They are definitely much better than ag beans but not a silver bullet. They can still get wiped out. I had one field last year that was 5 acres and it still got wiped out. Looked like a desert except for the 6' beans in the exclusion cages. Then again I've had them on barely an acre and they did OK. Really depends on the deer density, but if you can protect them for a month until they can get started you should be set. Plotsaver or a gallagher fence are good options.