HABITAT CHANGE QUESTION ??

[moosehunter]

My area went through a big time crop rotation this year. What was beans is now corn. What was corn is now beans. Plus some hay ground changed to corn. Does anyone have an opinion on what that will do to the daily routine of the deer. The beans last year were hit real hard by the deer. I know it's kinda hard to say with out knowing the area but others must go through this too!! On another note, the neighbors been seeing a dandy on several evenings lately. I hope I can get him on film......

 

[Ghost]

Crop rotation in most areas is a yearly thing and I don't feel it alters the deers patterns that much. The main thing is to key on what ever is their prefered food source at the time you will be hunting. I will usually not hunt the food source, but rather use it as part of the equation to figure out their movement patterns.

On the other hand, if the crop fields were turned into CRP grass, thus eliminating the food source all together, then it would definitely alter their travel patterns.

I like to hunt ridges with a good crop of white oak acorns, and on a trail leading from bedding to crop field. Deer like to take a slow pace and munch acorns along their way.

 

[Shedhuntermd]

In my neck of the woods its all about the beans early season follow the beans you will see the deer. Many of my friends are scouting out the bean fields all ready and seeing some nice bucks. I have seen the biggest bucks this time of year in soy bean fields.

 

[livtahunt]

go with the beans deer love beans in the early season i always set up on the edge of a bean field in early season with good success

 

[Shredder]

I don't think crop rotation will affect your deer herd early in the season. Deer change thier feeding habits around the first of september and continue to change frequently as new mast crops and fruits mature and fall to the ground. Watch the fields in your areas immediatly prior to your hunting them to determine if they are even using that food source at that time. High energy foods such as acorns, ear corn, apples persimmons, and pears are highly craved at this time of year. These are packed full of carbs/sugars allowing deer to put on necessary fat reserves for the winter ahead and for bucks to charge themselves for the upcoming rut. As the food supply dwindles thru the fall, deer will move to areas that still contain adequate supplies of these high energy food sources.

Right now, the deer are really hitting the alfalfa and soybean fields which contain ample amounts of protein and carbs for milk production, fawn growth, and preparation for breeding/reproduction. This is why they are so visible now.

 

[deadeye]

In my poor little neck of the woods almost always beans are gone by Oct 1. That and corn is usually getting hit hard. If we are lucky the corn will be in rotation next to the finger of timber we hunt. Then we sit by it. Else we don't have food plots or anything else to hunt. We just cross our fingers that the acorn crop will be a good one and the last 3 years or so it has really sucked. Not sure if thats just us or everywhere. Basically their will always be deer in the riverbottoms because of the cover. Late season is usually rough since there isn't a food source. Does usually bring some decent bucks through. It is so hit and miss is the only problem. Just learn to plant your butt in your deer stand and wait. The great part is it is just big enough that you never know what might come through even if it isn't around there all year.

 

[BW]

The only way to truly know is to be out there. But this is little old Iowa, where are they going to go? I would not worry unless your entire area was turned into a tightly compacted feedlot.

Deer are great survivors. They will stay where their needs are met. (Kind of like us) My best hunting spot does not have a hint of row crops within 3/4 of a mile.

Shoot, the hunting is so good now I think we could all hunt in a Walmart parking lot and do ok.

 

[docH]

Crop rotation is a common thing in my area. What's beans one year will be corn the next. I seem to have better luck on the farms that are planted to corn. The hunting can be pretty tough until the corn gets picked unless there's a good acorn crop.

 

[GDCooper]

My experience is that once the beans are harvested they will have the same attractive level as a WalMart parking lot--great until then, but harvest usually happens before intense hunting, unless you have a slow farmer. Corn is an excellent attractant, but can be too good--they may never have a reason to leave. Great food, great cover, spend all of their time in the fields where they can be very difficult to hunt if the fields are large. If you're hunting upland southern Iowa where the fields tend to be on narrow ridge tops they don't stay in the fields as much, and you can hunt trails into the fields and field edges very successfully. In northern Iowa and southern bottom lands where fields are large, you can have some long days/evenings on the stand watching squirrels until the corn is (hopefully) harvested. We've had some years that have been lean because fields have not been harvested until after the season, giving the deer little reason to move around much. So, as food plot crops, either corn or beans would be great, the more the better. As crops serving as defacto food plots, my vote goes for corn as a hunter with hope for an early harvest so the deer are moving around and coming into the fields to clean up the leavings, but the farmer has different considerations/objectives to meet.

 

[buckknife]

In my area i have noticed that the deer hit the bean and alfalfa clover fields around sun down.Then i see them leave the corn fields early in the morning.
This is not written in stone but a lot of times they want the high protein stuff first and then fill up on corn during the night.
Have seen it the other way around sometimes.A deer will not get enough protein from corn so they must supplement it with the other foods,just as they can not eat beans all the time or they would bloat and die.
I think crop rotation can change your hunting,the deer are still feeding in the crops they want to eat,what ever that may be,but they may change their travel path to get there in relationship to where your stand was last year.
Best to do some scouting a couple times to see where and when the deer are feeding and moving.

 

[deadeye]

Big Corn Fields...
Have a cousin who got a tip that there were some deer around a patch of corn. He went out on that windy afternoon and started walking to where they had been spotted. He found a nice 10 point bedded down. Somehow he wasn't seen and got a shot off. However a corn staulk hit him when he shot and his arrow missed. He was so bummed out he started out. He saw a bigger buck with a doe on the edge of the bean field and snuck up closer to them. The doe tried to head for the corn and he ran up and down the row to get close to where the doe was going to enter. The buck kept cutting her off. Finally they both hit the corn and he got near where they entered. He was about 2-3 rows in - the corn was short. The doe went back to the bean field at about 5 yards from him. He heard the buck and stood up and drew back. The buck stepped out of the corn and he nailed him.

Needless to say whenever there is corn in he will sit the edges or even walk around if it is a windy day. He says he sees a lot of deer, but I don't know. It did pay off for about 150 inches. He is just that lucky though, if you needed a needle that you lost in a haystack he WILL find it. But he also looses his shotgun shells on the way to the perfect setup early morning for turkeys and has to watch with an unloaded gun (you hopefully can laugh now Muddy). Note - Muddy is not my cousin, but a great turkey caller.

Luck??? Good or Bad...