What Percentage of My Food Plot Acres are in Grains vs Greens

What Percentage of My Food Plot Acres are in Grains vs Greens | Dream Farm w/ Bill Winke

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Күн бұрын

In a recent episode Jordan and I talked about the perfect crop to plant in a small food plot. During that discussion I got off topic on whether it makes sense to plant both grains and greens. I moved on without really diving into that subject. In this episode, I talk about what percentage of my plot acres are in grains and what percentage is in greens.

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@daddylee4216 4 ай бұрын

I know it's off topic but I was just watching one of your hunts from 2006 where you killed a heavy tall narrow monster buck and took the kids out after dark to recover it, and was reminded of how great a gentleman and sportsman and ambassador for hunting that you are and have always been. Thank you so much for your commitment to being a class act in the hunting industry. Good luck this season Bill!

@bill-winke 4 ай бұрын

Thank you very much for that comment. It was one of my most memorable hunts because of the family's involvement. By the way, Nick Mundt filmed that hunt before he was part of the Bone Collector team. He was (and still is) a great friend though I rarely see him now. Have a great day.

@RS-ms1bz 4 ай бұрын

I'm still working on building the soil on my WV mountain property, so I've been using a summer and fall soil builder blend. The summer blend is about 40 percent sorghum, and I can say the deer absolutely love it. It's not the reason I plant it, it's a great way to add organic matter to the soil as their root mass is very large, but just an added benefit. As far as winter rye, with the late green up at my elevation, the deer just hammer it early spring as it's the only green available when all else is still brown. Even after the soil is built up, I will continue to add rye to my plots to give the herd just what they need coming out of winter.

@midwesternoutdoorsandnatur8272 4 ай бұрын

Same here in IL. Rye, crimson and balsana clover is putting organic matter and nutrients in my plots.

@bill-winke 4 ай бұрын

That is a good system. I am starting to plant more sorghum. I think that is very much under-appreciated by people planting food plots. Have a great day.

@tjt1992 4 ай бұрын

Great advice! I have about 14 acres of corn/beans, 2 1/2 acres of clove/chicory and 2 acres of brassicas and all the browse and acorns the deer have all they need. Great video as always! Have a great Memorial Day week end🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

@bill-winke 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for the comment and the input. That sounds like a great mix of food sources. Have a great week also.

@donwaldroopoutdoors3665 4 ай бұрын

It is our annual controversy lol, we did alternate rows of corn and beans but a large portion in the middle just soy beans, the sorghum as a boundry to plots , these videos help , so thanks for sharing your wisdom , i constantly tell my brother bill winke says ?? He just stares at me lol

@bill-winke 4 ай бұрын

Don, thanks for the comment and the support. I am going to plant corn, beans and sorghum this year and will learn more about what they like and when. I do think that there are even varieties of sorghum they prefer over others and I will test that too. Have a great day.

@JamesRegis-g9j 4 ай бұрын

Here in SE Kansas, in a normal year, the corn is harvested in August. Most of the scattered corn sprouts after the first rain on it. So, by late season it's long gone. I'm sure a corn plot would work down here, but it's gonna have to be a BIG plot to have anything left by mid-late December. On the other hand, wheat or rye, which is MUCH cheaper to plant, will draw deer in like crazy. It's not uncommon to see huge numbers of deer on wheat fields in the late season, nothing compares in drawing potential. This is the same reason wheat fields are the best hotspots for sheds a couple months later. Beans can be a big draw when it comes to plots, but once again, it's gonna have to be BIG to have anything left by late season.

@bill-winke 4 ай бұрын

Interesting. Yes, I have hunted KS some and the deer definitely love the fall sprouting winter wheat. I also saw them working harvested sorghum fields too. Alfalfa where it existed was also a big draw. Good luck.

@JackFrostTheDeerHunter 4 ай бұрын

A spring planted Whitetail Institute Oats Plus under seeded by a fast growing annual clover makes a fabulous early to mid season plot. You can also use perennial clovers to establish a clover plot. Only down side that I have found so far is that it also attracts bears as they love both the clover and the oats. An added bonus is the turkeys also love both of these. My spring turkey this year was full of leftover oats and clover.

@bill-winke 4 ай бұрын

That is good advice. Fortunately, here in NE Iowa we don't have bears. The very rare wandering bear, but none that actually live here. Have a great day.

