Whitetail Institue Powerplant

[Long Cut]

Curious to see if anyone has tried either WI’s Powerplant blend or Merit Seeds “Buckdraw” blend. I’m going to broadcast 3 acres in these two mixes this Spring here in West Central GA Zone 8.

I typically mix my own but because of some free shipping, this was the more financially suitable option in this instance.

Each blend is a mix of soybeans, peas, sorghum, sunflower, sunhemp and Lab Lab I believe.

 

[yoderjac]

Other than being expensive compared to mixing your own on a larger scale, there is nothing wrong with it. It is kind of hard to get a good recommendation on BOB seed. You really need to look at the seed tag each year. SuperMegaBuckTerrifficMix may contain different seeds in different proportions from year to year. It all depends on the particular company.

In general, the seeds you list are a good choice for a summer plot in the south provided the amount you plant is sustainable given your deer densities.

 

[Long Cut]

Other than being expensive compared to mixing your own on a larger scale, there is nothing wrong with it. It is kind of hard to get a good recommendation on BOB seed. You really need to look at the seed tag each year. SuperMegaBuckTerrifficMix may contain different seeds in different proportions from year to year. It all depends on the particular company.

In general, the seeds you list are a good choice for a summer plot in the south provided the amount you plant is sustainable given your deer densities.

I considered a simplified sorghum, cowpea blend to reduce costs but figured I’d give the BOB guys a chance here.
I don’t have a lot of time of money to invest here and my own mix with similar seeds was going to far surpass the costs for this one. The Eagle beans alone would’ve shot out the budget and I’m not planting AG beans with my deer density.

 

[yoderjac]

I considered a simplified sorghum, cowpea blend to reduce costs but figured I’d give the BOB guys a chance here.
I don’t have a lot of time of money to invest here and my own mix with similar seeds was going to far surpass the costs for this one. The Eagle beans alone would’ve shot out the budget and I’m not planting AG beans with my deer density.

For those just planting small plots for attraction, BOB seed makes sense. You can't buy many kinds of seeds by the pound. If you are attempting to do QDM at scale it is different story. That is where buying seed in 50 lb bags and mixing it yourself makes the most sense and saves money. Of course, I'm not sure how much sense it makes to plant for summer if you are just planting small plots for attraction. It takes scale to benefit the herd in any measurable way. It make make sense to do a summer planting to cover the soil and keep some problematic weeds at bay, but I'd focus on soil rather than deer. For small attraction plots, I'd include a cereal grain and annual clover in my fall mix and let the cereal head out he following year for weed control.

If you are mixing sorghum or other non-rr crops with beans, I'd look at other forage beans rather than Eagle. With Eagle you are paying for the RR characteristic that isn't being used when mixt with non-rr crops. There are other forage beans like Tyrone that are not RR and are less expensive for mixes.

I think you will do fine with the BOB mix. Best of luck!

 

[Drycreek]

Some of us have no control over the size of our plots, and I’m one of them. On our deer lease we are limited to openings already existing so we plant everywhere we can. Some we only plant in the fall, and wheat and annual clover are the choices. They range from a half acre to the size of a medium house but they all get attention from the deer. I’m doing what yoder suggested this year, gonna let the wheat head out and the clover grow. We’ll see what that does and adjust accordingly.

Now for your question. I’ve planted the WINA Power Plant mix several times with great success on another place I owned. The only problem I had with it was the milo attracted the hogs and when it ripened they destroyed the entire plot. I noticed a few years ago WINA replaced the milo with sunn hemp. I think if I still had the acreage I would try it again.

