Roundup Ready Corn & Soybean Food Plot

[Daver]

The only advantage I can see to forage beans is if there is heavy browse pressure. They can withstand that better than ag beans, but for the upper midwest, ag beans are the only way to go IMO.

If you were planting a bean plot primarily to provide summer forage then I could see where you would think about forage beans. But, since I too get free, leftover ag beans from various sources there really is no question in my mind which ones are "better". Ag beans all the way!!

 

[Sligh1]

Paul, I had some RR beans drilled in my plot July 5 but as you know we didnt receive any rain untill this past weekend. The beans are just now coming up good/decent. What are the odds of the beans producing grain? I already plan on overseeding with Rye in Sept. I figure worst case scenario it will make a killer youth season plot since the beans will still be fresh and green. I hope to get some beans yet but I really have no idea what to expect.

I planted some beans about July 25 last year after cows whipped out my bean plot that I planted in May. I honestly would say my original planting would have yielded ROUGHLY 50 bushels to the acre. After I re-planted them we did have good rain after July 25 though. This year is a different animal, that's for sure (in SE IA). "IF" you get some good rain you could have some pods. BUT you have other variables.... Is the ground fertilized like crazy??? Did you plant a big enough plot???? Big enough that deer won't graze it like crazy? Do you know if you planted a fast maturing bean? "IF" all those answers are good and you get right weather, you COULD have 10-25 bushel beans which certainly isn't horrible BUT with this weather and depending on all those variables, so hard to say, IMO. You will likely have some good youth hunting, no doubt about that!!

*One other challenge you have.... With late planted beans, those rascals are gonna be green into October. That makes over-seeding rye, etc very difficult. You'd like yellowing beans towards end of august so the leaves fall off and let sunlight in on new stuff you interseeded. If you have any other areas you could do those things, MIGHT be something to consider.

 

[dbltree]

August 14th, 2011

I have friends who can plant an acre of corn and then...combine it the next spring! I can plant 6 acres of corn however and they will eat the entire crop to the ground by the end of summer! Corn can be a great draw but once the ear is stripped it's done for, while soybeans or even brassicas have continued grazing, beans, roots etc. so one has to weigh the pros and cons of each along with deer density and decide if corn is right for them.

All of my corn has been demolished already and will have to be disced down but for now I set a trail cam up to get pics of the "demolition crew" at work...

They don't just strip the ear...they eat the plants themselves down to the stalk!

I'll let them feast away for now and then disc it under and plant the rye combination so I know I'll have food there all fall and winter.

Deer of course aren't the only animals that cause problems in corn, coons and squirrels also take their toll and around here the coons are thicker then hair on a dogs back making corn a "not so great" option for me, especially since it is the most expensive crop to plant...

 

[dbltree]

Many landowners are not aware that deer will not touch soybeans during the yellowing/drying down phase so we do NOT want our beans to look like this in October!

Here's a link to soybean maturity zones so you can be sure your buying beans that will mature and dry down well ahead of your hunting season.

Soybean Maturity Zones

Just talk to you seed supplier and they can help furnish you with the right beans for your area.

When beans start to yellow, that's the perfect time to overseed winter rye, forage radish and even red clover, so in my area I prefer soybeans that mature and dry down in late August thru mid September.

This is what it's all about...soybeans in November!

Bushels per acre....that should be every landowners question when considering which beans to plant....what is the yield potential for these beans in my area? The higher the yield, the more deer we can attract and hold over a longer period of time.

Even 3 acres of beans however can be quickly stripped as the weather gets colder

That makes overseeding with rye extremely important to allow us to continue feeding deer in that plot all the way until spring!

Deer love the forage soybeans provide, that much is true but all soybeans including those grown for grain provide very attractive, high quality, high protein forage

These ag beans are not only feeding deer all summer

but will keep them coming during the rut and late season as well

I will overseed winter rye, Groundhog forage radish and red clover into this field in late August

What a great combination of grain and forage that will bring in hordes of deer for the landowner this fall! if we had planted a later maturing soybean...the only thing he would have is summer forage...don't think he'd be real happy with that this November.

