my oats is short and green but fairly thick. deer appear to be hitting it hard which is what i wanted it for. i have it on 2 different farms. one i planted in early sept. the other late sept. the early one really looks good-its had some rain. the late one has had less rain and is fairly sparse. the deer are using both. the second one is in an area that is pretty much all pasture in the area while the first is in farm country.