Originally Posted by Bruzer
Bill,

I have more than a clue.....I have facts.

You can verify here.....This is where I buy my supplies.

http://www.cooperseeds.com

The cost of producing 20,000lbs of quality forage with a food plot versus the cost of the same 20,000lbs of Corn.

Duranna/Patriot Clover Plot Costs (1 Acre)

4lbs of Duranna $32
4lbs of Patriot $32
100lbs of Winter Wheat $50
100lbs of Buck Forage Oats $50
50 lbs of Austrian Winter Peas $35
300lbs of 10-10-10 $150
Tractor Rental Weekend $300
Total $650

Corn
Feeder $200
20,000lbs of Corn $3,200
Gas for trips to refill feeder all year $600
Total $4,000

Even with renting a tractor for the weekend it's much cheaper than filling up a feeder all year.......Unless of course you only fill up the feeder when you plan on hunting or just prior....Which I believe is probably the case for most baiters.

Robert


Thats not really a fair comparison, NO ONE I know puts 20,000# of corn in one feeder each year. Perhaps you missed the average of 1800# per yr per feeder I mentioned above. We have 6 feeders on the 750 acre ranch we hunt and we don't even feed 20,000# a year with 6 feeders. Also the feeder is a one time cost, you don't "buy" a new feeder every year. I have feeders that are ten years old.

Obviously you were not paying attention when I said a one acre food plot WILL NOT WORK HERE!!! It would stay so grazed down that the deer would get practically no nutrional value from it. I've tried it and seen others try it, maybe in East Texas it might work but the rest of the state has such a high deer density you would need 5 acres per plot for the deer to get any real nutrional value from it. Yes it will still draw them in (bait them) but they will get little nutritional value froma plot that small here.

Another very important cost with food plots here is an electric fence to keep livestock off the plot unless there is one present already. Livestock is present on 99.9% of land in TX. Have you priced fence materials lately? T-post are about $4 a piece. If you have a 1 acre plot, an acre is approx. 200'x 200' or 44,000 sq ft. So figure 40 t-post per acre (one every 20ft) or $160.00 plus wire, times that by five for a five acre plot. Don't forget the fence charger, min of $100-125 for a decent charger.
Granted the fence is a one time cost like a feeder but it still has to be included.

Bill