Plant beans that will are right for your area and will mature and dry down well before hunting season, overseed with 50-150#'s of rye, 5-10#s of forage radish and 15#'s of red clover (white can be added also) and you'll be able to keep deer coming all fall, winter, spring and next summer...then rotate to something like brassicas...perfect! :way:

 

[Trappertim]

Paul, when your talking over seeding.. do you have to do this with a drill since the ground isnt broke up or can i broadcast it? Thanks

 

[Daver]

Paul, when your talking over seeding.. do you have to do this with a drill since the ground isnt broke up or can i broadcast it? Thanks

Broadcast it Tim, but we will need some rain to come on to make it work. (Disclosure - Tim and I are neighbors.) I have a bag seeder if you want to use it. Rye will just about grow on top of concrete if you get some moisture on it. Labor Day weekend is a pretty good time to do this, but we will need some rain sometime.

 

[dbltree]

we will need some rain sometime

We need a LOT of rain...just wanted to clarify that Dave...

 

[Trappertim]

I got a seeder but thanks Dave! I twisted my ankle stepping it one of the 8 inch cracks last time i was down there. lol

 

[bearcatbaseball10]

here's a picture of one of our shooting house plots....even through HEAVY deer damage early and through present time, they are still holding pretty strong and started to go to Pod 2 weeks ago or so when I was in there overseeding bare areas with turnips....looking forward to hunting over this one this fall. Planted 6-7 and didn't see rain for 10 days....later pictures were taken today 8-18.

6-29-11 they looked like this....you can see the exclusion cage in the background.

8-18-11...same area...exclusion in the back ground again where the 4 legged boogers can't get to!

Pods...

EVERY PLANT OUT OF THE CAGE LOOKS LIKE THIS.....

and the 4 legged evidence....34 yards from one of our archery sets :way:

 

[dbltree]

Great example of using an exclusion cage...well done! :way:

In my area I have so many friends who have tried forage beans and then been deeply disappointed, even disgusted with the results! They paid an outrageous amount of money for beans that ended up being a waste of time, money and plot space...for that reason I feel compelled to at least make others aware of the problems so that you can make informed choices.

All beans can be easily decimated...INCLUDING forage beans...all of these pics are pure forage beans...wiped out!

This is the reason many of us have decided to use fencing to protect ag soybeans because it's not the forage we need, but the BEANS!! It makes no sense to fence forage beans...take the fence down and then have the beans yellow and deer avoid them right in the middle of hunting season!!

So why not mix forage and ag beans??

You certainly can but I would NOT mix them...plant strips or blocks of ag beans and separate strips of forage because deer are turned off by the smell of the yellowing beans and may avoid the whole plot if the they are mixed.

If I buy a premix of ag and forage beans...why isn't that better?

Because we grow beans as a source of highly attractive grain during hunting season....mixing 60% forage and 40% ag beans is like instantly cutting your yield in half!! Why on earth would we want to do that?!?! Weather can cut our yields in 1/2 as it is...why cut our ability to attract, hold and hunt deer in HALF????!!!!!!!!!!

We want to provide high quality forage, spring, summer and early fall and then as much high energy grain as possible during hunting season. This is easily done by planting 10% of your plot to white clover...easily in the 20-25% protein range and capable of feeding deer almost year around at a fraction of the cost of other food sources. Plant high yielding ag beans and fence if necessary for fall attraction, make sure they are early maturing, overseed rye, radish and red clover into the standing beans and you will have a food plot supreme....bar none!

Friends...I'm just a blue collar workin' man....every dollar I make is hard earned and I sweat buckets for it, so I respect the value of a dollar and do my best to get the most out of it, especially when planting habitat. I tend to represent people like me on these forums, those who want the very best habitat without spending an arm and a leg for it...otherwise I could care less what seed you buy or from whom.

All of that being said...I wouldn't take a truck load of forage bean seed if you gave it to me because I have no use for anything that is useless from October 15th to November 15th and so few beans that is virtually useless the rest of the season.

If you have unlimited land and financial resources then none of this may matter to you...but if not, please don't end up disappointed like so many others in my neck of the woods...

 

[crs740]

Pretty damn good reasoning there Paul. I unfortunately got on the band wagon this year with forage beas, but am going to try your approach next year, At least my beans are right next to clover and standing corn.

 

[dbltree]

Pretty damn good reasoning there Paul. I unfortunately got on the band wagon this year with forage beas, but am going to try your approach next year, At least my beans are right next to clover and standing corn.

