Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Cotton Farming?

Our neighbor at our hunting lease planted cotton this year in one field, probably 40 acres or so. What he did next is something new to me. He put 4 strands of electric fence around the entire field, presumably to keep the deer out. 3 strands stacked vertically, about 6", 18" and 36" from the ground. The 4th strand is about a foot behind the first 3 and about 6' off the ground.

When we went by this weekend the cotton was about to bloom and deer were all over it in the middle of the day. When the deer started to spook the does simply jumped all 4 strands. The fawns however would get a running start and dart over the first 3 strands and under the fourth. I guess they learn real quick!

I have never met the man, but from what I understand he is a reputable farmer and this one field was not an experiment. My question is, how can this possibly be cost effective? Is cotton really that valuable?

He's gonna haveta pick his own this time

I wish we had�..

Late in the year for that. The bolls should be opening up and exposing the cotton. I don't know exactly what the deer would be eating, but yes cotton is valuable, or the farmer would not be raising it. miles

No chit,,,,,

Hilariously funny but be forewarned - much profanity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lPsNyXiLNk

Textile plants that process cotton often will sell the seeds to hunting clubs because the deer love to eat them. Turns out that the oils and protein content of the seeds is very high and meets the nutritional needs of deer.

I've seen some farmers in our area use electric fence in an attempt to keep the deer out of cotton and soybeans. I think it does work sometimes, but I've always thought the deer would learn to jump it pretty quick.
Most of the local farmers in MS just shoot the deer if it becomes a problem.
I agree with Miles in that your neighbor's cotton is at least 6 weeks behind schedule, but maybe that is normal in south Alabama?
Deer will eat cotton any time it is green, but they really do a lot of damage when it's less than 6" tall and they can take the whole plant off with one bite. They can wipe out several acres in a big hurry.

This time of year, the deer may be using the cotton field to get away from bugs more so than a food source. They may also be eating some small tender grass and weeds that are in the cotton field.

Back in my youth there was lots of cotton raised here, but we had no deer at that time. Cotton seed or just the hulls was popular for supplementing cattle feed. Seed from the gin or hulls from the oil processing mills. Cottonseed meal for mixing with ground corn for fattening your beef or Cottonseed cake for your fish nets. miles

This is what I meant, not blooming. I understand cotton is valuable. Everything I wear is cotton. I guess it is percentages, cost vs. return.

My old hunting partner (he died this spring) loved to hunt cotton fields after the cotton had been picked. He called the new growth "privit" sp?

We use cotton seed meal for fertilizer, especially on citrus. We have to cover it with mulch or the dogs will eat every bit of it.

Me too! I've never heard it called that but with a little rain and some warm weather, the cotton will re-grow and look like a new crop and deer love it.

THIS gives ua even more good ammunition in the locker for fighting the bambi lovers. Since they wear cotton rather than fur or leather, they may just be in for a shock to learn that their favorite material is destroyed by the cute widdle deerz

Again, no cotton here now but I remember doves used to like cotton fields while the leaves were still on. Never did figure out just why. miles

just stop for one moment, and contemplate what America would have been today, had we not imported cheap labor in the first place.

Our fore-fathers simply made a poor choice. Should have used Asians.

Premier1 Supply is a company that sells fencing and other livestock equipment. Their website has the following suggestions about deer fences. They've done a lot of research over the last 20+ years and I've found their suggestions to be sound. Note what I've put in red.

Anti-Deer fences�why some work & some don�t

The only 100% deer barrier is an 8 ft tall woven wire fence or solid wall. But that�s both very expensive and very permanent. An alternative is electrified fences. They rely upon a painful shock to persuade deer to neither jump nor penetrate a fence. Because they aren�t physical barriers, electric deer fences rely upon some key deer behavior principles.

Deer, like us, are creatures of habit.
Where they choose to feed, rub, walk and breed are habits learned over time�a habit reinforced every time they do it safely. Suddenly fencing a deer herd away from an area or trail forces the herd to break a habit pattern. That is why the first day and first week of denial of use (by a fence) is critical if the fence is to succeed. Once a herd�s daily pattern is broken, the change in feeding/walking/rubbing location is easier to maintain.

Deer make �risk-benefit� decisions about feeding sites, trails and rubbing trees.
Electric fences use pain to raise the �cost� (the degree of risk and effort to use an area) and persuade deer that it is safer and less frightening to feed, rub or trail elsewhere. When they are desperate they may risk the pain�which is why you can�t keep out starving deer with electric fencing if the site is their only food source.
Electric fences work when deer have time to make a decision to avoid them.
That�s why it�s important to identify deer trails entering a new exclusion area and interrupt them with something physical (e.g. a brush pile) where the trail approaches the fence. Do this at the same time the fence is installed. Why? The trail change makes them tentative. So they move cautiously.

Don�t hunt near the fence.
Why not? Because frightened deer don�t make normal decisions. As prey animals they are easily spooked into leaping over or through fences. And once deer learn that they can jump the fence without pain, they�re more likely to do so when not frightened, a habit that�s costly to break.

Don�t fence the entire area all at once.
Why not? The intent is to first change the herd�s �habits.� So install a new fence around a small area first. The local deer herd will encounter it, learn to avoid it and instead feed or rub in adjacent areas. Leave it in place for 2 weeks. Then progressively expand the enclosed area until 100% is protected.

Deer interpret a fence in their terms.
Their world is black, white and shades of gray. Therefore, barriers that contrast with their view of the world are the most visible to deer�and likely to get their attention.

This year they have to qualify their acres this year.

Some are doing all they can to get as mush cotton to the gin as they can.

Think .gov programs.insurance.

And cows like the plants real good and they will get fat on it.
Deer should just browse but i imagine they can do a lot of damage if numbers are high enough.

After the end of slavery, they did try Asians but it didn't work out. Asians have too much ambition. They'd work for several years until they could save a little then they'd leave to buy their own farms. The Mexicans turned out to be ideal. They'd work hard but had little ambition to own their own land. They'd keep working year after year.