Protecting food plots

fireman24

New Member
I have about 3-4 acres total of food plots on my 50 acres of land. I am on the WI/MN border about 1.5 hours north of Minneapolis. Last year I planted about 3 acres of soy beans and they never got taller than about 2 inches. The deer just mowed them down. Every night there would be 4-8 deer at a time feeding. Late in the year I then over seeded with some clover and winter wheat. I also seeded a new .5 acre clover/ brassica plot. Again they just mowed it down. Now its late season archery and the deer have pretty much all left my area in search of food. Minimal activity on trail cameras, and not much for sightings. The only ag in my area is about a mile away. I need a way to protect some of the food plots so I have some late season food for them. I was thinking about putting up some snow fence on the smaller plots that I have next year. I was told by a friend that if the area is small enough that they won't jump into it for fear they won't have room to get out. I also have heard that if you double fence it that will help as well because of the depth perception.

I was thinking if I did a couple 8-12 foot diameter circles or rectangles with orange snow fence they may be small enough that they would not jump into them. Has any one tried this or tried to put up a double fence? Say I did a 12ft diameter snow fence and then did a row of caution tape 2 feet out from that on another set of poles? I was then thinking I could rotate the fenced areas around to let the wheat and clover have a chance. Basically instead of mowing once the area was too long the deer would do it, then rotate fence back to open new area.

On the larger soybean field I am thinking I will need to do milorganite or something to give the beans a chance. I don't think I ever got a single pod this year. Electric fence would be a large cost and would need multiple controllers with solar. I'm trying to find cheaper way to protect the beans and other food plots so I have something to offer late season. Last FYI I also have plenty of bears around.

This year all I have done is shot does to try and control the population (and the mature bucks I have one never walked by my stand). I have also done some hinge cutting to provide more food. There are plenty of oaks for early season food. The easy late season food is a mile away in the form of a picked corn field.

Thanks in advance for any help or advise.
 
I tried the milorganite. The first year it might have worked, or maybe they just didn't know what iron clay peas were. The second year it definitely did NOT work, and by then they knew what iron clay peas were. I got a really good stand, but they only lasted 6 weeks. This was a two acre plot.

I had a camera at a 45* angle on the long narrow plot and you could watch the peas grow, then watch the deer eat, then watch the pea vines get shorter and shorter. At least they ate well for 6 weeks....:)
 
T post’s spaced every 40-50 yards. Make sure to angle drive t posts into the ground on corners. I use 1/2 Inch
ribbon fence. Use 2 rows and space about 36 inches apart. Second fence use 2 lines, first line use 1. Use a solar charger with at least 2 grounding rods and this is what you will get.


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Bowsite.com has a feature on their Deer Builder sub-forum that diagrams exactly how to put up an e-fence. It's worth looking at if you're thinking of e-fencing a plot. I have a 3/4 acre plot that I'm thinking of fencing this spring. I want tp plant soybeans and actually give them a chance without the deer devastating them in a few weeks. I would also like to broadcast some wheat and/or rye into it this fall for some added winter feed. I can't do that without a fence because the hogs will be there the very night I plant and every night thereafter until it's gone.

Have I mentioned that I despise hogs ? :)
 
Bowsite.com has a feature on their Deer Builder sub-forum that diagrams exactly how to put up an e-fence. It's worth looking at if you're thinking of e-fencing a plot. I have a 3/4 acre plot that I'm thinking of fencing this spring. I want tp plant soybeans and actually give them a chance without the deer devastating them in a few weeks. I would also like to broadcast some wheat and/or rye into it this fall for some added winter feed. I can't do that without a fence because the hogs will be there the very night I plant and every night thereafter until it's gone.

Have I mentioned that I despise hogs ? :)

Do u think the e fence will keep the hogs out?

The hogs and deer wiped out an eagle seed five acre plot between eating the bean seed when planted and the seedlings when two inches tall. Went back in and planted tecomate lab lab plus and it grew to the tops of 12 coffee bean. They didn’t really mess with it much until the neighbor harvested his beans. Then they mowed it down. Had every pod eaten by December. I am going to try beans again this year - if it doesn’t work, will go right back with lablab plus.
 
Do u think the e fence will keep the hogs out?