Well done on planting a combination of crops in one place...:way:

You can’t grow big deer…

The implication by those companies that market seed almost exclusively to whitetail hunter/landowners is that their seeds/crops have the ability to produce bigger/larger antlers but nothing could be further from the truth. Assuming whitetails are not in a starvation situation due to over population and over browsing…no plants or combination of plants/crops on this planet can cause antlers to grow larger then their genetic potential. Mortality is usually what keeps deer from reaching their genetic potential…not what they eat.

Age and genetics…the only two factors that determine the size of a whitetail bucks antlers (disease and accident stress aside) If this were not so, then those raising captive deer would only have to feed them the very best to grow giants…but since this is not possible they spend incredible amounts of money to buy stud bucks that have the right genetics or buy semen and artificially inseminate does.

People living in agricultural areas often forget that giant whitetails are killed every year in wilderness areas like Saskatchewan and Mexico where not a single deer has ever tasted a soybean or clover leaf. My younger brother lives in northern Idaho and has killed some huge whitetail bucks including a booner that lived their entire lives never ever tasting any type of agricultural crops. His daughter’s boyfriend’s dad killed an amazing 220+ inch monster that lived his whole life eating…browse.

My brother hunts lions all winter…whitetail bucks perish from a different kind of mortality out there, note the deep snow and the type of browse.

Idaho’s Greatest Whitetails

Hmmm? Wonder how those huge whitetails ever got along with someone “providing” them with some high priced “magic” food source??

Instead…they seem to do just fine on this…

Have we forgotten that browse is a whitetails natural food source? Not soybeans, not clover or corn or Buck on a bag brassicas…browse. You may also not be aware that natural browse not only meets and exceeds the daily protein requirements of whitetails but many species EXCEED even the most high quality clover and soybean levels!!

It goes without saying then that it is imperative that we provide that natural forage by improving our woodland habitat by Timber Stand Improvement, hinging, edge feathering and tree/shrub planting. It also makes the idea that we must provide deer with some other source of protein or they will never achieve their potential…quite ludicrous.

The most difficult time of year for whitetails is the most often overlooked by both landowners and those that market seed to them….winter…the one time of year they need food the most…we provide the least.

Rut weary bucks are the most likely to leave for greener pastures when there is nothing left to eat and therein lies the problem with crops like forage beans. They provide feed for only a few months of the year and during a time when there is already plenty of other forage available. When deer need feed the most however…the forage bean plot is bare as a board forcing them to leave. A mix provides food for only a short time longer because yields are a fraction of what they could be.

A plot containing white clover and grain soybeans however can provide deer with high quality forage literally year around and grain when deer are at their most desperate state. Over seeding with winter rye and radishes not only eliminates the “useless” time when beans are yellowing but carries deer through the entire winter and into spring.

This buck has been living on my place for 5 years now…no monster by Iowa standards but he gets along just fine on white clover, rye and soybeans…no “magic” high priced seed has he ever seen…

Combined with natural browse whitetails will receive a diet of high quality forage that will far and away exceed their most maximum possible requirements…all at a reasonable cost to the landowner.

We’re a desperate lot it seems, always looking for an easy fix or a magic pill, turn on the radio and there are ads for pills that say we’ll never have to exercise again, just take a pill and the pounds will just shed right off! Others claim to solve memory loss or prostate problems…and they are doing a brisk business by those who believe their outlandish claims.

Nearly every deer biologist, outdoor writer or TV celebrity is being paid to hype someone’s seed…it’s a huge and profitable business in which profits quickly cloud over the truth.

There’s a pill for those folks too…clean their colon out so they won’t be so full of…”stuff” :thrwrck:

When I picked up a bag of Real World soybeans from Don Higgins at the Iowa Deer Classic I told him the same thing I tell everyone who ask me to test seed for them…I’m going to be brutally honest when I tell folks about your product. Don didn’t expect anything less…

These are his RW soybeans as of August 17th, 2011…they have not received any rain since June 28th

They look awesome…but so do my ag beans planted in the same field…they have loads of pods that are developing and filling well despite the severe drought

The only problem that I can see is that they (RW) would mature a little to late for my area but just right for those in mid to southern Missouri and Illinois I suspect.

