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Food Plots
Summer food plot quandary
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<blockquote data-quote="megalomaniac" data-source="post: 5311173" data-attributes="member: 2805"><p>Knowing where you are, and all the ag close by.....in a way you are very fortunate.</p><p></p><p>Summer plots will only benefit the few resident does and their offspring. I doubt many bachelor buck groups will be outcompeted by a territorial doe with twins in the summer plots, so don't expect to see any bachelor groups on your place. Sucks if you ever wanted to velvet hunt, but at least the bucks you kill in the fall are bucks someone else is feeding the rest of the year.</p><p></p><p>The only reason to spend the money and time planting summer crops is if they improve your soil and improve your fall plantings when it counts. If you don't get much weed competition (esp hard to kill weeds) growing in the summer established plots, I wouldn't waste the money on summer plots. If you do have a lot of weed competition, it would def be worth it to plant an easily terminated summer crop (buckwheat, sorgham, millet).</p><p></p><p>On the newly dozed plots, you NEED as much organic matter on the newly exposed soil as possible and as fast as possible to benefit your fall plots (increased nutrients, decrease soil compaction, decrease water runoff, etc) these I would certainly plant with a crop that produces as much biomass as possible (mix of sorgham, buckwheat, millet). All easy to terminate, and MUCH cheaper than beans. But again, you aren't feeding the deer in the summer, who cares if the deer don't eat them.</p><p></p><p>Another plus of a summer crop is it sort of let's you 'take the pulse' of your ground. Summer crop doesn't grow? Good chance the fall plot isn't going to do well either. Figure out what nutrients you are lacking and get them in the dirt before you plant next fall.</p><p></p><p>Figure around $90 per acre for seed and modest fertilize (not counting gas, time, and wear and tear on equipment as additional cost per acre). I think at least planting the new plots is worth that input cost for the improvement in soil quality and getting them up to speed with the existing plots is well worth it. But don't waste money on beans in your particular situation. (Or it wouldn't hurt to throw some generic $19 per bag soybeans in the mix with the others just for fun... but not the high dollar RR beans)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="megalomaniac, post: 5311173, member: 2805"] Knowing where you are, and all the ag close by.....in a way you are very fortunate. Summer plots will only benefit the few resident does and their offspring. I doubt many bachelor buck groups will be outcompeted by a territorial doe with twins in the summer plots, so don't expect to see any bachelor groups on your place. Sucks if you ever wanted to velvet hunt, but at least the bucks you kill in the fall are bucks someone else is feeding the rest of the year. The only reason to spend the money and time planting summer crops is if they improve your soil and improve your fall plantings when it counts. If you don't get much weed competition (esp hard to kill weeds) growing in the summer established plots, I wouldn't waste the money on summer plots. If you do have a lot of weed competition, it would def be worth it to plant an easily terminated summer crop (buckwheat, sorgham, millet). On the newly dozed plots, you NEED as much organic matter on the newly exposed soil as possible and as fast as possible to benefit your fall plots (increased nutrients, decrease soil compaction, decrease water runoff, etc) these I would certainly plant with a crop that produces as much biomass as possible (mix of sorgham, buckwheat, millet). All easy to terminate, and MUCH cheaper than beans. But again, you aren't feeding the deer in the summer, who cares if the deer don't eat them. Another plus of a summer crop is it sort of let's you 'take the pulse' of your ground. Summer crop doesn't grow? Good chance the fall plot isn't going to do well either. Figure out what nutrients you are lacking and get them in the dirt before you plant next fall. Figure around $90 per acre for seed and modest fertilize (not counting gas, time, and wear and tear on equipment as additional cost per acre). I think at least planting the new plots is worth that input cost for the improvement in soil quality and getting them up to speed with the existing plots is well worth it. But don't waste money on beans in your particular situation. (Or it wouldn't hurt to throw some generic $19 per bag soybeans in the mix with the others just for fun... but not the high dollar RR beans) [/QUOTE]
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Summer food plot quandary
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