What to plant for next year's deer season ?

[amboy49]

A friend of mine owns 65 acres that are woods, power line (think transmission size), and creek bottom. We've killed some pretty decent deer on the property over the years. We've never really made an attempt to draw deer in with a planted crop and baiting is obviously illegal. We also visually travel the county roads surrounding the property and see an abundance of deer in picked bean and corn fields adjacent to his land. Think 20-30 deer in a group starting now and thru spring.

We'd like to make his land more attractive to the local population. We've thought about planting a small plot of corn. I've read where turnips might be attractive to deer. And there are multiple companies that sell various types of deer attracting products.

Hoping to hear from folks who have successfully planted products that deer respond to, even prefer, that will draw them in. There is adequate cover in the are - think farmland and smaller rural property ownership - 10-15 acres that extend through the central Indiana area.

What should we plant ? The area we have thought about planting would be 1-3 acres of bottomland surrounded by hardwood trees and creek bottom. And . . . . . . as an aside, please advise if planting and leaving , say standing corn, is legal and not considered baiting ?


The pic attached is a 2022 bow kill (first day of deer season) on property adjacent to my friend's property about a quarter of a mile away. We have several trail camera's out and get a number of pics of nocturnal does and a few smaller bucks. Just hoping to provide the deer a reason to at least stroll through on a regular basis.

 

[Dirty Steve]

Our farm is 58 acres. It is bounded by Sugar Creek on the south and ag fields on the north, east and west. Sugar Creek links several wood lots and creates a huge travel corridor. Our farm is predominately a bedding area and it has been a dynamite hunting property for mature bucks passing through along the creek during the rut. We do not have any crops on the property itself. The property is a tree farm and has 2 large marsh areas for sanctuary. It's really everything you could want.

Last year there were beans in all of the fields surrounding the farm. The deer basically left once the beans were harvested and traveled to where there was standing or cut corn. Many of the mature bucks we had 100's of pictures of all summer were killed on properties up to a mile away that had corn.

This year all of the adjacent fields were corn. We saw 10 fold the deer this year that we did last year.

Our idea, like yours, was to create some flood plots, hoping to encourage the deer to stay. We tilled up 4 areas and planted tall tine tubers in the end of July. They grew well and looked beautiful by October. The deer have yet to touch them. Corn is king and they could care less what we planted when corn was available.

We will try this experiment again this year when all of the adjacent fields are beans, but I'm not expecting any different results.

Dirty Steve

 

[two70]

There's no way around it, you will have to experiment to see what the deer like best in your area... and it will vary from year to year based on what other food is available in your area. Additionally, what should plant will depend a lot on when you want it to be the most attractive to the deer.

Planting and leaving corn standing is legal and can be a good option but there are some considerations. If you're 1-3 acre plot is the only corn around and there are good numbers of deer in the area (as it sounds like from your description), they will likely wreck it long before season. If there is plenty of corn around, they won't likely touch yours until sometime after the others are picked which can be great for late season hunting. If this is the case, you can knock part of it down a little at a time to make it more attractive earlier. Also, corn is cover as well as food, this shouldn't be a problem with a relatively small area such as you're thinking about planting but it can hide some activity.

Another option and a potentially better one where deer will wreck unprotected corn is milo/sorghum. Unless your deer numbers are really high, deer will typically leave milo alone until season starts and may take some time to learn to eat it if they are not used to it. It still provides some cover but most varieties are short enough that you can see down into it which is a plus. It won't be quite as attractive as corn but sooner or later it will likely be the best food source around.

Clover or clover and chicory blends can be really attractive early in archery season and provide food for 6+ months of the year. Depending on the type and maintenance they can also reseed themselves for 2-4 years saving on cost. This type of food plot is best early in the hunting season and loses most or all of its attractiveness after a few frosts.

Blends, especially those designed to provide something attractive to the deer throughout the season, may be a good choice also. Since these can vary widely from brand to brand(and many are less than ideal), I'll simply recommend you Google Growing Deer TV and watch some videos for the best info on this option.

