Soybeans For Deer - The Best Option for Food Plots?

The key to any soybean food plot lies in its size. Don't expect miracles out of a small half acre plot unless you protect it via an exclusion fence. Bottom line? Soybeans can be a relatively inexpensive food plot option that produces superior results, but only if its done right. Join us in this high-level overview of our 2019 soybean plot.
Be sure to check out our Exclusion Fence episode for more details on how to protect your bean plot (or any food plot for that matter)! • Deer Exclusion Fence f...
Also, additional tips and a look back at a prior year bean plot grown under a no-till, no-drill, no-herbicides post plant approach can be found here • The non-GMO Soybean Pr...

[@FarmallFanatic]

I like soybeans with a wall of corn. I dont worry about what others think...I do what I need to when it comes to tilling. Ive had good success broadcasting corn as well.

[@NCPAOutdoors]

That sounds like the way to do it!

[@kasenahmir3143]

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[@marcoalvaro627]

@Kasen Ahmir instablaster ;)

[@kasenahmir3143]

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[@matthewkubik3874]

I live in Iowa and also plant soybeans for my foodplots. I do it pretty much the same but i plant a shorter maturity bean then what is typically planted here. Leaves will start turning in August and I will broadcast a blend of radish, forage rape, kale and turnips into the beans. When I finally take the fence down in December I will have 6 tons of green forage and a ton of bean pods per acre. On warm days they want the sweet greens and if the weather turns cold they want those bean pods! Got all my bases covered and maximized the most potential per acre. We border a wildlife refuge and when those fences come off my 3 acres of plot we have about 3 weeks before they are gone. We've had as high as 42 deer feeding in a 1 acre plot at the same time. And with that many mouths to feed it doesn't last long!

[@NCPAOutdoors]

Double cropping sounds like a plan Matthew!

[@MyVisualRomance]

So what happens after the beans are all tapped out, the first freeze sets in and you got several months of hunting season left to go? What are you feeding the deer at that point?

[@anchor2056]

Hard work produces good results with a little cooperation from Mother Nature. Should produce some nice healthy animals and a lot of good viewing through the fall. Thanks for sharing.

[@NCPAOutdoors]

For sure! It's always nice to see the fruits of your labor. Thanks Anchor 20!

[@whiterook85]

Nice work on the food plot, should have them in there all fall. Will give them a good head start on winter also.

[@NCPAOutdoors]

Thanks Tom, they've been hammering it for sure!

[@travissmith-wz5nc]

Try peas, winter wheat, buckwheat. Then add radishes, red clover & white clover. Pretty much 11 mth plot. 1st of August.

[@NCPAOutdoors]

Thanks for the tips!

[@roseco581]

Thanks for vid, I want to covert 5 acres (3 plots) into soybeans. One, for the protein, but two, to hopefully avoid having to replant those plots in the fall, Adding K and Phos to soil then will pray for rain. Do you have any experience with no till planting? We have some bean plots that do well with this technique.

[@NCPAOutdoors]

We did a non-GMO variety a few years ago that we wanted to run under a completely no till, no spray set up. That video is available here; kzbin.info/www/bejne/omTWdXiJfdiBisk Opposed to drilling, we've always broadcast the seed which has proven to be effective so long as you're putting down 75 to 100lbs of seed rather than 40-50lbs/acre under more conventional planting methods.

[@rustyharvey4557]

How did the Whitetail Institute Conceal do ? you like it or no ? would you use it again ?

[@NCPAOutdoors]

Unfortunately, it wasn't a seed that did well for us. We had some germination but overall, the stand never made it much more than knee high

[@carlevans2283]

Can you tell me where I can get the seed you bought I’m in tennessee

[@NCPAOutdoors]

Local Seed Co.

[@kurtcaramanidis5705]

What are you using to protect your apple orchard?

[@NCPAOutdoors]

We constructed an 8' high polypropylene fence. We've done a few videos on the apple orchard. Part 1 talks about the fencing; Be sure to check out all of the episodes in this series; "Destination Apple Orchards For Deer, Part 1" Thinking about planting a few apple trees for deer? Perhaps your considering a full blown orchard of 10, 20 or even 100 or more trees? Maybe you have a few questions or are struggling with where to start? This episode will help put you on the path to a successful fruit tree orchard. kzbin.info/www/bejne/l5O9nYyKr5qGra8 "Apple Orchards For Deer, Part 2 - Tips for productive growth" Covers a variety of tips when establishing your orchard. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKTUfZV6YrWBbtk "Apple Orchards For Deer, Part 3 - More tips for productive growth" Will focus strictly on the negative pressures which affect fruit orchards such as woodborers and related pests, disease management and prevention, rodent and deer inflicted damage, and much more. kzbin.info/www/bejne/i2ipaZVjoaahrbM "Fruit Trees at Adams County Nursery" Gives viewers a unique inside look at how the nursery where we got our fruit trees, cultivates them from the ground up! kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6jUgaSjnah9Z8k

[@chasecarr9910]

Stupid question maybe but I'm in Mississippi and after mid October is when they cut soybeans around here. Will they last through January if done right? Also what outside cover crops do you think works best as a perimeter?

[@NCPAOutdoors]

Absolutely! Assuming they aren't completely consumed before then. Cover crop is up to you but I'd sooner run beans right up to the edge

[@MyVisualRomance]

I’m in south Mississippi as well Chase. I’ve never seen any soybean make it past the first or second hard freeze and definitely not after a prolonged freeze. You gotta have something else to hold em over into the deeper part of winter or they’ll leave. I divide and set up my plots like a buffet so they can pick what they want and when one variety caps out they can go to the next one. Clover in one section, turnips in another, brassicas in another, wheat in another, oats, etc.

[@chasecarr9910]

@@MyVisualRomance Appreciate your help! Yes I just bought 133 acres of some prime property not far outside Oxford, Ms. My buddy informed me about the same and to just get a combination food plot of a variety of options. Figured out that soybeans won't work if your wanting something to not be gone in a week!

[@MyVisualRomance]

@@chasecarr9910 Exactly. Won’t nothing be left but soybean stubble after they hammer it hard to the ground and then you got several months afterwards of hunting season left with nothing to feed and keep em around. By dividing up your plots with variety you find out what they like and don’t like and that can also vary from your place to mine even though we’re in the same state.

[@richb1128]

Why spray round up now the ground it tainted with chemical? I’m a firm believer that hunting is for fresh meat and not the same crap we buy in the store.

[@scottellis8964]

A deer can easily clear that 3’ fence with one leap .

[@stevegermain1222]

Why wouldn't you just leave it fenced-in until the opening of season

[@NCPAOutdoors]

It depends on your intent. We could keep them fenced in but the primary purpose for the beans in our case aren't to hunt over. The summer through fall forage and fall through winter bean components play an important role in the overall crops we provide annually. Our first frosts line up pretty much with the start of the season so keeping deer out of the plots until then would all but eliminate the forage component which accounts for a significant amount of high-quality food. Fencing them simply helps to ensure the plants get far enough ahead of the immense pressure the herd puts on the plots to be able to produce the beans we count on for the late season.

[@gwp1ohio]

The deer eat everything i plant before it gets over 6" very frustrating

[@NCPAOutdoors]

We hear ya! Have you tried any sort of exclusion fence?

[@gwp1ohio]

@@NCPAOutdoors yes, but definitely not adequate... Thought about planting soybeans, but afraid of deer results. Will be filling the freezer this season

[@cynthirico]

Oh no.....:( GMO