Korey from Iowa asks,
Bill Congrats on the buck! I like your idea of sleeping in the woods and not disturbing the deer on the way in. Anyways we planted quite a few food plots this year and was wondering what you would plant if the the deer eat the corn or beans before late season, some of them didnt even grow. We planted clover, big n beasty, corn, and beans. I thought about fencing some of them but wanted your opinion. Thanks Korey
Bill responds,
Topic: Whether to Fence Food Plots:
Grain sorghum can be a viable option for a grain food plot (replacing corn and beans) in places where the plots are too small to handle the summer pressure from the deer.
Korey,
I never planted row crop food plots (soybeans and corn) in less than one acre fields because the deer hit them too hard and wiped them out well before they were needed. Instead, I would plant Big N Beasty or clover in these smaller plots (usually in a rotation of three years clover then one year Big N Beasty, repeat).
If you decide to plant corn and beans in one acre plots, you probably need to fence it. I have done that effectively using the Hot Zone fence system.
Another option is grain sorghum. I have had good success with sorghum for a few years until the deer get used to it. At first they will only eat it during the late season, but after a couple of years they will realize that sorghum really tasty during the “dough stage” which occurs usually in September.
At this point the seed is doughy before it begins to dry down and the deer will learn to hit it hard at that time. So, for a few years, sorghum might be a good option, maybe in rotation with Big N Beasty or even fenced corn or beans.
There is a lot to consider when deciding what to plant, but regardless, it does no good if you can’t get the food through until the late season. You don’t really need food plots to be successful during the rut, but you really, really need them to be successful during the late season. Good luck. (11/26/21)