Other considerations are the amount of time and equipment you have to establish and maintain the plots, whether or not you want to provide nutrition and attraction out of hunting season, access to the planting location, and visibility from roads or neighboring properties.

 

[duanewade]

We've got 34 acres and ¾ of it is wildlife habitat (CRP ground) and woods. I've been planting a mix that I've gotten from Sunrise Seeds north of Topeka. It is a mix of sorghum and other forage plants that our deer and pheasant love. I've taken 2 deer (I'm not a horn hunter) from deer grazing through the food plots. I've also planted sugar beets along side the food plots in the fire breaks on the non-CRP ground we own.

I have planted corn in the non-CRP plots but did not see as much deer traffic as I do with the food plot mix.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[L C H]

I am a new food plotter, this just being my 2nd year.

Last year, all I had time to do was get the area cleared and throw down some winter rye, about 2 acres. The deer would browse on it if they wandered through the plot, but it wasn't much of a draw.

This year, I put in white clover and a brassica mix, followed by winter rye later on to fill in the bare spots. The clover doesn't do much the first year, I'm hoping it comes in good in the spring. The brassica mix did OK, but due to drought conditions I got probably 1 acre worth of brassica from my 2 acre plot. The rye did well filling in the gaps between brassica patches, and I see the deer munching on it here and there between brassica bites.

The plot has been really effective at holding doe family groups and giving reliable movement nearly every evening into the plot. There have been a few small bucks using it here and there, but the only big bucks that have been on it were during the rut. Hopefully that changes in the next few years as I improve the bedding cover on the rest of the property.

Next year, I'm hoping the clover does well, and I'll probably plant about a half acre in a brassica blend again if I can get that area cleared in time. The brassicas need to be rotated, not good to repeat on the same soil too many times in a row.

Definitely send some soil off for analysis and follow the lime and fertilizer recommendations.

I've done mine so far with just a riding lawn mower, pull behind sprayer, pull behind cultipacker, and bag-style seed broadcaster. I am mostly happy with the results, if it weren't for drought I think my plots would have done great. As it is, I've still got lots of food left out there.

 

[BJHay]

Attached is a publication from Purdue on food plot.. You may get a few ides from it.

Years ago the state White Tail biologist told me food plots don't work well in Indiana. He said food is so plentiful that a plot is like the ice cream station at the end of a buffet line. Some deer may stop for a bite but it's not going to be a significant draw.

That being said I intend to plat my first one next year. I have 100 acres in SE Montgomery country. The house takes about 10 acres and 45 are in row crops. The rest are woods and bottoms with a creek flowing through to make a good corridor. It looks like great habitat but we've never had many deer. The property is along I-74 and I think the interstate may inhibited their movement.

I'm thinking about allowing corn to stand when the surrounding fields are in beans or trying different mixes.
Good luck. I'd like to hear how it works out for you.

 

[Jaybird1980]

A friend of mine owns 65 acres that are woods, power line (think transmission size), and creek bottom. We've killed some pretty decent deer on the property over the years. We've never really made an attempt to draw deer in with a planted crop and baiting is obviously illegal. We also visually travel the county roads surrounding the property and see an abundance of deer in picked bean and corn fields adjacent to his land. Think 20-30 deer in a group starting now and thru spring.

We'd like to make his land more attractive to the local population. We've thought about planting a small plot of corn. I've read where turnips might be attractive to deer. And there are multiple companies that sell various types of deer attracting products.

Hoping to hear from folks who have successfully planted products that deer respond to, even prefer, that will draw them in. There is adequate cover in the are - think farmland and smaller rural property ownership - 10-15 acres that extend through the central Indiana area.

What should we plant ? The area we have thought about planting would be 1-3 acres of bottomland surrounded by hardwood trees and creek bottom. And . . . . . . as an aside, please advise if planting and leaving , say standing corn, is legal and not considered baiting ?


The pic attached is a 2022 bow kill (first day of deer season) on property adjacent to my friend's property about a quarter of a mile away. We have several trail camera's out and get a number of pics of nocturnal does and a few smaller bucks. Just hoping to provide the deer a reason to at least stroll through on a regular basis.

