sirrloin
Active Member
Down here right outside Winterset we have a huge limestone quarry. On one side of the woods theres beans and the other corn. I've watched them this season and it seems most nights are completely random in which field the 60-80 deer stroll out into. No real rhyme or reason to their madness. I'm going to do a couple acres of beans this year and was thinking of doing some eagle beans. Will be interesting to see what people are using
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Daver
PMA Member
I am not saying that deer won't go to corn and beans at this time of the year, but if it is relatively warm, then rye/clover/alfalfa is JUST as much of a draw, if not more so, than the high protein crops. BUT...when it gets truly cold and snowy...corn and beans are suddenly #1 with a bullet.
Hardwood11
It is going to be a good fall!
Late season beans-- hard to beat. This year we I had 2 standing corn plots with (around 120 acres of corn stubble). The deer never touch the standing corn if they can find the left over corn in the stubble. Of course there was no snow either, which makes a difference.
Standing beans in the same general area was drawing a bunch of deer.
Standing beans in the same general area was drawing a bunch of deer.
LoessHillsArcher
PMA Member
Standing corn isn't that great - unless you get a huge deep snow or ice storm which doesn't happen often. Knocked down or mowed corn - completely different story! Took many years to convince dad those nice corn food plots he worked so hard to create needed "destroyed" in order to for the wildlife to realize their value. Otherwise they were mostly a waste of time and money unfortunately.
LoessHillsArcher
PMA Member
Sorry, I should at least respond to the original post - for beans we use any free been we can get from local farmers or seed dealers. Sure they may not be the highest fat content or have the best shatter resistance like some food plot soybeans will advertise but free is hard to beat. Not sure sticking a few hundred extra dollars into the name brand soybean seeds is going to land us a bigger buck or more deer?
Daver
PMA Member
I definitely agree that knocked over corn is WAY more attractive to the deer, but last year, during a pretty tough winter...the deer on my place "made an exception"
and worked the standing corn pretty hard. But in a normal weather year, I agree, they will not use the standing corn nearly as much.As such, after the season is closed, or we are done hunting, I will start to mow off sections about every week or so.
hillrunner
PMA Member
I have yet to find a bean variety that deer don't like. The biggest challenge is getting them too maturity in high population areas.
If it's cold with snow on the ground, standing beans are my favorite crop to hunt over. In cold and snowy conditions, even after every last pod is eaten, they will continue to come to the field to eat the stalk. You can't say that about corn.
If it's cold with snow on the ground, standing beans are my favorite crop to hunt over. In cold and snowy conditions, even after every last pod is eaten, they will continue to come to the field to eat the stalk. You can't say that about corn.
Daver
PMA Member
I have mowed some corn in years past while the season is still open. I leave most of it though for after the season is over to provide food through the late winter and early, early spring.