Deer not eating beans?

Tennessee Deer Sporting & Deer Hunting Community Forum

Help Support TNDeer | Tennessee Deer:

D

duvhntr

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2024
Messages
1,051
City & State/Province
usa
There a soybean plot not far from my house, a guy plants it every year. Has a stand right in the middle of it… probably 2 acres.. I've passed by it a hundred times… never seen the first deer in it… passed it yesterday.. still standing and loaded down..? Can't figure it out…
 
Not sure what part of the state your in but I know my area there is more acorns on the ground than the deer even know what to do with. I plant a food plot in my back yard every year and it's hardly been touched or had deer in it.
 
Last edited:
Standing beans don't become preferable until late January or during cold snaps less than 20d. The key to a prime bean field is you DONT want them clean. We had dozens feeding in one of our bean fields this year, but that was because it was loaded with volunteer triticale under them from reseeding itself from last years cover crop. They weren't feeding on the pods.
 
On the farm I grew up on, we had a mix of corn, beans, and alfalfa. We'd never bother hunting the bean fields - the deer would either be in the corn or alfalfa. This was for Nebr. rifle season.
 
duvhntr said:
There a soybean plot not far from my house, a guy plants it every year. Has a stand right in the middle of it… probably 2 acres.. I've passed by it a hundred times… never seen the first deer in it… passed it yesterday.. still standing and loaded down..? Can't figure it out…
Click to expand...
I cant grow soybeans in a smaller plot. Once they get up good they get mowed down. Did 3 acres soybeans, cow peas and sunflower few years back....was beautiful...until they found it then they destroyed it....I wish I had a good stand of beans for the deer to eat on after season through the late part of winter.
 
I've got the prettiest stand of corn you've ever seen with a couple of strips cut through it. They are barely touching it. I shucked a couple of ears the other day and they were still laying there untouched . Had 10-15 eating on fescue and wheat nearby but very few in the corn. Deer behavior and my planning makes me feel dumber year after year.
 
They will absolutely hit soybeans when the temps drop. They will browse on the stubble too, not just the pods. There may just be other more preferred food still available.
 
BSK said:
As Mega pointed out, I don't see deer feeding on dried soybean pods until late winter. Honestly, I don't think they're that preferred by deer until other, better food are depleted.
Click to expand...
If deer don't even want to eat them, then why to do peple squeeze the beans and put their oil in just about every product out there?
 
Last edited:
All depends on the area. I have 5 plots with standing beans across 1100 acres. 2 of the fields are being hammered while the other 2 are not touched. Crazy I know.
 
duvhntr said:
There a soybean plot not far from my house, a guy plants it every year. Has a stand right in the middle of it… probably 2 acres.. I've passed by it a hundred times… never seen the first deer in it… passed it yesterday.. still standing and loaded down..? Can't figure it out…
Click to expand...
They are nocturnal !!
 
I think it's safe to say just when we think we know what deer want. They remind us we have no clue.

That's why it's important to have multiple food sources on your land if possible. From plots to growing trees to natural browse.
 
I've had two young relatives who shot their first deer while it was eating left over beans on a field edge in November - seems one was during muzzleloader. I've seen squirrels eating them too.
 
On a non productive acorn year they use them way more then on a very productive acorn year. We rarely keep beans standing for the simple fact is most of the time they aren't any left from the summer. But in our experience better things to plant that are more productive in a hunting situation in my experience.
 
I read on here and see pics of deer "hammering" beans. But for whatever reason in my area, I never ever see deer in bean fields regardless of time of year. I see hogs but never deer. 🤷‍♂️
 
Tn_Va_Hunter said:
I think it's safe to say just when we think we know what deer want. They remind us we have no clue.

That's why it's important to have multiple food sources on your land if possible. From plots to growing trees to natural browse.
Click to expand...
Very well said Tn_Va_Hunter.
 
In my mind, this is they way to set up a bean field...

Look under the beans, you can see a lot of green (triticale). The green plot in the background is where the deer browsed most of the beans out during the summer. That area got nuked and planted for a fall plot with clover, brassicas, rye
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20251230_170844_Gallery.webp
    Screenshot_20251230_170844_Gallery.webp
    350.6 KB
First deer I ever killed was headed to a picked Soybean field, probably 1 of the best tasting deer I have taken.
 
Yea. It's the biggest acorn year in my area ever. Or that I've kept up with. During October white oaks was like walking in someone's pea gravel driveway.
And now the reds are still everywhere. And I like it. I don't care if it makes deer harder to find. The more food they got the better.

i think the amount of rainfall we had in May and June is a big factor to why acorns are everywhere.
 
Maybe the deer are avoiding these GMO beans and corn until everything else is gone for a reason.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top