Is there water in the creek bottom? If you can get water, bedding and food at the same location it will help, but it won't compete with all the farm ground.

If I had bedding and water nearby. I would plant soybeans and sorghum in one section. Then clover mix in another section. Then a mix of oats, peas, rye, brassica's, vetch in another section.

This can help identify what they want at different times of the year, but as mentioned earlier that can change depending on what the farm crop rotation. The goal is really just to hold them a little longer when they are leaving and returning to bedding.

Figuring out soil type and makeup is the first part, send off for a soil analysis.

 

[two70]

Is there water in the creek bottom? If you can get water, bedding and food at the same location it will help, but it won't compete with all the farm ground.

If I had bedding and water nearby. I would plant soybeans and sorghum in one section. Then clover mix in another section. Then a mix of oats, peas, rye, brassica's, vetch in another section.

This can help identify what they want at different times of the year, but as mentioned earlier that can change depending on what the farm crop rotation. The goal is really just to hold them a little longer when they are leaving and returning to bedding.

You're correct, food plots won't compete with major ag crops nor do they don't need to. Most deer, especially mature bucks, will not often venture into open ag fields during daylight hours but they will hit food plots close to cover during legal hunting hours. Where and how to lay them out can be as important as what to plant in them. Access to and from them without alerting the deer is a critical consideration.

IMO, 2 acres of soybeans is nowhere near enough to have much of anything left during hunting season if there are very many deer in the local area, unless it is protected with fencing. They are a great option if you have enough land to plant several acres or you can protect it though. Something to be aware of is that the attractiveness of soybeans does vary quite a bit over the season.

 

[Jaybird1980]

You're correct, food plots won't compete with major ag crops nor do they don't need to. Most deer, especially mature bucks, will not often venture into open ag fields during daylight hours but they will hit food plots close to cover during legal hunting hours. Where and how to lay them out can be as important as what to plant in them. Access to and from them without alerting the deer is a critical consideration.

IMO, 2 acres of soybeans is nowhere near enough to have much of anything left during hunting season if there are very many deer in the local area, unless it is protected with fencing. They are a great option if you have enough land to plant several acres or you can protect it though. Something to be aware of is that the attractiveness of soybeans does vary quite a bit over the season.

I agree 2 acres wouldn't be enough if it was the only soybeans in the area, but likely it won't be. If I had 3 acres, I would probably divide it up into thirds at the start. The beans/sorghum being closest to bedding area.

Like you said though we don't know the layout, and just giving Amboy ideas to think on.

If I was only going to plant one thing it would probably be a Clover/Sorghum mix.

 

[two70]

I agree 2 acres wouldn't be enough if it was the only soybeans in the area, but likely it won't be. If I had 3 acres, I would probably divide it up into thirds at the start. The beans/sorghum being closest to bedding area.

Like you said though we don't know the layout, and just giving Amboy ideas to think on.

If I was only going to plant one thing it would probably be a Clover/Sorghum mix.

In my experience, 3 acres would be iffy even with beans nearby unless the deer population is fairly low locally but I'm not used to hunting areas where ag is the overwhelmingly dominant land use. I'd probably want closer to 5 acres to be sure but then you're getting big enough to make bowhunting it tough.

I'd probably go with corn or sorghum if I were sticking to one thing, however I agree that a variety is usually better. Especially when just starting out and figuring out what the local deer like. Planting a relatively small amount of a wide variety of species for a few years to evaluate what the deer want and when would probably shorten the learning curve if one has the time and patience to do that. In that case utilization cages would be just about mandatory.

There are pros and cons to every choice.

 

[Emo66]

I’m on my third trial year. So far, I have not found the right product. Just a quick tip…..I buy my next years plot seed at tractor supply after deer season is over on clearance. I get to try different things, at stupid cheap prices. This year I bought Antler Kings Southern greens ( oats, collard greens, radishes, winter wheat) for cheap. It’s a late season mix, so what I was looking for. Normally it was like $18 a bag for 1/4 acre, I got it for $6 a bag. I’ll hold it till next fall in the barn. It comes up just fine.