Any Food plot guys on Here?
Kansas
I'm thinking of removing ten acres from production and leaving it in standing crops for the season. Might even do the whole 50 tillable acres. My farmer doesn't operate like I want him to, and I only get $2500 a year from the lease anyway. I'm thinking of doing some major renovation and adding Tallgrass edges, milo on one half, and beans on the other. I just need a quote. Located in Greenwood County. I need a dozer as well to build another pond if somebody has one to rent.
There is some state money and technical assistance out there. Ive used their expertise for native grass restoration. They used to have a program that they would give you a milo/millet mix to plant for birds. May he worth asking https://ksoutdoors.com/Services/Private-Landowner-Assistance/Wildlife-Biologists/Habitat-First-Program/Practice-Descriptions/Practice-Descriptions-Specifications
A 50 acre food plot seems a little extreme. Think I’d explore some options like Matt is talking about. Your county CRP rate was higher in ‘23 than what you’re currently getting in rent. A production quality “food plot” of that size whether milo and/or beans is going to run you $200/ac at the very least these days. You could skimp on fert and chem if it’s solely for the deer I suppose, but you may not get the results you’re after.
If it were me I’d probably lean towards CRP, if you can get accepted, with a few small 1-2ac green plots left in spots, or finding a farmer/ag retail location that will custom farm it for you. You call the shots on crops and timing and would recover some of the costs by retaining the grain. Incorporating some cover crops into that second scenario might give you a leg up on holding deer. Seems like green options are a pretty good draw these days where corn/bean rotations are the norm and fall weather can be a little warmer.
I also like KB’s thinking. On my land up there when it came time I had the chance to go crops or CRP. I chose CRP cause there was plenty of crops in my area so the wildlife didn’t necessarily need more food. Like he said it gives out about the same amount of money. They will let you do a percentage of that in a food plot that will give you extra points as well. My CRP has alfalfa mixed in with it and I’ve seen deer grazing in it some. I was going to show a few pics of my food plot in between the CRP and the wooded draw but it wouldn’t let me post. I had brome grass growing beside the wooded draw and they only let you have a percentage of that before you have to get rid of it. It was a perfect spot for a food plot so in putting that in I was also taking out the brome grass so it was a win win for me.
Out of the 50 acres your food plot will be pretty small so if your wanting it to be a little bigger you probably wouldn’t want to put the whole 50 acres in CRP. As much as you like to bird hunt and everything else it seems like this route would be the best.
How big a pond you wanting to build?
Talk to your local FSA office to see what programs are available for which your land may qualify. On the small farm my brother's and I own. We have two different programs of CRP. We have one that involves Buffer Strips along waterways. This is in areas where crops do not well because of trees. We renewed that program about 4 years ago for $125 an acre for another 15 years. That's better than the cash rent the farmer pays for what he farms. We have another 8 acres in a different program that requires a food plot of about two acres. In the past I have planted Milo but, the deer eat all the grain before it gets mature. I put some clover in it a few years ago and it is about gone. I hope to put in Alfalfa next August or September.
Be careful when dealing with FSA or NRCS. They help with costs but you have to follow their rules. Just do it yourself however you want. Half native and half crops or whatever you think is best. You can typically rent a no till grass planter from the county to plant the native. Have the Coop or a local guy custom plant the crops. Use open pollenated corn will cost you a fraction of roundup ready corn seed and no combine expense if you just let it stand. Deer come from miles when you got the only standing corn in the winter. I planted 15 acres of open pollinated corn this year and probably got 50 bushels an acre in a drought. Not bad and no round up costs. Plant 15 acres or more of alfalfa and there is no cattle farmer around that won’t help you plant it if you let them bale it. For me it’s been better to do all my conservation work without the government’s help so if in 5 years I change my mind I can do something different and not have to pay a penalty and ask to make changes.
I have had about every CRP project they offer and it all depends on the agent at the USDA office.I did 120ft of switch around the outside edge of my fields and when I did this it was called a CP33.If you have a creek on any side you may be able to do a riparian buffer zone. basically plant trees then shrubs then NWSG.Just make sure they aren't going to require you plant forbs or burn the grass.Forbs get choked out in NWSG or switch and they try to make you pay out of pocket to replace.Burning the grass doesn't fair well with the shrubs or trees.I did the Kansas test for tubes when I did my riparian 20 years ago.Also if you do keep in farmland you should be getting around 100.00 per acre unless really bad soil from farmer.Hopefully your farmer has been filing farm paperwork so it qualifies. Also if you put part in CRp make sure you are listed as receiving 100 % of payment as the farmer will try to get some.You also have to let farmer know no later than 30 days before March 1st that he won't be farming and if he has wheat there it won't take affect until after harvest. Double check that date with FSA but I believe thats when they have to receive certified letter by.
I put 20 acres of NWSG around an 80 acres crop doing that 120ft which at time was max.If I had 50 acres of crop ground and it had timber around it I would think about 30 yards of clover then NWSG or switch which will stand up better.I also have a thing for trees and have planted thousands of shrubs and trees. I would also have an orchard somewhere in there.I just planted another 30 tree orchard last spring.Some CRP plans allow for food plots and there are several websites such as allthingshabitat.com.
50 acres i would do it. Like this. Treeline out 40 yards Wheat, then beans, then corn.
There is a 20 acre plot behind my house. The farmer turned to a pollinator strip 2 years ago and there is more wildlife around the house than ever. I see more pheasant in there than I ever did versus when it was prairie grass. Had not seen a deer around the house for 5 or 6 years til this summer. It is over head high. The state provides all the seed for it and gives you a little money for it. Better for all wildlife than a food plot would be.
