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Roundup Ready Corn & Soybean Food Plot

Sligh1 said:
How many sprayings u do- just one? Looks really nice!! You caught that rye before got too big- well done!!! Was the weedy ground previously beans?
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I did a burn down plus one post spray. Both fields started as beans last year but the deer hammered one of them so bad that it barely got out of the ground, so I ended up tilling down what was basically just foxtail and seeding rye.
 
Will I be alright with 7 acres corn in heavy deer population? Only food outside of some alfalfa in about a 2k acre section
 
hillrunner said:
I'm thinking you'll be ok the first year, maybe 2. Once the deer get used to that plot being there, they'll destroy it if you don't fence it
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With corn plots...nothing beats them in the winter...but you have to get your ears to January...and that is not easy. Also, do not neglect the impact of Rocky Raccoon...enough of them can wreck a corn plot all by themselves. You will need to, ahem, "address" this issue too. :)
 
We had a 3 acre corn plot in the middle of 115 acres of switch grass, it was a fair distance from any big timber. The ears were huge, it was some of our best bottom ground, I'd guess 180+ bushel to the acre. I don't think a person could have hand picked a bushel of corn the first week of December, it got absolutely pounded. We saw deer lining up to cross the roads on their way to it in the evenings, half mile away from it. Good luck.
 
JNRBRONC said:
We had a 3 acre corn plot in the middle of 115 acres of switch grass, it was a fair distance from any big timber. The ears were huge, it was some of our best bottom ground, I'd guess 180+ bushel to the acre. I don't think a person could have hand picked a bushel of corn the first week of December, it got absolutely pounded. We saw deer lining up to cross the roads on their way to it in the evenings, half mile away from it. Good luck.
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One of the years that we had "good corn" there were trails coming from every surrounding property, but yes, once they get on it, it can go fast.
 
Agree on all above. 1st few years u get away with less.
Several challenges but all remedied.... like u said - coons, not big enough, etc.
deer #’s & proximity to timber or bedding be impacted for sure.
is there plenty of Other ag around?

I’ve had several 3 acre patches on smaller farms with not an insane amount of deer.
been in areas where 5-6 is enough & sometimes takes 10 acres. 3-10 is a big variable. 10 is a big chunk of food!

fence- say 2-3 acres.... pry last a while if u did go that route.
 
Here’s just a 60 sec clip showing where corn got no tilled into dead brassicas. Notice how weed free the brassicas are? Few weeds but not many. This is more weed free BECAUSE of brassicas. Not because of spray. I did just spray it but dang those brassicas do a nice job on keeping weeds down. & awesome to no till into!!! Like butter!!!!
 
We had the DNR crop depredation specialist out many years ago to assess deer damage on our ag fields. He mentioned that "cross hatching" the end rows of corn might slow down the deer, as just like most critters, they take the path of least resistance and don't care to wade through corn. We decided not to get the depredation tags, hunted hard with friends for a couple of years to lower the damage.

Thinking back and to cut to the chase now: If you had a pre-emergent herbicide and thus wouldn't need to get back into the field after planting, do you think planting the plot at right angles (plant one direction, then do a second pass at right angles) would slow the deer down on consumption of the plot? Could still probably do a spray clean up and run down minimal corn. Might need to back off on the plant population a touch. Just spit balling here.....
 
JNRBRONC said:
We had the DNR crop depredation specialist out many years ago to assess deer damage on our ag fields. He mentioned that "cross hatching" the end rows of corn might slow down the deer, as just like most critters, they take the path of least resistance and don't care to wade through corn. We decided not to get the depredation tags, hunted hard with friends for a couple of years to lower the damage.

Thinking back and to cut to the chase now: If you had a pre-emergent herbicide and thus wouldn't need to get back into the field after planting, do you think planting the plot at right angles (plant one direction, then do a second pass at right angles) would slow the deer down on consumption of the plot? Could still probably do a spray clean up and run down minimal corn. Might need to back off on the plant population a touch. Just spit balling here.....
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Hmmm...this makes sense...maybe I will "block" the ends of the rows with egyptian wheat?
 
JNRBRONC said:
We had the DNR crop depredation specialist out many years ago to assess deer damage on our ag fields. He mentioned that "cross hatching" the end rows of corn might slow down the deer, as just like most critters, they take the path of least resistance and don't care to wade through corn. We decided not to get the depredation tags, hunted hard with friends for a couple of years to lower the damage.

Thinking back and to cut to the chase now: If you had a pre-emergent herbicide and thus wouldn't need to get back into the field after planting, do you think planting the plot at right angles (plant one direction, then do a second pass at right angles) would slow the deer down on consumption of the plot? Could still probably do a spray clean up and run down minimal corn. Might need to back off on the plant population a touch. Just spit balling here.....
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This would work..... could get to work. I can think of 3 ways to do this off top of my head.....

1) use a burn down before planting. Heavy. Second pass run a combo like acuron or any type of previous cocktails. The most important is: atrazine or simazine - at 1.5 to maybe the legal limit of 2 or 2.2. 48 of metolachlor, labeled high rate of mesotrione..... as long as u cooked that at time of planting after possible earlier burn.... yep- essentially makes it a bullet proof one pass.
2) if need second spray: swing sprayer booms over those areas.
3) spray those x’d areas with other methods.
Hmmmm. That would do it. If u wanted to get crazier & nutty- try and get a drill to spit out 1 acre of corn - 7.5 OR!!! could do 15” rows on split row. Be thick corn deer also don’t like & hard to move. For plot be fine.

not a bad idea!!!! The double layer fencing sounds like best ticket to save a plot though. If smaller for sure.
 
Ive got a bit more beans to drill then ill be getting a bunch of fenceing up... not looking forward to that chore but have to protect the investment


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I swear the coons wipe out 3 acres on my place .. dig it up before it comes up .. then late they climb up the stalks .. Cant kill enough of them ..
 
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Jbohn said:
I swear the coons wipe out 3 acres on my place .. dig it up before it comes up .. then late they climb up the stacks .. Cant kill enough of them ..
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Coons are for sure worse on corn than deer!!!! Need to get rid of them!!!
 
Regarding coons and corn...although I don't have pictures to prove it, I really do think that I lost much more corn to coons last summer than deer. Let's just say that I have "adjusted" my approach this year and it is much less "coon friendly" at my place. :)
 
Buddy who farms. Maybe hour from me. Last year. He replanted a field twice as this kept happening. Replanted 3rd time after below pic. Long long story short- he figured it out (watched herd of coons dig it out).... called DNR for depredation stuff & they killed like 300 coons out of this field & surrounding between trapping & shooting. This is what happens when no trapping with low fur prices for 5-7 years now.
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I’m pry couple weeks out from having fences done on “smaller” corn & bean plots. 1st time ever!!!! Double layer & hopefully turns out well & works. Wasn’t that expensive. Just waiting on last shipment of some fiberglass rods. So far so good this year!!! All planted & looking great !!!! Good rain - SO FAR!!! ;). No till with lots of residue on top so if we have a drought- I’m as prepared as I can be.
 
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