next food plot question

[Greg M]

Antler King Red Zone. Hype or hero? Has anyone used RZ and would/ are you using it again? I was planning Eagle beans, but it looks like there are several other well used forage plants mixed in this. Seems like it would be easier than mixing several things together and more effective than a single crop. Price doesn't seem like it would be any more costly than buying anything else.

 

[MickThompson]

I haven't used it, but I would lean towards hype. In my experience, soybeans will be selected over any other warm-season planting. With a forage variety, you gain increased usable biomass (forage in the form of bigger/more leaves) while still having some seed production. I have planted Eagle beans and was impressed with their yield on some pretty poor east TN soils, and the deer loved them, especially in late summer until the frost. You won't gain much, if anything, by mixing crops. If grain production is important, plant corn in a separate planting. Get the latest maturing beans you can, and hold of planting until June if yo can to ensure forage production until the first frost. Farmers plant earlier, but they want seed. You want maximum forage availability, both in biomass and time.