These beans are fenced because my goal is grain production for maximum fall and winter attraction, summer forage is easily provided with white clover and natural browse on all the farms I work with…the combination easily provides protein in the 25+ % range.

Obviously there is plenty of high quality forage on Don’s beans if one could avoid the use of fencing.

The ag beans look equally great with plenty of pods

The ag beans are year old seed given away by major seed companies each year, germination may be slightly lower but with free seed I just increase the planting rate a tad. Yields however are completely unaffected by year old seed and will equal those of fresh seed.

Shipping soybean seed (or any large seeds) is outrageously expensive so I would encourage you to purchase seeds from your local ag co-op if at all possible. Ask for early maturing, high yielding soybeans that resist shattering and always check for year old or left over seed after spring planting season is done for bargain prices.

Friends…across the continent, whitetails can easily reach their genetic potential on nothing more then their natural native browse…if of course they are allowed to live. Use trail cam surveys to monitor your deer herd and keep track of the age of the bucks using your property, if you want them to reach maturity, you’ll have to let them walk until they do so.

Examine you habitat goals and determine how you can maximize your habitat by increasing native browse and planting a combination of crops within a centralized feeding area. Our goal should be to adapt deer to coming to that plot year around with emphasis on the period from December to April when deer are stressed and searching for food sources. Grain soybeans over seeded with rye and help you meet that goal along with clover, brassicas and rye.

Corn and milo are other great sources of late fall and winter feed and Mike sent a picture of his corn which looks pretty doggone good considering he is in a drought stressed area in WI

Don’t fall for the “magic pill” hype in fancy ads or from deer biologist’s intent on profiting from your seed purchase. Creating habitat takes time and hard work but it need not cost a small fortune, your goals and means of meeting those goals may be different from mine, so if you use corn, soybeans or milo as part of your year around habitat program…please come back and share what worked for you on your land in an effort to help others reach their habitat goals….

 

[dbltree]

September 1st, 2011

Soybeans are turning at a rapid rate here in Iowa....right on schedule...that last thing we want is soybeans turning during hunting season because deer will refuse to touch them at this stage.

Perfect time to start overseeding winter rye, GHFR and red clover into the standing beans...so I enlisted the help of my son to get the job done .

There are different varieties and maturity dates mixed in so some are nearly all turned while others are just starting

the later maturing varieties are just starting to turn and allowing enough sunlight to reach the soil surface once the rye germinates.

The early maturing beans have dropped 80% of their leaves already

Once the leaves drop the beans themselves will have to dry down before being palatable and attractive to deer, this can be a long process if the beans are green when it freezes rather then drying down

This is what it's all about...this is why we plant soybeans....this is what attracts and hold whitetails during November through January...soybeans!!

The drought in our area has drastically hurt yields because many pods didn't fill, so just because your beans have pods doesn't mean they really have beans in them. They may be BB sized or not even there, so open the pods and check the size of the beans to compare varieties.

Soybeans can be an awesome late season attraction but they can be easily wiped out so do your homework before considering adding soybeans to your habitat tool chest next year...

 

[dbltree]

September 11th, 2011

They have been combining corn since Labor Day here in SE Iowa, the drought speeded up the drying process and farmers are gearing up to go full bore soon. Corn is a huge draw for whitetails in this country both as cover and a food source

It is extremely difficult to compete with freshly harvested corn and I have seen deer feed for months in the stubble left behind.

Corn however is expensive to grow and in small fields it's often decimated long before season unless fenced. It is important to understand why deer find it so appealing in the fall because corn is high in energy although not as high in fat. Acorns are high in fat but not in protein while soybeans are often higher in both. Fat is often added to hog rations to supplement the corn and soybean meal to provide both protein and fat.

It makes sense then as land managers to provide both acorns and soybeans when possible and both can be grown for less then the cost of growing corn. Obviously oak trees take time to grow and reach a productive stage but hybrids can produce in as little as 8 years so when they are planted in conjunction to our centralized food sources they can easily out compete the neighboring corn field.

RR soybeans often require fencing but because they are legumes are far less expensive to grow and can provide a food source far into winter that will attract and hold whitetails like few other crops. When overseeded with winter rye and red clover they can feed deer until the plot can be rotated to another nitrogen using crop like brassicas or corn.