What you end up doing depends on what is already there. Deer need a variety. 10 acres is a pretty big food plot. I would keep on taking the income on the rest of it. Just about any planted acreage is good deer food.
I would plant 5 or 10 acres and let someone else farm the rest. You can plant something that isn't already there to supplement the food source. A combination of beans, milo, corn and wheat gives them something to eat year round. Alfalfa is great as well but a lot more work. If your farmer plants wheat, then you plant beans and corn or milo.
I appreciate all the ideas guys. I'm going to look into tall bluestem just for the field edges because I have an erosion problem due to my soil being 'highly erodible'.
I'm not interested in anything but large amounts of feed. I'm basically the first crop field a mile and a half from the river bottoms, and some years, my entire 50 acres is picked clean of any feed, especially if it's corn. I've counted up to 33 deer during late season, and some years there will be several hundred ducks, dozens of geese, and about 75 doves that feed in the evenings well into the winter.
I don't care about losing my lease money as long as I have good habitat. I'm tired of driving all over this state bird hunting WIHA, only to arrive and find the state leased garbage with no habitat. Whoever is in charge of procuring WIHA needs to be fired and sent packing. The 16,000 acres of wildlife area around me has been allowed to grow up in invasives, and the birds have disappeared (Fall River, Eldorado) I've hunted several counties the last few weeks, shot 4 quail, and 3 of them came off this place. Makes it nearly impossible to train a new pup.
I stay off the back 30 of this place for the most part, til late season. It already has 30 acres of timber, creek, tall bluestem with hedges, and a pond I built that doesn't show up on this old photo. The deer do not use the tall bluestem in the day, but I do find them bedded in a bowl down by the creek and up in the hedges. There were 9 or 10 yesterday afternoon when we bird hunted. The neighbor is building a new home, and he dozed most all his cedars. All the construction has made my place a sanctuary.
I remember being upset when the attorney next door started construction. There was a period of a year or two the deer movement was disrupted. Now, they cross his 80 or go completely around it as quick as possible to get to my place.
If your soil is good enough you might get enough cover with big blue,but I don't like how it falls with snow or wind.if top of map is north I would look at doing something to block view along road then as much grass and shrubs going south,a planting of oaks and persimmions, pears then shrubs and then food on north and south side of hedge
Id plant switch if you want some good edge cover. Ive got switch planted along the road, then NWSG, then another row of switch further in. Switch pops back up after ice etc.
I thought about switch grass on the back 30 and out by the road. Or this stuff. Anybody know what it is? Likes to grow around cattail ditches.
If it grows that good probably a weed,I would plant 20 feet of grass then plant something more permanent like cedar and then let the grass grow while the trees are growing
Better pic here. Not weeds. I call it cane, but don't know. It is incredibly resilient. I used to shoot pheasants and quail out of this patch until the farmer ripped out both sides of grass. You can see how tall it gets compared to the cut cornstarch below.
That looks like phragmites. Non native invasive.
Here is my 3 yr old switchgrass
That looks like phragmites. Non native invasive.
Here is my 3 yr old switchgrass
It's definitely phragmite and it is a destructive invasive you do not want exp if there are ponds around. it will ruin your ponds and it is almost impossible to stop it. There is a real problem with it around here.
We have a 3 acre +/- pond on our family farm. In the last 30 yrs I have watched it swallow up the bank and keep crawling in deeper. The red wing black birds love it
Thornton, Thornton: You might give 'Alamo' switchgrass a try for your food plot. I planted some about 11 years ago and have had excellent results with drought tolerance, standability, and cover. It is recommended for the more southern zones (OK, TX.) but it has really worked out here. It maintains about a 6ft height and the deer love it! .
Thornton, Thornton: You might give 'Alamo' switchgrass a try for your food plot. I planted some about 11 years ago and have had excellent results with drought tolerance, standability, and cover. It is recommended for the more southern zones (OK, TX.) but it has really worked out here. It maintains about a 6ft height and the deer love it! .
That pic I shared is a mix of Alamo and Kanlow. I just sowed a bunch of Blackwell last year. I like how its looking. Will take a couple more years to really tell the tale though.
Good to hear from you John! I'll try to get my hands on some of that Alamo seed guys. Does this stand look familiar John? It's your old galvanized tube welded ladder stand you gave me. My friend used it yesterday to shoot a young, barren doe. In 20 some years, it's the first deer he's ever shot from a tree. We had over 30 deer come by that stand yesterday.
I was thinking about this as I was in a tree the other night after the snow and where I had big blue NWSG it wasn't a ft tall as snow had packed down.Switch stands up better for sure.No safety harness??
I've been deer hunting for going on 27 or 28 years. I can count the number of times I've worn a harness on the fingers I have. Back when I guided, and was moving half a dozen lock ons every week to keep up with hunter's reports of where the deer moved, I didn't wear one then either. Always been a tree climber since I was a small child.
You have been lucky,Know some that have died falling out and some that have been hurt bad enough for surgery including myself
I fell once from about 20’, fortunately I was wearing a linesman belt while putting in a stand. I was bruised and had the wind knocked out of me. I shudder to think what could have happened. I know a “tough guy” that didn’t need a harness. He’s not so tough anymore, as he’s been in a wheel chair quite a few years now.
I knew a guy that fell and laid on the ground the whole day until he didn't up at home that night and his brother found him.he spent 99 days in the hospital.I just spent 8 weeks in a block sling after surgery.This was my worst.Finally said no more without a harness.
