PILOT

Im fairly new to this site, but have been back through much of the info. available from past posts and have found alot of great stuff already. But I have a new project to work on so I may have some questions over the next few months for everyone to ponder and hopefully give some input.

Ive got 50 acres or so of my own ground Id like to make into a whitail heaven. Of which 23 acres is open field right now and is prime black Indiana soil. The rest is timber that I plan to cut 5 or 6 acres of to create a santuary on the down wind(west side). Right now I have one 3/4 acre clover food plot in the NE corner of woods that was put in when I purchased the woods two years ago. Luckily it has done very well as I did not perform a soil test, only fertilized and used a small amout of granular lime. This plot alone has really pulled in the deer as I had some super bucks move through this year. To be honest I was shocked to see these huge deer on my property--what a great feeling. Its amazing what posting your land and planting only a small food plot can do.

But now I have this additional 23 acres to work with and I am pumped and cant wait to get started this spring. Right now Im thinking about two 21/2 acre grain plots that will alternate between corn and beans. Then a 2-3 acre afalfa/clover field also. These would be situated to the east side to take advantage of the prevailing wind. The field I just purchased lies just south of the woods and runs east and west for about 850 yds. and is 150 yds wide in the middle. Then it narrows to a point at both ends and is bordered by a creek on the south side, which is the property line. The whole property is surrounded by creeks. A major creek to the west that the creek on the north and the one to the south empty into on the far west side of the property. This property sits in the dead center of the section so it is extremely difficult to see from the road as there are small hills surrounding. Our area is heavily farmed with beans and corn so agriculture surrounds it and the average size woods in this vicinity is 5 to 15 acres.

So my biggest question is what would you do with this 23 acre field? I was leaning toward the food plots mentioned above with a small orchard in the alfalfa, but I am more than open to suggestions. The other half of the field I would like to make into very diverse bedding area. Clumps of pines,berry brush of some kind, and maybe some native grass. Id like to get some cover up as quickly as possible in say atleast 5 acres or so.

Any help would be appreciated guys. Sorry for being so long winded.

timbercruiser

Sounds like you have and ideal situation. I would try to plant at least 10 acres of corn with several rows of soybeans on either side, the other 10 in soybeans wouldn't be bad. The QDMA folks told me that if you have a good deer population the minimum size soybean field should be 10 acres to do much good.

Dan O.

I wouldn't suggest planting orchard trees in or next to an alfalfa field. The alfalfa will attract and harbour leafhoppers and other insects which will attack the orchard.

Dan O.

farm hunter

Pilot - Welocome to the board!

Your tract sounds real good.

As far as what to plant 1st, I'd plant corn (2-5 acres) this can act as your cover the fist couple years, while you wait for the pines/berry bushes etc, to thicken up.

Also, If you plan to plant a 2+ acre plot of clover - I'd center it towards thar property as much as I could, Unless you have a border with "no Hunting", as a sanctuary.
The deer will get accostomed to the orientation of the plot during the summer months, and will often alter their movements, such that you can take better advantage of it in the fall.

Good luck, hope you pick up some ideas from the members here.

PILOT

Thanks for the response guys. Dan O. good point about the insects and alfalfa. That didnt even come to mind.

Farm hunter I think your on to something with the corn for cover thing. How would you layout the food plots in the field for maximum benefit? I thought about planting the whole length of the field up next to woods. The plot would be long and narrow, about 1500'X 150',30' clover/wheat,60' beans,60' corn. But is this a wide enough row of corn to hold up to the wind or to provide good cover to hold deer? The other option is cutting the field in half and planting blocks of food plots and the other half would be bedding area? Maybe a combination of the two, what do you think?

Also the field is in corn stalk right now do you think it will produce a good stand of corn again this year?

farm hunter

Pilot,

The long skinny strips are great for clover, but not for corn. My experience with this type of planting for corn has not been good for several reasons - The plot is overused by deer - especially when up against cover - when its young, and few stalks make it to maturity. The next problem is that, cross-pollenation is poor for corn in this kind of planting - and ear production will be spotty.

Corn is best planted in blocks of at least 2 acres, it doesn't have to be perfectly square, but it should be a block. You can Plant a block, and then an 8 row strip along the edge if you like - but the block of corn will be the attractant - for cover and food.

Also corn about by the bag (80,000 kernals) costs $40.00-$75.00 depending on the type - and will plant about 3 acres - so you have to buy the corn anyhow.

Personally I'd plant a strip of clover along the edge, about 30-40 yds wide. I'd plant 2 blocks of corn - and maybe connect them with a strip of 8 rows with clover between the corn & the woods. This way - deer will use the clover in the strip in the day, and as a secluded feeding area - because of the corn cover - you'll also find the deer will bed in the corn. Locate the corn, where deer like to access the field (maybe a low spot - or near a heavy thicket).

Next - I would still plant at least a 2-3 acre plot of clover or beans - but out away from the edge - this is for night time use - and will supply the deer with the bulk of their nutrition. It will also keep the deer off your corn until it matures.

The soil test should indicate what nutrients are needed- to grow corn again - Likely you will need to lay down some additional Nitrogen 1/2 way through growth (this is where the soil test pays for itself) - how much depends on the soil test - But yes usually you can follow corn with corn for at least two or three years with Nitrogen supplements (or very good soil).

One other note - if you have no reason to keep the 23 are field (resale, future farming, etc) I would block the field up, with pine,brush, and hardwood plantings - in an irregular fashion that would leave 2-3 are plot exactly where I wanted them, and/or the soil was best.

I hope this helps a little - its a little hard to come up with "general" statements - without actually seeing the layout of the property.




Edited by - farm hunter on 01/21/2003 21:45:39

PILOT

Farmhunter great suggestions you really have me thinking. Im a little hesitant to plant too many acres in to food plots as I dont want to impede the growth of future permanent cover. However I do want to be able to pull in deer from other properties and have enough food to feed them. Just the right mix is what Im looking for. Maybe shoot me an email and I can send you a pic of the property so you can see the layout. Unfortunately Im not sure how to post pics on this site as of yet.

Thanks for your time, Jamie

farm hunter

Jamie - shoot me an email at work - [email protected] -

Sean