Winter Rye Attraction in the Late Season [And All Season]

[@Camera1931-p5v]

Very nice! I am going to try more winter rye this year! Great job!

[@northernforestwhitetail]

Thanks! It’s a lot of fun planting the stuff honestly. Good luck and Happy New Year!

[@NathanPederson-ib6ml]

Thanks for the video! Through the experience of failure and avoiding failure, here is what I have learned. I would classify my soils as sandy and my context as big woods (Northern Half Cass County). I have failed at many spring plantings of various sorts due to drought, over browsing, and weed control. Here is my current best practice. I like to do a one and done planting in the late summer. I do a mixture of winter rye, tillage radish, and red clover. All of them are hardy and take my poor soils well ( Rye comes from various local co-ops and others from Northwoods whitetails). I have yet to hit the too early time frame (as in crop gets too mature). I started many years ago planting labor day (way too late) and my next move will be to try late July or early August. With the mixture, here is what I see on my game cameras. Early, I can watch deer searching out the tillage radish ignoring the rest. After the radish is gone I get a big push on the rye, that push can wane some with a healthy acorn crop. When the woods browns off, the deer pour into the green rye until eaten down or covered in too much snow. The following spring the deer are desperate in the rye food plots with bodies almost touching each other from end to end (one deer zone so not a high deer density but rye must be the biggest draw in town in the spring before green up). Once green up hits, I can see the deer quickly passing on the maturing rye yet I can see them seeking out the red clover the rest of spring and summer. When I see a favorable planting forecast in the window I am looking for (historically early to mid august) I head up with my Dad and we do the following. First I spread the cereal rye. Then I glyphosate the food plots which now have a 3-6' stand of brown rye with a fairly clean seed bed below (some free rye seed as well!). There are some weeds, but not too bad. After the glyphosate dries, we disc lightly, and then I spread the smaller seeds. After that we do a pass or three with the drag. The bio trash is left on the plots and acts as a mulch. I have tried not spraying and not doing soil disturbance but that has led to disappointment for me. Except for spot repairs or fertilizer application, I try to stay out of my plots the rest of the year. I used to try layering but was never happy with germination. I now apply at higher rates with a one and done go. My rates are: 100-150 pounds per acre rye (plus whatever volunteers I get from the standing rye plants), 8 pounds per acre red clover, 5 pounds per acre radish. In the future to rotate out of the above I might try a chicory white clover blend (Or just do a radish application and just hit the early season hard!). My other to do is to do more soft mast for the rains did not hit my area until October and though the forest greenery was limited due to drought (except for bumper acorn crop!) my apple trees also had a banner year and are essentially free once they get going. Good Luck and thanks for sharing.

[@northernforestwhitetail]

One of the best comments I’ve gotten on the channel. I love your approach. The more time goes on, the more I’m seeing the benefits of an approach similar to yours. Thanks for sharing and happy new year-

[@anthonyg6924]

Same here in northern PA. I planned a mix, all is now gone except the rye, the clover will return in the spring on its own. The rye is a marathon not a sprint and consistently runs the winter race very well!

[@northernforestwhitetail]

I’m honestly so impressed with rye. Like you say, it is so reliable throughout the whole season! Happy new year.

[@whitetailwarriorsdeercamp88]

Great video as always. Wish I owned more land then I do up in the U .P to plant food plots

[@stevegermain1222]

Good job

[@northernforestwhitetail]

Thanks!

[@vervi1jw1]

Rye did awesome for me this past winter in nw Michigan. Planted around labor day. Almost lost it to the drought though.

[@northernforestwhitetail]

I love it. Has saved me most years

[@Davefromrollinghillsfarms]

We planted 4.5 acres of winter rye in northern MN in four plots in August and had fantastic results. Some brassica, corn and oats too. Harvested multiple deer including a large buck. Passed on many more. Rye is still green and growing December 29th in this crazy 40 degree weather.

[@northernforestwhitetail]

I love it- great work. Overall are deer numbers down where you are? They are definitely down in my area. And most people I talk to are saying the same.

