Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Soybean Plots up North

Thanks ejo. I am not to far from you and our deer numbers are probably similar. If your 8 acres got mowed down, mine probably would have no chance. I have 130 acres but most of it is forested. I have pretty good cover - cedar stands, early successional forest, etc. I usually plant rye and clover and the deer eat it. I was thinking of trying something else. I already have 50 pounds of soybean seed so I will probably go with wheat or rye, clover and mix in some soybeans. If I plant soybeans alone, I probably will end up with nothing.

Either fence or skip soybeans. Plant a clover/oat mix in late August you need not pay scalpers price for oats like Buck Forage. Oats are cheap, produce nitrogen and will protect the Ladino clover till it is rooted well. Then in late fall top seed with clover again and you will have a great clover plot next spring and summer when you can run a disc over the plot and seed oats into in August.....use 15-15-15 fertilizer spring and fall, keep it mowed to 6-8" and that plot will last 5 years when you kill it an start over.

I'm not sure if this is the right board. I am starting to get ready to puts some food plots in for deer in Vermont. I don't hunt over the plots but I like to plant them to keep deer around and help them through the winters. I have only about 1/2 to 3/4 of an acre that I have cleared and made tillable. I am interested in trying soybeans this year. The deer numbers are kind of low so I am hoping that I may be able to get soybeans started even in such a small plot. Does anyone know if this is feasible?

I planted 8 acres of soybeans in Washington County NY and the deer didn’t let them get over three inches. Soybeans will grow just fine in VT but browsing pressure on a plot that small will be your issue. You will need to fence the plot in order to let it grow. I would recommend that you get a soil test done (most likely need lime) and plant a clover blend. It will feed your deer May through October. The other option is to plant winter rye in September which would be more attractive than clover come hunting season. Small plots are very tough with brassicas, corn or soybeans.

No idea on size of your property or equipment that you own but my biggest impact has been with hinge cutting trees. Food plots are fun but cover and bedding seems to work well.