Now is the time to overseed rye into standing soybeans, with late August thru early September being the optimum time for most of the mid west. I overseeded rye in standing beans about 8-10 days ago after which we received roughly 3/4" of an inch of rain.

The rye is starting to pop up!

Some just barely...

more so in the shade of the beans that are just starting to turn

at first a little canopy is not a bad thing to protect the seeds from drying sun and wind

but in time as the leaves fall from the beans the rye will be begin to grow and provide a lush source of feed as well as providing great soil cover! I also overseeded red clover as these beans will be rotated to brassicas next summer.

To make this work it is very important to have early maturing soybeans so be certain to check with your supplier and purchase beans right for you area. Late planted beans will of course be late maturing so be cognizant of this also as sometimes wet spring weather can delay planting. Always look for high yielding soybeans that are capable of producing 40-50 bushel yields under proper fertilization and normal rainfall.

Remember that almost any other crops from clover to canola can easily provide tons of high quality forage so for most of us, the emphasis when planting soybeans should be on the production of soybeans themselves. Those beans will allow us to compete with highly attractive crops like corn and hold deer well into the first of the year, adding winter rye and red clover closes the gap and eliminates any period of time when the plot is not attractive to whitetails.

I was a little concerned that the Real World soybeans I planted as a test for Don Higgins would mature too late to allow for overseeding so I was relieved to see that they are starting to turn, only a week perhaps different then typical soybeans grown in my area of Iowa.

We broadcasted 125#'s of winter rye, 5#'s of GHFR and 20#'s of red clover into this 1.5 acre field of standing soybeans of which 1/3 is RW and the rest several common RR varieties of soybeans....all of which are starting to yellow

I planted them in early May so those who planted in mid May may find them still green and canopied making overseeding more difficult...just things to be aware of when you choose your soybean seed next spring. Maturity dates are a big deal!

Even though all of our soybeans endured a nasty 2 month drought, the ag and RW beans are filling nicely

Once the leaves drop and the beans are fully exposed I'll count only those pods that have filled and do a comparison but Don's beans are obviously high quality, high yielding soybeans!

These are ag beans that were grazed all summer, yet every inch of the plant is covered with pods!

They are turning just in time to allow the rye to get sunlight

This picture is an example of differing maturity dates with the soybeans on the right yellowing and drying down while the others are still green....the goal for most of us should be to have soybeans at the stage on the right in early September....

You've heard the expression "won't amount to a hill of beans"...these are a good example! Late planted soybeans that then endured a severe drought and heavy grazing pressure with few pods filled at this point, they may hardly be worth combining.

If they were a food plot however they could be salvaged by overseeding with rye, radishes and red clover...all of which would work perfectly in the row planted beans with the killed grass mulch covering the soil....

 

[droptine37]

Here's a bit of info I thought some of you guys in the bad drought areas might find useful this hunting season. DblTrees previous post made me think about it. On our property we have some sand hills that year after year produce corn that only gets about 4 ft tall at the most. The ears are always small, in the 3-5 inch range. Combines these days really have a hard time getting these thru the combine and into the storage tank without shooting a good majority of the corn right out the back with the other residue. Our cut corn fields always have every deer from the area out there feeding on the extra corn that ends up on those sand hills. For those of you who hunt around standing corn fields that have been hampered by the drought and have really small ears it might be a good idea to start planning now on how your going to hunt the deer that come to these fields for all these small ears that the combine will shoot right out the back. It might effect your deer movement on your property like it does ours so I just thought I would throw this out there.

I actually just got done reading that in Kansas farmers arent even using there corn heads this year because the ears are so small. They have to use some other type of head but I cant remember exactly what it was. Anyways, unless your local farmer has the option to use another head that can handle these small ears just be prepared for all the extra grain that will be in your fields because it can really change your deer patterns.

 

[dbltree]

be prepared for all the extra grain that will be in your fields because it can really change your deer patterns.

and they will feed it in it all winter if there is enough grain on the ground...

 

[dbltree]

September 18th, 2011

A friend of mine sent pics in of his soybeans field which has already turned and the leaves are dropping...perfect! This is what our soybean fields should look like in September because when they look like this, deer will not touch the beans. The last thing we want is to plant late maturing beans that deer will avoid during hunting season.

