I live in the U.P. and we get our firsts frosts around the 1st of September. BFO was my best fall draw last year, and it mixes well with clovers. We had our first accumulating snow in early October last year, and off and on until the deer left in mid-december. The deer continued feeding on it until the snow covered it and they left about mid-december.

I have friends in the thumb that have planted it for 2 years and the first year they planted it next to MI oats. The BFO stayed green a month longer and were foraged on much more than the MI oats. I've never tried regular oats because I didn't want to waste the space if they didn't work out.