I've been planting food plots for around 40 years with a lot of trial and error involved. I know what works best for me but I still try fields or parts of fields to continue trying something new. I also know sometimes rye grass is the ONLY option. There are some members on here that I planted about 100 acres of rye grass where they hunt or at least part of what they hunt this year and years in the past. The soil PH is about 7.0 naturally. About 15" down there is a solid layer of limestone. I'm not talking a bunch of rocks. I'm talking like ONE huge rock about 12" thick covering hundreds of acres. When the winter rains start it saturates that 15" of soil fairly quick. The water can't go down because of the rock. So, there are MONTHS of wet, REALLY wet, soil. The only products that has survived these conditions has been rye grass, Chickasaw clover, and Berseem clover. And deer are killed on these fields.
^^^This is what I deal with in Sumter county.^^^
The mud there is very difficult. Like much in nature you have to learn to respect it. I have places where no motorized vehicle could cross it. Hell its about impossible to do in rubber boots. Most of our "roads" have ryegrass spread on them to hold the soil together enough it can be walked across.
I have one field that has a pH of 7.9. There isnt much that will grow there except turnips.
