ORIGINAL: Bugflipper
Just my humble oppinion I am against corn for QDM. Corn leaches all the nutrients out of the soil more than comparable crops. Since it is so large of a plant and has very limited winter use, just the kernals. So there is not very much yeild for late season compared to the amount of nutrients extracted from the soil. Further the corn lacks any real benefit in nutrients to the deer. It is only 9% protein and very starchy so converted straight to fat. Deer love it because the fat will get them through the winter and it tastes better than acorns. If you intend to plant corn by all means stay away from the G A as presribed above. You can find traditional dent corn reasonable. Hickory King is one that comes to mind.
You would be much better suited with cow peas or arrow leaf clover in an annual. They will produce their own nitrogen and not leach the soil clean. If you are trying to stay cheap a pound of collards, rape or turnips will go a long way as well. All will not take much from the soil, so a limited amount of fertilizer is required each succesive year compared to corn. If you must plant corn at least grow a legume with it to supply a bit of nitrogen to the corn so it doesn't ruin your ground. A much better method would be to plant a perrenial legume deer plot mix. Considdering you can get 5 years or more out of most it is cheaper in the long run since you use much less fertilizer. There are also annual braisica mixes that are very reasonable. Both are better for the heard than just the fat building corn. If you can offer a high protein food source the deer heard will be less succeptable to illness and more productive.
Good post bugflipper. Corn actually has 6% crude protein and if deer are feeding on it entirely can cause rumen burnout. This will screw up the bacteria in the gut and cause problems when they start eating browse again. Brassicas and clovers are a much better long term food source both for the soil and the deer. We never plant corn. I'm not saying they wont eat it, I'm saying its ice cream for them. The long term goal should be to do what's best for the deer and the environment. Sure plant a dozen rows, or an acre if you have the space, but don't make it your sole crop. Deer need a minimum of 16% crude protein in their diet. You need to plant more than one crop if you are using corn. The Antlers are in the soil.