What to plant-corn or soybeans.
 

I appreciate the higher nutritional value for soys, and was wondering which is harder to plant. I have a 2 acre spot to plant, I have been improving the soil the last 2 years, and because of the migration trail going through it, it would be an excellant taller food plot area-something to stick above the snow.

Are soybeans relatively easy to plant? Is 2 acres too little? What type of soil is preffered? Can they be mixed with a legume?
Will the deer eat it all up when young so there is none in Nov/Dec when the deer migrate?

As far as equipment to plant with goes, I have a tractor, 6' Heavy Duty Tiller, PTO Broadcaster, and a 30 gallon roller for compacting soil. I'd love to be able to plant it with clover, let the soys die out/be eaten in winter, have the clover the next year, and then till it all under every 2 years and do the same thing again, maybe with an occasional planting of wheat or rye to help with the rotation.

Any answers are appreciated. This would be along with the other 4 acres I already have.

Thanks!

Jeff...U.P. of Michigan.

RE: What to plant-corn or soybeans.
 

You would not want to plant soy with a forage crop. First, did you do a soil sample? Until you do your asking for failure, whatever you plant. Next we will want to define the soil tpye, heavy or a sandy loam... ect... Then you will decide what to plant. The soy will not last as long as a forage, two acres is not a lot. You will need to start fallowing the area you want to plant or the weeds and grasses will haunt you.... Don't be in a hurry to fail....

RE: What to plant-corn or soybeans.
 

Lunchbucket,

My first soil sample was 2 years ago. The results called for 4 tons of lime. The 8 tons of lime was added between June of 2000 and June of 2001. Clover grew real well from the end of 2000 to the middle of 2001, and then I tilled it under in July 2001, planted a brassica mixture and had the brassicas come in with a crop of "voulenteer"
clover.

The soil is a sandy loam, with a muck-like layer in the top portion, which I assume is from the yearly deposits of silt from the creek flooding in spring thaw. The clover grew great in these spots this year. The only reason I'm considering the soybeans is because when the deer are migrating, they will not, and have not dug down a foot to find the clover. If the soys were sticking up at this time, they would be a "gold-mine" to the deer.

I want to know if soybeans will grow here, as well as withstand the 14-15 deer that utilize my property during the summer and fall season(taken from camera sensus-6 adult does, 4 yearling does, 1 fawn, 4-5 bucks, 1 definate yearling buck, 3-2.5 year olds, and who knows if any others).

This would go along with the other 4 acres of food plots, limed and fertalized according to soil tests. This particular field is not used as much during the summer, but is heavily traveled during the migration.

Jeff...U.P. of Michigan.

RE: What to plant-corn or soybeans.
 

i would go with the soybeans

RE: What to plant-corn or soybeans.
 

First off Soybeans are a legume. I would plant about 6 short rows of corn, leave about 15ft strip then plant 4 or 6 more rows of corn, then another strip. come back in May or early june and plant soybeans , plant a #3 season bean, spin then on if need be..if toy plant them thick enough shouldnt have a lot of weed problem, maybe some grass but that is edible too.,In the corn if you dont pick it spinn on some winter wheat about October or even late Sept.The corn rows also givesd the deer a place to hide.,but not so wide that you cant spot them...

RE: What to plant-corn or soybeans.
 

First, soybeans are easier to plant than corn. You could plant 4 bu of sb on your 2 acres with your pto spreader and then till them in about 1 to 1 1/2 inches deep. You could use a "Roundup Ready" variety of sb and then spray over the top with Roundup for weed controll. The sb would cost about $25 for a 50 lb bag, 3 to 4 bags would do the job. The sb will be most attractive to the deer at the smallest stage of growth [early June] and less attractive as they mature. They would not in my opinion provide as an effective a food plot at maturity as corn. But sb do not require nitrogen to be applied as fertilizer and are cheaper to grow. If you are looking for an effective food plot for hunting season than corn is the way to go. The idea of altenating food plot is good. Corn is availabe in "Roundup ready" varieties and costs about $90 bag that would plant 3 to 5 acres. Corn is more difficult to plant and would require an actual row type planter and nitrogen applied after emergence. If your plot is in an agricultural area you could possibly find a local farmer to plant the plot for you.

RE: What to plant-corn or soybeans.
 

Bo,
When I lived in an agricultural area the fields that had beans in the late season were great draws for deer. The times I remember best were when the corn was mostly down and the deer would flock to the remaining bean fields.

My area is extremely non-agricultural. What I would like the most is to plant the beans, have them nibble a bit during the summer, and still be remaining in the late season for the migration. Sounds like corn would be to hard to plant, and soybeans are #1 for protein, and corn is almost dead-last in protein.

If the beans would grow on my sandy loam soil, then I would like to try them. The only thing is I don't want to waste a food plot if nothing would be remaining during the Nov./Dec. migration. I don't mind wasting the food plot during the summer-the deer have plenty to eat, including my other food plots and native vegatation, but my sole purpose is to have the snow-time draw.

I guess if the beans were gone by Sept., I could till it under and plant rye.

Jeff...U.P. of Michigan.

RE: What to plant-corn or soybeans.
 

lunchbucket, last week I talked with Brian Murphy, Ex. Dir. of the QDMA about planting soybeans as a summer supplemental crop and he said that it has been his opinion that a minimum of 5 acres and preferably 10 is necessary to see appreciable benefits. Soybeans are not heavy browse tolerant and small plots probably will not help a lot. I further ask him of advise of a better crop and he said preliminary studies of Tecomate Lablab, although expensive, showed great promise.

RE: What to plant-corn or soybeans.
 

Timbercruiser,

You have to remember with Brian Murphy that he is dealing most often with larger deer population desities. I wouldn't be planting this for the summer months in mind, only the winter migration.

We have a local deer population that is kept in check by our severe winters. We lose 50% of our fawns in an average winter, and over 80% in a severe winter. The average deer density in my area is not over 20 deer per sqare mile, of which around 15 use my property through out the summer months. I'm actually hoping the deer wouldn't use the soybeans during the summer, leaving them for when the deep snow comes. It's been my experience that other crops, such as clover, trefoil, rye, brassicas, or whatever, are just not tall enough to be utalized during the migration.

Jeff...U.P. of Michigan.

RE: What to plant-corn or soybeans.
 

One thing to add here, you want your soil ph factor to be 6.0 and above. Also, soybeans are a legume crop which produce toxins, the next soybean seedling is prone to autotoxicity, root rot and a few other diseases could be a problem, not so much in sandy soils, but in your heavier soils. Try to avoid consecutive years of soybean planting.

If you have relatively flat ground, you could utilize a corn/soybean rotation. Try and keep you soil ph down. There is also some nitrogen left in the soil after soybeans have been planted, corn needs a large amount of nitrogen each year. This rotation works well on our farm, especially on the more fertile soil.