Winter Rye Useage?

[Baker]

You northern guys have it tough - or us southern guys have it easy - not sure which. You have to worry about your winters and we have to worry with summer and fall

You northern guys have it tough - or us southern guys have it easy - not sure which. You have to worry about your winters and we have to worry with summer and fall droughts. Deer around my place quit using foodplots - which stay green all winter, because every pasture in the world is greening up and there is a world of green for them to eat. In my area of southern AR, I don't feel winter foodplots really help the deer much - but tend to concentrate them for hunting - and provide a variety for deer to choose - in addition to acorns and browse. Spring is a time of plenty - fresh browse and green forbs and grasses aplenty. Summer can be brutal - sometimes we don't get rain from first of July until the end of September. Beans and clover (until the clover dries up) help the does with fawns and the bucks growing antlers get through this hard time. Fall sees acorn drop and things begin to green back up as rains start falling again. Corn usually isn't a choice for most southern food plotters because of hogs.

Your comments here are why I think the south, especially the deep south, have such tremendous potential for growing world class whitetails. The growing season is almost all year long meaning you can have quality cultivars available every month of the year. Environmental stresses are limited though indeed summers can be tough. But manageable. Property holdings tend to be larger especially compared to the north. Historically all thats been missing has been quality management practices . The legacy is the whole brown its down mentality. But thats changing and folks are starting to grow some top flight bucks as a result.

 

[farmhunter]

I'm a Northern guy too - and they deer really like rye in the fall - and will paw for it in the snow up until a point - but usually it shows less Spring use than I expect. This year I'm going to put t camera in this plot in March just to see what kind of usage we really get at green up.

Early on Its a real real hot commodity (3 weeks after planting)

The 2 acre plot came in real thick - maybe too thick for the clover in with it. (6 weeks)

 

[SwampCat]

Your comments here are why I think the south, especially the deep south, have such tremendous potential for growing world class whitetails. The growing season is almost all year long meaning you can have quality cultivars available every month of the year. Environmental stresses are limited though indeed summers can be tough. But manageable. Property holdings tend to be larger especially compared to the north. Historically all thats been missing has been quality management practices . The legacy is the whole brown its down mentality. But thats changing and folks are starting to grow some top flight bucks as a result.

I agree 100%. Just this year I have talked to several father/son hunters where the 10 year old son was passing 2.5 yr old 8 pts. AR has had a 3 pt antler restriction for 20 years now and folks have accepted passing smaller bucks. It is like the more bucks They pass, the more they pass. I know folks passing 140” deer now. Even where my SIL hunts, not too far north of you, they dont shoot a buck unless they think it is 4.5 yrs old. Times are changing

 

[OkieKubota]

Here in our area all plots are for the most part are totally being ignored. I saw 3 deer in the clover/rye behind our house yesterday morning but our main plot which has BFO, clover, radishes, WR, and WW is totally on ignore...acorns are king here now...