TITAN FORAGE SOYBEANS

[Mennoniteman]

I planted four varieties of soybeans side-by-side as a test this past spring, and the roundup ready Titan brand was a late addition to the test with only 2 bags planted and no special expectations. Well, the Titans have hit it out of the park and won the test by a mile. They are 5 feet high and still growing, under heavy browsing pressure. These beans have never been fenced, and the deer have held the forage soybeans next to them to under 3 feet. Total grazing pressure seems to be about equal between the four different kinds. I thought that the deer were steering slightly away from the Titans early on, but recently they definitely have been hitting the Titans hard, but they can't seem to make a dent in the growth. Lately the browsing deer are mostly hidden from view in them.

 

[Mennoniteman]

60" tall and the roots are loaded with nodules, even though I stripped a lot of them off when I pulled them out. I did use innoculant when I planted them.

 

[Mennoniteman]

A lot of my food plots look a bit scraggly. I often tolerate some weeds, especially if most of them are things that deer eat.
But every now and then a plot turns out picture perfect, usually by accident. These 5 foot Titan forage soybeans are amazing how the deer can be moving through them every evening and they don't trample any down.

 

[DocHolladay]

Those look great.


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[RGrizzzz]

Are you planting these again this year?

 

[Mennoniteman]

Are you planting these again this year?

Yes, and I have them already, all 8 bags, and I'll probably drill them in several weeks. I did some testing with 5 different varieties the last several years and these won hands down, so this is the only kind we'll be putting out this year. I'm adventuresome, and am planning to seed 8 bags into 4 acres, I'll keep updating the failure or success of this planting. Normal seeding rate is 140,0000 seeds per bag, 1 bag per acre. Last year I seeded them at double the normal rate on a small test plot, these were the nicest ones and grew almost 5 feet tall, stayed green all summer, with a nice crop of bean pods for the winter that the deer stripped bare. The beans were on the small size but the deer didn't complain, and they didn't leave a single bean behind. I mowed the bean stalks last week and being a little taller than ag beans they will make a perfect ground cover for the no-till corn going in that field with our current crop rotation.

 

[RGrizzzz]

Yes, and I have them already, all 8 bags, and I'll probably drill them in several weeks. I did some testing with 5 different varieties the last several years and these won hands down, so this is the only kind we'll be putting out this year. I'm adventuresome, and am planning to seed 8 bags into 4 acres, I'll keep updating the failure or success of this planting. Normal seeding rate is 140,0000 seeds per bag, 1 bag per acre. Last year I seeded them at double the normal rate on a small test plot, these were the nicest ones and grew almost 5 feet tall, stayed green all summer, with a nice crop of bean pods for the winter that the deer stripped bare. The beans were on the small size but the deer didn't complain, and they didn't leave a single bean behind. I mowed the bean stalks last week and being a little taller than ag beans they will make a perfect ground cover for the no-till corn going in that field with our current crop rotation.

I'm going to try to get a bag, and add them to our mix to see how they do. Remember what the price was this year?

 

[Drycreek]

Those are some serious beans MM ! Imight try a bag of those here at home for my eight or ten deer that come around my 80 acre place. They might be able to keep ahead of my few deer.

 

[RGrizzzz]

A small area of titan beans went into a mix we put in last weekend. I'm curious to see how they do!

 

[Elkaddict]

What maturity date did you use??

 

[Mennoniteman]

What maturity date did you use??

Titan is a forage bean, they don't go by maturity date. An AG bean has a maturity date of between 2.1 to about 3.9 months. These forage beans are about 7 month maturity, and you get no choices. That's why they are forage beans, that long growth window allows them to stay green and produce green forage all summer long.

 

[Elkaddict]

I’m looking at Titan’s website trying to ID the forage beans. A search of “forage” doesn’t get results. Can you steer me in the right direction?

 

[Mennoniteman]

I’m looking at Titan’s website trying to ID the forage beans. A search of “forage” doesn’t get results. Can you steer me in the right direction?

Titan Pro is the wrong place; they are not a seed manufacturer, they are a regional dealer of ag supplies.
http://specialtyseed.com/titan-forage-soybeans/
King's Agriseeds (717) 687-6224 also still had some of these in stock a week ago...

 

[Elkaddict]

Thank you sir!

 

[Elkaddict]

With traditional beans, depending on deer density, you 3+ acres to get them to survive. How much would you have to plant with these?

 

[Mennoniteman]

With traditional beans, depending on deer density, you 3+ acres to get them to survive. How much would you have to plant with these?

2+ acres seems like a reasonable number, but there's many other factors that come into play. I have a nice stand of ladino clover close by so my deer aren't exactly starving when the beans first pop out.
That being said, my Titan beans are at a critical stage right now, and the deer are hitting them hard, so this will be a definite stress test for this brand. I will soon be putting up some pics and more info here.

 

[Mennoniteman]

Titan beans went into the ground May 20th. Notill drill planting into tilled soil here because I was doing some land leveling in the corner of this field. These beans are now up, with 4 big leaves and the deer are dropping everything else to try to annihilate them, I see milk does out there any time of the day, around the clock.

 

[Mennoniteman]

Our Titan forage beans are growing well but the deer are absolutely hammering them. There is a herd of deer in them every evening and sometimes during the day. There is not one being stalk that has not been nipped off, but these amazing Titan forage soybeans just keep growing back, and at this point things look hopeful that they will outgrow our deer damage.

 

[Elkaddict]

Very impressive!

 

[Mennoniteman]

With traditional beans, depending on deer density, you 3+ acres to get them to survive. How much would you have to plant with these?

Last year I made a mistake and seeded Titan's at double the normal rate, and it was an amazing success, then this year I backed off on the seeding rate to about 1.5 times the normal rates, and I could tell that the deer are giving them a harder time. I'm pretty sure if I had planted either year at normal rates of 1 bag per acre neither of these bean plantings would not have survived.
More and more I'm realizing that the key to getting forage soybeans to survive hinges as much on a heavy seeding density as on the total the total acres planted, higher densities will keep them growing when they are emerging and the deer start hitting them. So, as I mentioned, soybean planting rates are usually around an acre per bag, but when planting forage soybeans in high deer density areas I recommend at least 2 bags per acre when drilled and at least 3 bags per acre if broadcast and disced into the soil. The science (or perhaps just my theory) behind this equation is that small soybean plants aren't using nearly all of the available nutrients, so there is room for more small plants, and that gives the deer twice as many to nip off before they start nipping them the second and third time, potentially killing the plants.
Also, as far as planting methods, an acquaintance plants soybeans for deer in 30" rows with a cornplanter with soybean boxes and the last 2 years his bean plots were a total fail. My experiences tell me that soybeans in a cornplanter for deer won't work unless the deer numbers are very low, I'd recommend between 4" to 7.5 inch rows for the best results, and seed the rows very heavy. I think this really heavy seeding method would make soybeans a planting option for smaller sized deer food plots
To summarize; I think soybeans are an overlooked goldmine for deer, and heavy planting rates are the key.