From what I've seen here and there, buckwheat seems to be a little strange in the food plot world. Most (I think) tend to look at it as a soil builder more than food source for the critters.But from what I've seen, the deer really hammer it in upstate NY (first year it was new to them and they didn't touch it for a while). It is cheap to plant at less then a dollar a pound and does pretty well at shading out weeds. It will not take any freezing weather at all, so its strictly a summer crop. Many will plant it in spring after all danger of frost, thenfollow it up with something for fall/winter later in summer.