The hogs and deer wiped out an eagle seed five acre plot between eating the bean seed when planted and the seedlings when two inches tall. Went back in and planted tecomate lab lab plus and it grew to the tops of 12 coffee bean. They didn’t really mess with it much until the neighbor harvested his beans. Then they mowed it down. Had every pod eaten by December. I am going to try beans again this year - if it doesn’t work, will go right back with lablab plus.

The truth is.....I don't know if it will, but I'm gonna put a third wire on the front fence 6"/8" off the ground. Maybe that will be about rooting distance :)

All I can do is try it and see. We have lots of small hogs there, at least that's what I usually see on camera and while hunting. Another option would be to spend the night in the stand with my AR and night vision scope. Usually when you shoot into a group of them that's the last you see of them for a couple days, but not always. From what I see, they have about a three day rotation, that is, they'll show up about three days in a row and then be gone for a day or two, then back for two or three days. If I can keep them out for three days, germination should be starting and it's been my experience that hogs don't go after germinating seeds much.
 
the gallager deer fence I have had great succes with. We use it on most of our soybean plots. Our deer got trained like cows and became fence walkers around it. I probably put up 10 - 15 acres a year. for $300 you buy a gas powered post driver. Well worth it.
 
Looking like really my only option is E-fence
What you just said^^^
I like my E fence. Lots of threads with tips on making the job most efficient. Develop a system for putting them up and taking them down, otherwise, it can be a little bit more laborious than needed.
And shop for components. It'll be cheaper than buying a package from Gallagher.
 
Have you considered planting forage soy beans? Eagle makes the RR Northern managers mix that would work in your growing zone. I plant several acres of Eagle RR Northern managers mix so that the deer will leave my RR ag soy beans alone. The down side is that the Eagles will be taken out by the first hard frost. Until then, the deer will have a great browse source. Also, 20% of the soy beans in the Eagle mix will produce pods. These are the very last pods that are eaten on my farm after all my large fields have been stripped bare.
As a disclosure. I have been an Eagle seed dealer for the past two years. That aside, their products have worked well for me and all my customers.
 
Plantings of 85% brassica (primarily purple top turnips) / 15% winter wheat - planted July 15 can generate green food for October bow and then turnips November, December, and into January. Deer will dig holes in the snow to get to the turnips. Full sun, good rains and copious amounts of fertilizer (200-250 pounds of triple 19 per acre) have the potential to grow softball sized turnips in 90 days. This is a bit early to plant, but it gives time for the turnips to develop. I start with 100 pounds fertilizer, then add another 100 about 4-6 weeks later. I just run a spreader right through it and it fills right back in. An Earthway spreader mounted on a 4 wheeler works really well. Just another option and it is not foolproof, subject to the normal farming issues... the deer mow it down early, drought conditions etc... :) I have 2 different 40 acre properties. One has a 1 acre food plot in a forested area and this will not work there as the deer will keep it about 2 inches high. The other 40 in ag, fields, and swamp has 2.5 acres and the brassicas can grow to about 15-20 inches high there. I am amazed how brassica can eat fertilizer like candy.
 
I cannot remember if it was Greg Ritz or Pat and Nicole from the outdoor shows, but whichever one it was they had put up a snow type fence around a plot. They permanently installed large posts and than installed two rows to get like eight or nine feet high. Once they were ready to open the plot to deer they just rolled back a few sections.

I see the Gallager deer fence is like $,1800 for 3 acres. I wonder what the cost would be to do 3 acres with snow fencing. I also wonder what might hold up better in the long run.

I tried to source snow fence from a buddy who did purchasing for a city agency but sadly he never came through. In my case it probably worked out for the best as I suck at food plotting :(
 
Has any body had any experience with the Tractor Supply chargers ?

I use the tractor supply fence chargers and I'm happy with them. We have lots of electrical storms and of course the minus twenty to thirty degrees here every now and then and getting buried in snow probably adds some wear and tear to them. I'm on my third one on about eight years. They are cheap compared to ones bought elsewhere and last about the same. And they rate highest on the meter we check them with.
 
I use the tractor supply fence chargers and I'm happy with them. We have lots of electrical storms and of course the minus twenty to thirty degrees here every now and then and getting buried in snow probably adds some wear and tear to them. I'm on my third one on about eight years. They are cheap compared to ones bought elsewhere and last about the same. And they rate highest on the meter we check them with.



Thanks Chainsaw. I've been thinking about e-fencing a 3/4 acre plot down south. It's so small nothing can get a start. I've got my ph in pretty good shape but the deer just destroy it.
 
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