#3171651 - 02/21/13 08:16 AM
Re: If you could plant Ag Crops for Deer....
[Re: BlountArrow]
|
BSK
Jerkasourous of the non-typical kind
Non-Typical
Registered: 03/11/99
Posts: 59553
Loc: Nashville, TN
|
Offline
|
|
So is there a difference between "Eagle Seed Beans", "Eagle Large Lad", "Eagle Big Fellow", and the "Eagle Wildlife Manager's Mix"?
Yes, there are differences. To find out the details about each plant, as well as which would be best for your situation, I would talk directly to the people at Eagle Seed.
The "Wildlife Manager's Mix" contains more climbing beans, and is meant to be planted with RR corn (the cornstalks give the climbing beans structure to climb up).
_________________________
"Know where you stand, and stand there" --Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan
"There is no reasoning someone out of a position he has not reasoned himself into." --Clive James
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#3171694 - 02/21/13 08:40 AM
Re: If you could plant Ag Crops for Deer....
[Re: BSK]
|
WestTn Huntin'man
16 Point
Registered: 11/19/06
Posts: 10876
Loc: Benton Co.
|
Offline
|
|
I don't see Milo mentioned ?? Milo is more of a fall-season food source (deer eat the seedheads). For summer protein and volume of quality food produced, I want a major legume, with beans preferred over peas, although both are good. Deer have to eat in the fall also right ??When the corn,peas,and beans are gone they will tear those seed heads up.In La. when harvesting the Milo crop we always left the stuff around the edges and corners for deer and other wildlife,Seems like with 3 fields a good fall crop would benefit the deer as well as the hunting.I know it is not as popular in Tn. as other places.I always wondered why ??
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#3171716 - 02/21/13 09:01 AM
Re: If you could plant Ag Crops for Deer....
[Re: BSK]
|
BlountArrow
8 Point
Registered: 07/13/12
Posts: 1280
Loc: SouthEast Tenn
|
Online
|
|
Yes, there are differences. To find out the details about each plant, as well as which would be best for your situation, I would talk directly to the people at Eagle Seed.
The "Wildlife Manager's Mix" contains more climbing beans, and is meant to be planted with RR corn (the cornstalks give the climbing beans structure to climb up).
Excellent. I will definitely do that. Thanks for all the info guys and anything you want to add is greatly appreciated.
In past years I've shyed away from the Ag crops on the property focusing more on clover, chicory, rye, wheat, and oats. I want to try something different. Other than the chicory I've not been impressed with the results (results = deer foraging, not plant growth).
_________________________
"The world is so dreadfully managed, one hardly knows to whom to complain." -Ronald Firbank
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#3171746 - 02/21/13 09:29 AM
Re: If you could plant Ag Crops for Deer....
[Re: WestTn Huntin'man]
|
BSK
Jerkasourous of the non-typical kind
Non-Typical
Registered: 03/11/99
Posts: 59553
Loc: Nashville, TN
|
Offline
|
|
I don't see Milo mentioned ?? Milo is more of a fall-season food source (deer eat the seedheads). For summer protein and volume of quality food produced, I want a major legume, with beans preferred over peas, although both are good. Deer have to eat in the fall also right ??When the corn,peas,and beans are gone they will tear those seed heads up.In La. when harvesting the Milo crop we always left the stuff around the edges and corners for deer and other wildlife,Seems like with 3 fields a good fall crop would benefit the deer as well as the hunting.I know it is not as popular in Tn. as other places.I always wondered why ??
Absolutely true WestTn Huntin'man. I was just answering the question from the idea of "What one crop could I plant that would make the greatest difference in herd health (body weights, antler growth, and fawn production). The answer to that is summer forage beans.
_________________________
"Know where you stand, and stand there" --Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan
"There is no reasoning someone out of a position he has not reasoned himself into." --Clive James
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#3171749 - 02/21/13 09:31 AM
Re: If you could plant Ag Crops for Deer....
[Re: BlountArrow]
|
BSK
Jerkasourous of the non-typical kind
Non-Typical
Registered: 03/11/99
Posts: 59553
Loc: Nashville, TN
|
Offline
|
|
Yes, there are differences. To find out the details about each plant, as well as which would be best for your situation, I would talk directly to the people at Eagle Seed.
The "Wildlife Manager's Mix" contains more climbing beans, and is meant to be planted with RR corn (the cornstalks give the climbing beans structure to climb up).
Excellent. I will definitely do that. Thanks for all the info guys and anything you want to add is greatly appreciated. In past years I've shyed away from the Ag crops on the property focusing more on clover, chicory, rye, wheat, and oats. I want to try something different. Other than the chicory I've not been impressed with the results (results = deer foraging, not plant growth).
BlountArrow,
Just don't assume that one plant, planted for one season of the year, is the best answer. Deer have different nutritional needs during the different seasons of the year, and no one plant can meet all those needs. To maximize nutritional benefit, you need a mixture of plants that produce what the deer need most for each season.
_________________________
"Know where you stand, and stand there" --Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan
"There is no reasoning someone out of a position he has not reasoned himself into." --Clive James
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#3171771 - 02/21/13 09:45 AM
Re: If you could plant Ag Crops for Deer....
[Re: BSK]
|
BlountArrow
8 Point
Registered: 07/13/12
Posts: 1280
Loc: SouthEast Tenn
|
Online
|
|
BlountArrow,
Just don't assume that one plant, planted for one season of the year, is the best answer. Deer have different nutritional needs during the different seasons of the year, and no one plant can meet all those needs. To maximize nutritional benefit, you need a mixture of plants that produce what the deer need most for each season.
