best grain to plant?
 

Got too many kids and cant afford to plant corn anymore. Thinking about planting some grain this fall and letting it mature next year. Have had great results with winter rye but have never let it mature. So I guess my question is what mature grain field do deer like best.

RE: best grain to plant?
 

i wont say the deer love it but i know the pheasants and turkeys love my winter wheat when it goes to seed.

RE: best grain to plant?
 

In my experience - deer really do not like the "grain" much at all. In fact they'll pass up most fall-brown grains for anything green.

A fall planted Grain is a different story though - they really will key in on High Carbohydrate - young growth (2-6") of cereal grain shoots.

If you still would rather Spring plant - Soybeans are much cheaper than corn, will offer summer feed and even into Late fall. Maybe you want to consider them?

RE: best grain to plant?
 

I agree with farmhunter on the soybeans. I plant round-up ready soys in the areas I want to plant buck oats in the fall. Planting the soys in the spring gives the deer something in the spring to feed on and also makes it quite easy to control weeds in those areas. I go in and bush hog the beans in the second week of sept. and drill in the grain. What has worked well for me is to strip plant and to leave some of the beans standing as they are the best late season food I have found for deer when the temps. get way down in the single digits. It's a great way to get full benefit from your food plot space on a year long basis especially if you have room for a clover/chicory strip to add as well. They hit the clover hard in early spring, the beans a little later in the spring and summer. The chicory comes on strong when the conditions get extremely hot and dry in mid summer and the clover is stressed. Then the deer switch to the oats or wheat in the fall and back again to the beans in the winter months.

Sorry if I included more info. than your were actually looking for but the food plot thing has become a real passion of mine.

RE: best grain to plant?
 

thanks for the info.