Food Plots Alfalfa

[tngreenhead1]

Does anyone have any experience growing Alfalfa in TN food plots or hay fields? I am thinking about sowing an acre of it in the spring, but the $220/ac seed cost has me reconsidering. The alfalfa that I am looking to plant is round up ready and will last 5-7 years with little maintenance. Talking with friends in the Midwest, deer really like it as it is really high in protein and easy to digest. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[muddyboots]

Deer love it. Very hard to grow from what i have been told.

 

[Solo Hunter]

I planted 7 acres a several years back here in west tn and it did well. The deer really hit it good. The Fall I planted it I thought the deer were going to kill it grazing it down so close. But come Spring it really took off. Only problem I had was the property was in a CRP program which allowed me to bush hog it in the spring and summer but I wasn't allowed to bale it. And with the clippings laying on top of the growing alfalfa it would hurt the growth of it. If I could of baled it I think it would of lasted much longer. I had a neighbor that grew it for hay and it lasted 9-10 yrs for him. Mine only lasted about 4 years but it was really good in that time. You have to watch for Army beetles. They'll really do a number on it.

 

[onside]

Basically what bbuck said. There is nothing that comes close to drawing deer like first-year alfalfa. Seems like preference drops slightly after first year.
Alfalfa must be cut and baled to have a lasting stand unless you plant such a small amount the deer keep it grazed low.
Even with the grazing variety I planted, my one acre plot needed to be hayed three times each summer.
Neutral Ph is a must. Also finicky in terms of micro-nutrients.
But, if you want to spend quite a bit of time and money on a high-risk, high-reward experiment like I did, go for it.
If you or some of your friends have experience growing it, that would be a big plus.

 

[Hunter 257W]

As the others said, trying to guess the size of the plot needed to match the growth of the alfalfa to produce only what your deer will graze so that it doesn't need to be cut for hay is the problem. Alfalfa gets stemmy and yellow once it matures and loses a lot of it's attractiveness and food value. I have 4 acres of Alfa Rack (Whitetail Institute) and it needs to be cut for hay at least 4 times a year. Otherwise it yellows and falls over and is obviously not nearly so attractive to deer. But when it's actively growing it is superior deer feed for sure.

I wasn't aware there was a roundup ready alfalfa. Your plan to plant 1 acre sounds like that may be small enough that deer can eat it down. It just depends on the deer numbers in your area. I had another 1/4 acre plot of Alfa Rack that the deer were enver able to keep up with though and it had to be mowed and not baled. Cutting it and not removing the cuttings was basically mulching the plot and as a result the alfalfa died after a couple of seasons. The imperial clover in the mix survivied though and is still going 6 years after planting.

 

[PickettSFHunter]

Illegal to plant RR Alfalfa for food plots but yeah I would do it anyway.

 

[AT Hiker]

Illegal to plant RR Alfalfa for food plots

Isnt it funny how Monsanto and the feds can make anything up just to make some money?

Simply build your own RR alflafa, it didnt take pigweed long to become gly resistant.

 

[plinker22]

One of my best hunting spots was obtained because the farmer hated the deer eating his Alfalfa.

 

[AT Hiker]

One of my best hunting spots was obtained because the farmer hated the deer eating his Alfalfa.

I have seen over 500 animals (antelope, mule and whitetail deer) in one alfalfa field in WY. The field was an irrigated track roughly 150 acres in size, and that is small for WY standards.

 

[KubotaM4900]

One of my best hunting spots was obtained because the farmer hated the deer eating his Alfalfa.

I have seen over 500 animals (antelope, mule and whitetail deer) in one alfalfa field in WY. The field was an irrigated track roughly 150 acres in size, and that is small for WY standards.

Bet I'm not the only one that would like to see some pics from WY

 

[tellico4x4]

One of my best hunting spots was obtained because the farmer hated the deer eating his Alfalfa.

I have seen over 500 animals (antelope, mule and whitetail deer) in one alfalfa field in WY. The field was an irrigated track roughly 150 acres in size, and that is small for WY standards.

Bet I'm not the only one that would like to see some pics from WY

That way throught the west. Here's a pic from CO.


IMG_5167 by Bullet Hunting Club, on Flickr