After the soybeans are harvested.....food plot ?'s

[Jameson]

It maybe possible for me to plant the farmers field nearly surrounding a hunting area of mine if I wish. The farmer is hard to get a hold of so I was hoping some of you could answer some questions.

After the soybeans are harvested is there anything like an annual rye grass that I could plant with any success? Would it mess up next years corn? This would be planted in hopes of attracting deer.

What would the charge be to have an acre of corn be left to stand next winter? Should I save some money and not have that acre fertilized? Would a half acre cost half as much? Looks like really good black dirt to me.

Thanks for your help!

[BLACKJACK]

By the time the soybeans are harvested in Oct there isn't much growing season left, not much time for rye or anything else to grow. Deer and pheasants will feed on a combined soybean field if it hasn't been tilled under, lots of waste beans are left.

As far as leaving an acre of corn standing, all you can do is ask the farmer what he'd charge. Figure a yield of 150 bushels an acre times $3 a bushel = $450. Hopefully he likes to see wildlife and will give you a discount. Also check with the local DNR guy or Pheasants Forever, they will sometimes provide money for food plots to be left. Good luck.

[Mark Christianson]

Blackjack covered that one......

[Jameson]

Thanks Blackjack.

I had mentioned to the farmer a couple of years ago about leaving some corn standing. He was very willing to do it for me, but didn't want to lose too much money out of it either.

I think I am in very good favor with the farmer. The last couple of years I have picked the boulders out of the fields next to the hunting area. He still picks rocks by hand. And I've cut up and hauled away any branches or trees that have fallen in his fields. Hopefully that will add up to a discount .

Unfortunately the basically absentee owners of the land do not want to get any help from Pheasants Forever, MN DNR, or other agencies. It sure would help. I really believe the area would benefit from having some sort of winter food plot. I did put in my first, a whopping .25 acres, plot on this property this year.

Thanks again.

[WaveWacker]

As was mentioned earlier. One last option may be to talk with the farmer about the possibility of leaving some areas un-plowed in the fall. Obviously not as attractive to "critters" as a standing crop but corn or bean it will be better then a plowed field.

[Jameson]

Is their an advantage to the farmer to plow the field in the Fall?