooding aspect...well that depends on how often it floods, how long it stays under water, ect. If it floods regularly and or is under water for more than 10 days it wont be worth the money because the crops or clover wont make it. If it doesn't flood regularly, than you can just take your chances. You may invest some serious money and end up with nothing (no plot) or a great plot and some of the best deer hunting you have ever had. The other option for you would be to pay the farmer who farms the top ground to leave you a couple acres of corn/beans standing each fall. You just buy the grain that is left there and thus takes away your risk. If it was in corn and the farmer averaged 125 bushel/acre on the rest of the field than your cost would be (2 acres of corn x 125 bushel/acre x current price per bushel ($1.60) = $400). You will need to determine if you want a plot to just hold/attract deer to the property or a hunting plot. Many things need to be considered when planning a food plot. Be sure to lay it out on an aerial photo and consider all aspects like deer bedding areas, travel routes, food sources around you, predomiate wind directions, stand sites ect. Sorry so long, but because you said your new at this I wanted to be detailed.
