This might be a silly question, but do deer hit standing soybeans throughout the season? I remember someone saying they became unpalatable at some point in the maturation process?

I haven't seen soybeans make it that long.

I've had them make it that long one time a few years ago when I planted them in July and the rains hit right. Saw more deer than ever that year on the beans. I'm not sure how the beans would be if they made it all the way to deer season if planted now though. I know we had little luck with them making it at all last summer in northern Greene due to late planting and deer browsing. If soybeans make it though there is absolutely nothing I have ever seen that attracts deer better.

tried planting in a couple of our fields. one was about 1 acre. They came up good and when they got about 6 inches tall, deer whipped they out in a couple days. Thousands of plants.

Years ago in a QDMA meeting we sponsored, one of the biologist said on most areas you need to plant a minimum of 10 acres of soybeans to do any good.

I should have the answer in 4 or 5 months. Planted 3 AC of Eagle forage soybeans with some corn mixed in about 2 weeks ago and put an electric fence around it.



Also got another 3 acres plowed and ready to get planted with the corn I have left, as well as maybe millet, sorghum, IC peas and sunflowers if I run out of corn.This is slated for first week of next month. The goal is to have both standing corn and beans come season.

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This is my first serious stab at summer crops so we shall see how it turns out.

Awesome, BradB. Let us know how it goes.

Your gallagher fence will keep the deer out of your beans, if you followed the directions. Standing beans in the south, is not as good of a draw as in the north. In the north they have snow on the ground covering their plots and the beans are above the snow and easy to get to. They'll still be attrative down here, but not like up north, unless we have some snow, and i don't see that happen during deer season very often.

You can sow small seeds like rape and clover amongst the beans and the leaf drop from the beans will provide enough moisture and cover for germination. This will give you an additional food source once the beans are gone.

Looks great Brad. If this is your first stab at it, I'd say you went all out.

Yes on both accounts. I've also seen rye grain do well sown into beans just before leaf drop. Throw a little of that into your rape/clover mix that Yelp suggested.

Those fields look fantastic! That's a lot of fence.

Late winter…..January/February…..are really when food plots concentrate deer the most. It may not be as sexy of a choice as beans/corn/etc…..but a healthy, lush crop of cereal grains in late winter is the best thing you can do. The problem I see with many, many plots as I go around blood tracking for you guys, is that folks don’t manage the cereal grains the way you need to in order to be able to produce a really productive plot during that late winter time period. Many plots are planted and fertilized in September and that’s it. By the time January get here, the fields are turning yellow, reds, and purples….. and/or they are not producing enough forage and are already eaten to a nub. IMO I think many folks could benefit much more by concentrating resources on growing the best winter cereal grains possible instead of looking to other options to fit the bill.

I do like Brad’s setup with the fence for a killer bow season field. Whether or not that will last someone through the end of deer season I think will completely depend on acreage planted and deer density…..which will vary from one person to the next. Deer can wipe out a chit load in just a couple weeks.

Could not agree more.

I have heard our deer do not care that much about dry soybeans in winter like up north, thats' what the corn plot to the north is mainly for. Main goal is summer forage and also as cover come winter. The beans can get up pretty high if I did things right and there is also 21 lbs of corn in the field.A 20 AC 3 year clear cut is adjacent to the SW corner of bean field and I hope I can catch them coming and going to the corn this winter.

I bet this^^^^ in a large patch , then bush hog a few rows every couple of weeks throughout winter and it would be to die for.

We've had really good success planting them in moist areas a couple of weeks ahead of bow season. Then plant the same plot a week or two ahead of gun season in grass/clover.

Interesting. So you're just planting the soybeans for the young new growth, then till under? It seems like it would be effective, but take more time and more money.

Yep! Most of the time there are no beans left. They make great bow plots!

CNC, I hope you are right about bow season. I do not bow hunt but one of my buddies does and I really think this is gonna be a sure thing for him. A pretty heavily used creek crossing is just inside the woods toward the center of the plot and good bedding cover is beyond that. I hope I can keep the beans going until frost. Since they are forage beans they will come back from browse so the idea is to take the fence down when I think they are big enough to deal with the pressure. May leave 1/2 the plot fenced when they get waist high or so and see what happens.All of this is assuming it rains some time in the near future. By the way CNC I have really enjoyed your continuing posts on here and elsewhere.

Brad, you may need to consider buying a bow. I'm afraid your buddy may get the big one!

Shhh..... LOL!!!