2005 corn/soy plot pics - UPDATE 8-17-05
 

Hey guys -

I've been a bit quiet here lately - hope to visit a bit more - but I thought I'd post this year's progress as of late June for reference.

These plots are Roundup Ready soybeans and corn - Great Summer and Fall/winter plots in that order, at different stages (2-3 week plantting differences) - a little more complex than last year.

- Just a couple pictures from Late June - this year - after a couple sprayings.











Hope to post some great progress pictures - later on.

FH

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress
 

Sean, corn looks pretty good for your Northern area, most of our corn is over waist high in this lighter ground, earlier climate. Check and see if you have a loose chain on your planter..

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress
 

Looks like a hell of a place to hunt.

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress
 

lookin pretty good so far

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress
 

Well, looks like you are showing off again. You always post very nice pictures. We have had 3/10's of an inch of rain in the past 2 months here and the dirt looks like dark talcum powder. I still grow more and bigger rocks than you. terry

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress
 

was wondering what kind of acreage you are working with on these plots. I have a contract coming up on about thirty acres and am trying to figure something to do with it

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress
 

We plant about 20 acres on a 200 acre hunting parcel.

Nothing special - for the deer only -sometimes we run out of time and/or money.

here's a couple updates from the 4th of July







Thanks Terry - Where's your Pictures?!

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress
 

Looking real good, Farm!

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress
 

[:@]I can never get a plot like that because of these


they dig it as fast as I put it in the ground.the only thing they don't root up is treated rye. this is just one bunch I got in the trap the other day.

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress
 

you need to do some work on your planters. either that or you used too much spray because both crops look spotty. also, i havent had much luck with deer and field corn. they dont eat it here until the stalks brown and its ready to pick then anyway so not much use out of it. they hide in it but thats about it. im going with a mix from agway for my food plot. got rye grass, clover, and alfalfa mixed in with some imperial whitetail

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress
 

I appreciate the responses. I realize the plots are a bit thin in places - but thats Ok with me - we tried to limit the plates (cobbed)on the planter to get more acreage out of the seed. The planter is 1950s vintage - and has issues- and parts are not readily available. BUT - we streched out the seed this year (though a bit spotty) and planted the acreage we wanted.

Its been filling in nicely:



- I'm pretty happy with it as a deer plot...

FH

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress
 

Looks nice FH! Your plots over the last few years have all been nice.

I haven't been around much since last hunting season, been sooo busy. So how did the sunflowers work out last year? I saw the pics you had posted last year, but was wonderinghow they worked out for you overall?

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress
 

I've enjoyed the sunflower plots I've done - but mostly for the additional songbirds and small animals they attract. In NY - Doves are not legal game- so while we see a bunch - we can't hunt them. The deer pretty much ignored them, and after a couple frosts - the stalks were too sparse to hide deer effectively.

The first time I planted them - was because our planter adjust isworn out and we had limited plates - so the ones I used planted the corn 3x to much. So I mixed in10 lbs of Black Oil Sunflower seeds thinking they would tin the corn. Theydid - but too much- in fact they dominated the corn- and I ended up with a thick sunflowerflower plot - with a few cormstalks mixed in.

How are your plots coming along?

FH

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress
 

FH-
The clover plot here at my house is basically done. I am going to re-do it next month. I put a post on it a while ago looking for some suggestions, as I am defintitely not an expert. I think I have a pretty good grasp of what I am going to do. I can't complain....it made it 4 whole seasons with good growth...but this year it has been overrun by grass. I'm thinking of putting back another clover plot with a cover of Buck Forage Oats for this fall. What do you think about them? Also, if I do go that route...should Isow and cover the oats, then sow the clover seed on top?

The other 2 plots that I did (at my buddy's place) are still doing pretty well. They are 3yrs old. His soil is MUCH better than mine, so we are hopint theywill probably have another good year left, but it's hard to say. We may redo those next year, depending on how they do in the spring. All our plots are less than 1/2 acre, but the deer definitely come. I have seen as many as 16 in the plot at my placeat one time, in years past.

Thanks for any input! Good luck this year:D

Mike

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress 7-05
 

Mike - I replanted a couple clover plots this early summer as well - (old plots 4-5 years - 80% grass) -

I used brassicas as a nurse crop. Essex Rapseed actually. I also mixed in some crimson clover to fill in the plot - because I'm never really happy with year #1 of a white clover planting.

Buck Forage oats is a good choice for a nurse crop + a fall draw. Most of it will be killed off by Single digit temps - leaving the plot to be mostly clover next spring.

- post some pics!

Thought I'd post a few Mid July photos - These pics are of one general planting. The other planting - lags about 2 weeks in progress and I didn't take pics. This is the plot that I planted Rye last fall as a cover crop and turned it under as green manure for this planting. I left some "bedding strips" of rye - in the corn/bean plots.