[@grantgemlo7348]

Deer numbers were down in the McGregor big sandy lake area this year. We got lucky and got 2 bucks on the private land with food plots including winter rye and a buck on the state land too. 3 bucks for 5 guys hunting 7 days. See lots of wolf tracks too. Last 2 seasons we got even less deer for 5 guys skunked 3 seasons back

[@Davefromrollinghillsfarms]

Feels like normal here in northern Carlton County but we have farm fields so lots of edge food. Deer numbers down in our leased land 20 miles south. Big woods there. Hard winter and lots of wolf sign.

[@Mark-oq5pf]

Thanks for the information. I'm in northern NY where the first frost is normally in late sept. I planted a brassica blend in late july and next to it 1/2 acre of rye in mid august. The brassicas are all down to the bulbs now and deer nibble on them but haven't dug many up. The rye looks like your plot and is mowed down but is still attracting deer

[@northernforestwhitetail]

Nice combo

[@Alianderfarm]

I just planted rye like an idiot but my food plot looks like a golf course from a distance. I’m in central Virginia. Next year I will add oats, red and white clover, and a splash of radish in my mix. Hunted last night overlooking a rye field from a distance and did not see a deer. I’m going to put some cameras up this weekend to see what is happening. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[@northernforestwhitetail]

You bet. Hey if it looks like a golf course, then that has to mean attraction for deer. Good luck and I hope you connect!

[@tdawgcj7]

This year I planted a clover mix that had some brassica in early August. I then drilled In a rye oats mix before Labor Day. This was one of my best attracting food plots. I plan to then mow down the grains and the clovers should do very well. I’m not sure when I should mow the grains.

[@Alianderfarm]

What state are you planting

[@tdawgcj7]

Northern Lower Michigan@@Alianderfarm

[@northernforestwhitetail]

They rye will probably be the biggest concern next year (growing so tall and fast). May need to mow it a couple times as it comes up.

[@vodekz1534]

All looks perfect, very smart concept. I have winter rye on my sandy soil in central Wisconsin. It does the job, We have warmer weather here too. I do not believe in the In global warming hoax. In the 1970s we were supposed to freeze?

[@northernforestwhitetail]

Yeah… first global cooling, then global warming, now climate change? Climate has been changing for thousands of years. Always good to meet a sane soul in this crazy world. Take care and happy new year.

[@dougroberts3643]

And in the 80's we were going to run out of drinking water.

[@jasonmeyer4587]

Of all the stuff I've tried, cereal rye seems to be the best at providing all season attraction that can can stand up to the browse and provide food well into winter and be the first plants to provide food in the early spring when deer need green. Other food plantings seem to have a window when deer prefer them and then they get browsed out, die out, or get too woody. Do you feel the deer have a preference to oats over rye? I imagine the oats died out after a few frosts while rye kept green?

[@northernforestwhitetail]

Yeah the oats were a very strong draw. I can’t say exactly which one the deer preferred (oats or rye) because I mixed the two. But to me it’s a nice added variety to enhance the rye. Yeah, the cold tolerance of the oats is well below that of the rye. I doubt I have any green oats as of today.

[@mehaul33]

Can the browse blockers be used on pear trees that are 24 to 36 inches in growth? I habe some coming in the spring.

[@northernforestwhitetail]

Yeah I’ve used them on deciduous trees and as long as the browse blocker stays above the top bud of the tree, they work. But if the top bit of the tree pokes thru the mesh, a deer could nip the bud in that case. But I have browse blockers on some of my fruit trees and red oaks and they are doing the job.

[@birko03]

What type of oats are you planting?

[@northernforestwhitetail]

I went to my local elevator and bought “MN Pearl” oats. Deer seemed to love them! I planted heavy too as it was just broadcasting over existing rye. Happy new year

[@duanehamdorf2228]

I'm up in Northern Minnesota also. The deer on my property won't come out till after dark even now. The wolf pressure here i think has taught them not to show themselves till dark. I'm not the only one experiencing this. My radishes are still green also. 👍👍

[@northernforestwhitetail]

We are seeing the same here. Amazingly nocturnal herd right now. We saw so many wolves this year.