@mikeconway9966 4 ай бұрын

One of my favorite tactics is to broadcast my greens into standing beans late summer. As the beans drop there leaves you have a lush carpet of greens in your standing soybeans. Works amazing. Winter wheat, winter rye, brassicas etc

@bill-winke 4 ай бұрын

Agree. That is what I do also and one of the main reasons I like soybeans vs other grain options. Good input.

@deanl4193 4 ай бұрын

Under-neth seeding brassicas into a cultivated corn crop works well if you can bend over far enough to get your seeder under the canopy.

@richstafford1245 4 ай бұрын

Most down to earth person in the outdoor industry imo.

@bill-winke 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for the comment and the support Rich. Much appreciated.

@danweaver5787 4 ай бұрын

Bill up until 3 years ago I would’ve argued that soybeans in the summer are the preferred food choice. Not anymore. In the summer of 2021, I had high hopes of seeing good bucks in a 40 acre bean field. This field was in a rotation of corn and beans every other year. I saw a few does, and some small bucks all during the summer. I could not figure out where all the deer we’re at. The farmer said he had turned an old cornfield into a new hay field using red and white clover along with alfalfa. It was only about a 10 acre field but I think every deer in the county was in it the first time I checked it out. This field is tucked back in against a block of timber and surrounded by a fence row with trees and a small creek lined with trees. Also with no roads anywhere close. Very secluded. There were so many deer in the field and a lot of them came out right at last light that I couldn’t even keep track of them all. Half of them were bucks. That whole summer you so very few deer in the bean field in that surrounding area. Thx for the video Dan

@bill-winke 4 ай бұрын

Yep, I have seen that too. One year the three acres below our house was in alfalfa. There were 42 bucks out there one night! Most nights there were at least 25. They came from a long ways away for that alfalfa. Good input.

@nelsonchandler1015 4 ай бұрын

great advice !! hard to figure out why the deer didn't really hit the corn last season even here in georgia didn't eat the corn as much as in the past !!

@bill-winke 4 ай бұрын

Did you have a lot of acorns? We were loaded up with them in the Midwest.

@braduttech1041 4 ай бұрын

Also when planting sorghum what is the best time of the year to plant it? I'm just across the river from you in Wisconsin

@bill-winke 4 ай бұрын

I would say early June. It likes a soil temperature in the mid 60s. Good luck.

@johnbelusko6347 2 ай бұрын

Bill i am 42yo and i have been watching ur shows since i was a kid and watching now i can only hope i am half as good at trying to do the stuff u do. Plots, takin trophies, the whole nine yards. U are a great inspiration. I have a question for my going on now three yr trial plot. I only have 10acres of my own property with mainly timber/ creek and i have 1/2 acres i have put into beans. Tried corn, pearl millet and beans this summer and the millet came up great beans were short but think choked out. I have couple bags of boss buffet, which is a blend of wheat,oats, cow peas, turnips, and a couple other fall plant that id like to plant for fall. Should i just broadcast it into what i have planted or mow a bit of it down and then plant it. And when should i put it in the ground? I am in North Central Oklahoma. Any advice id greatly appreciate sir.

@bill-winke 2 ай бұрын

John, I appreciate the comment and the years of support. Thanks. In your situation, I would definitely kill part of the plot to plant the fall blend. That probably means spraying it with some kind of glyphosate herbicide (RoundUp is one option). Then you should either till it up before spreading the seed blend or (if you aren't going to till) spread the seed and then mow the plot to work the seed down to the ground and cover it with residue that will help hold moisture. In your area, I would try to have that blend planted by late August. Good luck.

@johnbelusko6347 2 ай бұрын

@@bill-winke excellent. Thank u so much for the feed back Bill. Best of luck to u and ur daughter.

@clayh826 4 ай бұрын

Hey Bill, where do acorns fall into the deer's preference/nutrition? We have lot's of water and white oaks in Alabama, and deer LOVE white oak acorns here.

@bill-winke 4 ай бұрын

Clay, I believe they rank above anything else. At least that is what I saw last fall when the deer ate acorns instead of my food plots. The only thing they may like better than acorns in October and November is soybeans. Not sure on that, but my deer definitely prefer acorns over corn. Good luck.

@realrussclarke 4 ай бұрын

If you had a 1/4 acre opening in the woods next to grain field could you plant a brassica there as a transitional food plot?

@bill-winke 4 ай бұрын

Yes, that would be a good option, but you can't plant them every year. It is best to have a rotation. I would plant the brassicas this summer and then frost seed clover into it late winter. I would then have clover a couple years before killing the clover and tilling it under and planting brassicas again for one fall, etc. This rotation works well in small plots. Good luck.