I'll post again when the corn tassels











FH

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress 7-05
 

Your crops looking good, do you like the 15 in rows better in the beans, they do canopy faster and cut down on weeds and other filth getting in there...

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress 7-05
 

farm hunter,
your plots are looking good. how long ago did you plant your corn? almost all of the corn on and near our farm in ky is tasseled and making ears that are ready for eating. are you planning on leaving the corn standing or are you going to knock it down? just wondering. i'm surprised the deer let you so much of your stand of beans to get up. they tear ours up bad in ky. any how they look great and good luck.

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress 7-05
 

Ron- so far the 15"ish rows are working good for soybeans. We should have the canopy closing in a couple weeks if the deer leave them alone enough. We need rain more than anything - its been 90s here and the T-storms they produce are spotty at best.

Hunter06FlKy-

The corn was put in early this year - I think this plot was mid May. Around here they say "the corn is knee high by the 4th of July" - ours was about waist high- because of the the early high temps.

I can feel the tassel under the newest leaves emerging -so we'll have tasselled corn in about 1-2 weeks - it grows so fast this time of the year - I'm real happy with the color and growth - Most of the Nitrogen was put in last fall with a Rye crop - a new experiment for us.

We leave the corn standing through the winter months. Strange as it may seem - the corn is mostly a Post Season plot for our deer. Sometimes in a tough early winter - its a great draw in the late season. We average about 150" of snow/year - and approach 200" about every 4-5 years.


FH

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress 7-05
 

Couple recent pics - Corn is starting to tassel - and the Beans are forming a canopy:







FH

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress 7-05
 

that corn looks really good now. your beans look even better. how early did you plant the beans?? the beans planted behind our wheat is just getting above the straw when i left ky. but they definately look good. i'm sure the deer will appreciate it as long as you don't shoot them all befoer they get to it!! ;):D[&:]

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress
 

An update on the corn & soybean plots - from 7-31-05

The year has been really HOT- 20 days already over 90 degrees (last year 1 total) - so the corn has grown really well with the heat. The old timers say you can "HEAR IT GROWING" on these hot humid nights!!

The early planting is all tassled now - and the ears are developing. The Soybeans planted at the same time (Early May) have just made canopy stage-

Ron - this picture is for you - we are liking the 15" rows!



also:





The second Corn plot is about 2 weeks behind - but is starting to really come on now:







The soybeans show signs of heavy deer usage - and the corn has been pretty much untouched.

I'll post updated pictures in a couple weeks - I do it anyways to compare different plots from year to year - and I think the pictures can say more about the plantings than I can probably describe.

Hope you enjoy!

FH

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress
 

sweet set up FH!

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress
 

Looking good as usual FH! :D

Now we want to see some results this fall, for all your hard work (150" or better would be preferred...and I hope your on my team) [8D]

Seriously though...I know you have been putting alot of effort into improving your habitat over the last few years. How do you think it has worked out for your herd overall? Have you noticed a big improvement?

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress
 

yeah definately

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress
 

Looks awesome. I got to keep telling myself not to already be looking forward to spring to try this setup on the 30acres Im opening up. Cant wait though.

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress
 

See FH the 15 in rows fill in pretty well and you didnt even have to go buy another planter, who cares if they are not precision perfect, we did it that way a few times before the 15 in row planter came along....

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress
 

WV - I wish I could say that we are all taking 150 class bucks on our 200 acres - but alas - its not the case. We have 6 hunters that hunt seriously - and we all would have little trouble taking "any buck". What we've done is given ourselves agood chance at a 2-1/2 year old buck and a reasonable chance at seeing and possibly harvesting a 3-1/2 year old buck. Our area overall is hard hunted - with "big bucks" by Illinios standards not around. We have improved our herd - and harvest YES - Still - if we could sign up the neighbors - things would be even better.

I cannot complain though. Every year we have a 120-130 class buck or two around - I enjoy trying to get the pictures of them on the Cam as much as hunting them.

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress
 

I'm not sure if many are intersted in seeing the updates - but I thought I'd post the mature plot pics for those that checked in.

The Heat has been really good for the corn & soybeans. We tried one and 2 sprayings of Roundup - and the 2x sprayed plots did much better - some could probably have used 3x - but not for deer I think.

Anyhow - here are pictures from today - the deer are about 75% keyed in on the soybeans over the clover and neighbors alfalfa fileds.













Thanks for looking - hope you enjoyed it.

FH

RE: 2005 corn/soy plot pics - Progress
 

Keep'em coming, man! You're my hero!
I look forward to the day my plots look like yours.
Brian