Indeed, and a good reminder. I hope to be able to stagger/stage planting of different plants throughout the year as resources become available (resources = time and money ). I have other areas available for food sources other than the three pastures mentioned, these just happen to be the largest open fields that I would like to experiment with some sort of Ag crop. I'm also cutting into the available pasture land with some hedge row renovation and planting of various trees/shrubs to expand the more natural habitat and browse; this in part thanks to my local TWRA Biologist and local NRCS director - if I could give a shout out.
_________________________
"The world is so dreadfully managed, one hardly knows to whom to complain." -Ronald Firbank
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#3171806 - 02/21/13 10:13 AM
Re: If you could plant Ag Crops for Deer....
[Re: BlountArrow]
|
Bayou Buck
8 Point
Registered: 05/11/09
Posts: 2162
Loc: Spring Hill / Perry Co
|
Offline
|
|
I hope to be able to stagger/stage planting of different plants throughout the year as resources become available (resources = time and money  ).
BlountArrow,
Some of the cheapest things you can do is manage native vegetation. If you have mostly mature hardwoods, you might want to look at getting some of it logged. You can also select a few different sites to put on a burning regimate.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#3171870 - 02/21/13 11:19 AM
Re: If you could plant Ag Crops for Deer....
[Re: Bayou Buck]
|
BlountArrow
8 Point
Registered: 07/13/12
Posts: 1280
Loc: SouthEast Tenn
|
Online
|
|
BlountArrow,
Some of the cheapest things you can do is manage native vegetation. If you have mostly mature hardwoods, you might want to look at getting some of it logged. You can also select a few different sites to put on a burning regimate.
I completely agree and yeah there are several weeds, browse, and forbes that comprise way more of a deer's diet than any food plot ever did (based on what I've read and been told). Like my local TWRA biologist told me, he says that anymore he's convinced food plots are more for the hunter than the animal; more for us guys that still like to play in the dirt. One thing I will be concentrating on this year and further is cultivating the "good" native vegetation, um...rag weed, certain other broad leaf weeds, black berry, broom sedge, etc, just to name a few.
One of my bigger problems on my property is that I don't have much understory. Most of the farm is mature timber and the undergrowth just isn't there. Consequently, the other problem is that there is not too much of the timber that is accessible. One forester I spoke to, when I asked him about how a logger would go about getting trees off some of my ridges, he more/less told me that a logger would not. He said, don't be fooled by what you see on T.V., unless you have A LOT of timber and A LOT of acreage doing something like that is just practically impossible. I take that to mean in those hard to reach spots I'm on my own with the timber because I doubt I can afford to pay someone else to do it. Now, we're getting back into that "time" factor. A shame to leave such good timber on the side of ridge like that though. I should also say he is the only forester I have talked to about it, but he is licensed, etc.
_________________________
"The world is so dreadfully managed, one hardly knows to whom to complain." -Ronald Firbank
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#3172074 - 02/21/13 02:48 PM
Re: If you could plant Ag Crops for Deer....
[Re: BlountArrow]
|
BSK
Jerkasourous of the non-typical kind
Non-Typical
Registered: 03/11/99
Posts: 59553
Loc: Nashville, TN
|
Offline
|
|
I completely agree and yeah there are several weeds, browse, and forbes that comprise way more of a deer's diet than any food plot ever did (based on what I've read and been told). Like my local TWRA biologist told me, he says that anymore he's convinced food plots are more for the hunter than the animal; more for us guys that still like to play in the dirt.
Undoubtedly true. Unless you can plant 5+% of a property in agricultural crops, food plots are far more about attraction than they are improving the nutrition intake of deer. I will always push landowners to meet the food volume requirements of deer with natural forage first, and then worry about food plots. You always want to be able to meet the food volume needs of the deer with natural forage because crops can fail, while natural forage rarely fails.
But once you get close to and start exceeding that 5% of the land figure in food plots, you can make a fairly significant difference in herd performance through high-yield food plot crops.
One forester I spoke to, when I asked him about how a logger would go about getting trees off some of my ridges, he more/less told me that a logger would not.
I'm not so sure of that. If the trees are valuable, they will cut them. Even if they have to drag them out with long cables. I've watched loggers cable out big oaks on hillsides too steep for even a small bulldozer.
_________________________
"Know where you stand, and stand there" --Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan
"There is no reasoning someone out of a position he has not reasoned himself into." --Clive James
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#3172327 - 02/21/13 07:14 PM
Re: If you could plant Ag Crops for Deer....
[Re: BSK]
|
blountcountyboy
8 Point
Registered: 03/30/03
Posts: 1333
Loc: Blount CountyTN ya know over n...
|
Offline
|
|
Here would be my questions I would ask MYSELF (I have the equipment to do all this already but, you may not).... how much money do I have to work with including fertilizer, lime, soil prep (fuel) and finally the actual seed. Do I have the money to "burn" every year feeding deer if I didn't I would look into what I'm already getting this year Wapsie corn. It is an open pollinated dent corn and I plan on saving enough seed to replant next year saving myself the money that I'd spend in seed. If I had the equipment and the time I would consider R.R. Alfalfa and sell off the bales and make a little money.
_________________________
If not for bad luck I wouldn't have any luck at all.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
Moderator: RUGER, Tennessee Todd, Unicam, Cuttin Caller, CBU93, stretch, Bobby G, Outdoor Lady, TurkeyBurd
|
12113 Members
38 Forums
115962 Topics
1412321 Posts
Max Online: 756 @ 11/20/12 09:10 AM
|
|
|
The TnDeer.Com Deer Talk Forum is for Tennessee Deer Hunters by Tennessee Deer Hunters. If you enjoy using our Talk Forum and would like to contribute to help in it's up-keep. Just submit your contribution by clicking on the DONATE button below and paying with PayPal or a major credit card. Any amount is much appreciated. Thanks for your support!
|
|
|