@dwainhoffman6135 4 ай бұрын

You didn't discuss fruit trees as part of your "food plot" strategy. Was that by design. Do you consider that something totally different? Just curious since I've incorporated those into my strategy. Thanks.

@bill-winke 4 ай бұрын

I consider those a different project. I look at food plots as those things you plant and cultivate regularly. For sure, fruit trees are a big part of any property. The farm we have now has hundreds of wild apple trees that produce tons (many tons) of apples. The deer can't even eat it all - or just choose other things instead. They definitely eat them, but they don't wipe them out. Good luck.

@kevinfowler6065 4 ай бұрын

As the various planting times come into season would you cover sorghum planting process. I’ve never planted it as a food source and you’ve got me interested? Thank you

@bill-winke 4 ай бұрын

I would need to do that fairly soon as the ideal time in the Midwest is around early June. It is pretty easy to plant. The biggest challenge with sorghum is weed control as I have not found a Roundup or herbicide tolerant sorghum that allows you to remove grass. (Sorghum is in the grass family). Good luck.

@shadowdawg04 4 ай бұрын

As with most things in life, variables set the equation... adaptability - the unspoken universal law - dismiss it or embrace at your own peril lol!!! Appreciate the insights here Bill.

@bill-winke 4 ай бұрын

Agree. Would take an hour long episode to go into all the variables in this one - and even then I would only be scratching the surface! Have a great day.

@JaredHcontractor 4 ай бұрын

@billwinke when do you plant sorghum in Midwest? I’m in SE MN so just an hour north of you. Also will broadcasting it work vs drilling it?

@bill-winke 4 ай бұрын

Normally, late May/early June. Get the soil temp in the mid-sixties first (if possible). I like to drill it, but you can for sure broadcast as long as you till the ground first and then drag the seed in (birds will hammer it if you leave it on top of the ground). Keep the rate at around 10 pounds per acre for broadcasting. If drilling drop down to around 8 pounds per acre. Good luck.

@keithbuesing6912 4 ай бұрын

I carry a bottle of absobine jr around with me it has a roll on spunge top. Very effective for gnats and sandflies. You can use it for your sore muscles too! 😄

@bill-winke 4 ай бұрын

That is good advice Keith. Mosquito repellent doesn't do anything for those gnats. Like I said, the only thing I have found that turns them is Bug Soother and you have to apply it about every hour to keep it fresh. I think it is aroma that either drives them away or confuses them.

@chrisstroud3094 4 ай бұрын

Hey Bill alittle off subject but me and my family are going to be on vacation next week. Going to swing through Iowa a couple days in southeast to check out the hype. Any suggestions to check out?

@bill-winke 4 ай бұрын

Southeast Iowa has Shimek State Forest otherwise lots of private land. Tons of big deer killed there, but mostly on private land. The Mississippi River bluffs aren't as pretty in SE Iowa as in NE Iowa because they aren't as steep so there are less "tourist" attractions there. I would not call SE the prettiest part of Iowa, but there are a few attractions. Have a great trip.

@chrisstroud3094 4 ай бұрын

@@bill-winke thanks for the insight, always enjoy your content

@alexpinnow6509 4 ай бұрын

Would really like to try out sorghum one of these years for some late season grains

@bill-winke 4 ай бұрын

Alex, it has worked well for me. I am trying two different varieties this year to see which they prefer. I will keep everyone posted. Have a great day.

@donwaldroopoutdoors3665 4 ай бұрын

Here in central ky most of our untilled ground naturally grows white and red clover,

@bill-winke 4 ай бұрын

That is nice. Makes it a lot easier to create deer food.

@braduttech1041 4 ай бұрын

How do the deer like the sorghum in the winter?

@bill-winke 4 ай бұрын

They definitely eat it. Maybe not as heavily as they do corn and beans, but they definitely eat it. I like the fact that they won't touch it in the summer so you are sure to have fall food.

@tommyhunter1817 4 ай бұрын

How are your apples doing? They set fruit?

@bill-winke 4 ай бұрын

They are starting to. I looked at them a couple of days ago, but they aren't showing many tiny apples yet. I think it is still too early for that here.

@dustinwaldron2010 4 ай бұрын

The beans can be both greens and grain, my #1 choice. Alfalfa/ clover second.

@bill-winke 4 ай бұрын

Agreed, and I like the fact that you can broadcast the Winter-Greens right into them in the late summer and get two crops in that plot each fall. Good luck.