new MS soybean plot
Contributors to this thread:Whitetail Deer
From: elknewb
09-Jan-22
any luck with broadcasting spreading soybeans without them getting demolished by deer without fence? deciding weather its worth the money or not
From: t-roy
09-Jan-22
Are you asking about the deer eating the seeds, or the plants after they’ve emerged? If the former, I’d encourage you to try and get the seeds covered with some dirt somehow.
From: Habitat for Wildlife
09-Jan-22
Yes, but depending on your density and other available agriculture will dictate how large it has to be before the deer will demolish it. Good luck.
From: Pat Lefemine
09-Jan-22
So many factors before anyone can answer this question but let’s start with how big of an area will you be planting?
From: elknewb
09-Jan-22
i plant to do about 3 acres in 3 corners of the property/ land is mostly pines with mixed hard woods/ no agriculture fields close/ if i plant these beans it will be the only protein for the deer during the summer other than what the surrounding hunters put out. dont want to waste my money for the deer to mow down the beans before they can produce pods
From: t-roy
09-Jan-22
Without fencing them off, I would almost guarantee your beans will be kept browsed off, and never get a chance to produce any pods to speak of, especially if there are no other ag crops in your area.
From: Habitat for Wildlife
09-Jan-22
I agree with Troy. I get by with 4 acres, but I am in the middle of heavy agriculture.
From: elknewb
09-Jan-22
thanks for the input
From: lewis
10-Jan-22
IMO they are worth it and the fence is pretty much a one time expense and the way I do mine it’s really fairly easy. I would not plant them if you don’t fence them.Good Luck Lewis
From: CAS_HNTR
10-Jan-22
Fence is a must.....we tried one year with 2 ac of beans unfenced. The MAX height they reached was 3" tall that year due to browse pressure.
From: olebuck
10-Jan-22
i've planted alot of summer plots. for MS my favorite mix is clay and iron peas, joint vetch, and sunflowers. this mix handles heavy grazing and usually last for me untill a frost hits.
From: Shiloh
10-Jan-22
Vetch in MS. I haven’t experimented with the other things that Jim added, but vetch will handle the browse pressure. Negative is that you lose it at the first frost. No beans without a fence down here.