While the beans are not attractive, his white clover is...so his deer have plenty to eat

and because the beans are early maturing he was able to overseed winter rye into the standing beans and with recent rainfall it's starting to germinate. This will provide an additional source of food not only later this fall but all winter and into spring.

The rye of course is so much more then "just a food source"...it's a fantastic soil builder that can be killed chemically or with tillage next spring before planting the next crop. Corn, soybeans or milo can be no-tilled into the rye or red clover can be overseeded or frost seeded into the standing beans along with the rye and both left standing until they are tilled under for brassicas next summer...lot's of options and all economical for those on a budget and with little or no equipment!

The landowner in this case also has brassicas, fields planted to switchgrass, Timber Stand Improvement, Timber Edge Feathering , hinging trees and hardwood, conifer and fruit tree planting projects in progress...all of which (based on the trail cam pics he sends me) are paying off with more mature whitetail bucks living on his property.

Habitat management pays huge dividends but it's not about one thing, not just about planting a food plot or using some "magic dust" mineral...it's about a complete program that allows you to enhance every aspect, every inch of your property utilizing every improvement possible.

Choosing early maturing soybeans and overseeding them in early September with rye, radish and red clover is a step in the right direction because it maximizes the use of the feeding area, providing food year around when combined with other crops like white clover. It also helps lower herbicide and fertilizer inputs and lowers concerns about failures due to droughts by using cover crops that build organic matter, control weeds, scavenge or create nitrogen and....feed whitetails at the same time....

 

[dbltree]

My friend John sent in some picture of his soybeans in WI...he took advantage of free soybean seed and is tickled with the results!

They have been heavily grazed but still producing beans like crazy!

Lots of high quality forage all summer and soybeans for the late season....all from free seed!

His Egyptian Wheat screen looks great too!

Whenever you can take advantage of free RR soybean seed and are able to grow soybeans (with or without electric fencing) they can be an economical but very attractive food source... :way:

 

[dbltree]

October 10th, 2011

10 days into hunting season here in Iowa and probably most of the country for that matter and harvest is well under way. These soybeans were planted in early June and started turning in early September and while there were deer feeding in this field all summer, the moment the beans started turning...it was void of deer.

I took these pictures on Friday morning (October 5th) and that evening a combine rolled in and began cutting beans...

We have had a killing frost here so any soybeans regardless of variety or brand are...now dead but "dead" does not mean "dry" and the soys that turn this time of year take even longer to dry down, making the period in which they are not attractive to deer even longer.

To avoid having this problem be sure to purchase seed with a maturity rating suited for your area that will insure they look like this by hunting season.

These are Real World soybeans marketed by Don Higgins and like most soybeans in my area they have dried down well before hunting season.

There are 3 varieties in each bag and that is more apparent now that the leaves are off

These beans performed very well under very dry conditions and appear to have yielded well

If you need to purchase your soybean seed (versus getting free year old seed) I would compare prices and shipping costs with that at your closest co-op and purchase the maturity rating right for you and your area. Shipping is cost prohibiting for many landowners but you may find Don at late winter shows where you can pick up seed.

I have already lined up most of my soybean seed for this coming year...free for the cost of picking it up and all top quality RR soybean seed normally grown in my area.

It will be interesting to see how long these beans last once the weather turns colder.

Our soybeans did very well considering the severe drought conditions but in some cases the size of the beans was affected so when comparing beans always check the size of the beans from different varieties grown in the same field.

Use soybeans as part of a multi crop system that allows you to provide year around food sources so that where one ends...the other begins. Brassicas and soybeans are great crops to rotate and compliment each other especially when combined with areas of white clover and overseeding rye into the standing beans.

Soybeans can be an outstanding attraction from November through January

so we are keeping ours fenced until later this month

Roundup Ready soybeans are easy to grow and can be no till or conventionally row planted or broadcast into tilled soil, they tolerate dry soils and hot temperatures but...they can also be a total failure if deer decimate them and that is a very real problem that most landowners will face.

Plant soybeans along side plenty of other lush healthy crops and consider using electric fence on at least a portion of the field and you'll most likely end up with a successful hunting season....

 

[Qdmaer]

Could soybeans be planted with a truax no till drill that i use for nwsg?