 

[Mennoniteman]

I know that you southern guys talk about the importance of summer plots, however being up north I try to stay away from them, seeing them as being redundant to what nature already provides here, and also as additional fuel for a doe factory. Our bean fields for winter food, and our clover plots that are necessary for early spring and late fall deer food also provide additional summer food. Buckwheat, millet, sorghum, sunn hemp, and cowpeas are plantings that I enjoy experimenting with but that's about the extent of it, but I enjoy reading about what you southern guys plant for summer plots. And mostly, seeing pictures of them

 

[Drycreek]

MM, lots of our habitat has no chance of being a doe factory, too many coyotes and not enough food. There are no crops in East Texas, where I live, except pine trees and hay fields. Deer don’t do well here for numbers. I don’t always plant spring/summer plots because it’s expensive for the time and amount of forage that you get from them. On our lease this year we’re just gonna let the wheat head out and see what happens. If I plant at home this spring it will be buckwheat with no fertilizer, so I won’t have much into it. Small acreage and small plots are the norm here and some of it I just do for the enjoyment. If it helps the herd health that’s a bonus. I only wish I could have a ten acre soybean field ! Clover, unless you have a nice creek bottom, is about a three month crop here, a couple months in the spring, and about a month in the fall, if it rains. In the summer it burns up. I did pretty well with it it on the place I used to own, but I don’t have the right soil to plant it here at home or on the lease. Fall crops usually do well, but then they have to compete with acorns, and boy did we have acorns last fall. The wheat didn’t begin to show much use until the season was almost over. I took my only deer well into our two week muzzle loader season, which started the second Saturday in January. I hope we don’t have that many acorns this year, the hogs couldn’t even make a dent in them !

 

[TreeDaddy]

MM, lots of our habitat has no chance of being a doe factory, too many coyotes and not enough food. There are no crops in East Texas, where I live, except pine trees and hay fields. Deer don’t do well here for numbers. I don’t always plant spring/summer plots because it’s expensive for the time and amount of forage that you get from them. On our lease this year we’re just gonna let the wheat head out and see what happens. If I plant at home this spring it will be buckwheat with no fertilizer, so I won’t have much into it. Small acreage and small plots are the norm here and some of it I just do for the enjoyment. If it helps the herd health that’s a bonus. I only wish I could have a ten acre soybean field ! Clover, unless you have a nice creek bottom, is about a three month crop here, a couple months in the spring, and about a month in the fall, if it rains. In the summer it burns up. I did pretty well with it it on the place I used to own, but I don’t have the right soil to plant it here at home or on the lease. Fall crops usually do well, but then they have to compete with acorns, and boy did we have acorns last fall. The wheat didn’t begin to show much use until the season was almost over. I took my only deer well into our two week muzzle loader season, which started the second Saturday in January. I hope we don’t have that many acorns this year, the hogs couldn’t even make a dent in them !

.......and that sums it all up in east texas

bill

 

[yoderjac]

I know that you southern guys talk about the importance of summer plots, however being up north I try to stay away from them, seeing them as being redundant to what nature already provides here, and also as additional fuel for a doe factory. Our bean fields for winter food, and our clover plots that are necessary for early spring and late fall deer food also provide additional summer food. Buckwheat, millet, sorghum, sunn hemp, and cowpeas are plantings that I enjoy experimenting with but that's about the extent of it, but I enjoy reading about what you southern guys plant for summer plots. And mostly, seeing pictures of them

While I don't buy into the Doe Factory theory, I certainly agree with you that if I were further north, I would not be planting for summer. To my way of thinking, summer plots have two real uses. One is soil building. There are mixes we can plant for fall that will continue through the summer to cover the soil and build OM, but depending on what we plant for fall, there may be soil benefit planting in the spring. The other, place where planting for summer comes in is if you are doing QDM in places far enough south for summer to be a stress period for deer. QDM requires sufficient scale to have measurable impacts on the herd, so most folks, even in the south, don't really benefit from planting for summer. With smaller properties, it simply increases human activity on the property. Most would be better off selecting a fall mix that covers summer as well for soil building purposes.

 

[Mennoniteman]

While I don't buy into the Doe Factory theory, I certainly agree with you that if I were further north, I would not be planting for summer. To my way of thinking, summer plots have two real uses. One is soil building. There are mixes we can plant for fall that will continue through the summer to cover the soil and build OM, but depending on what we plant for fall, there may be soil benefit planting in the spring. The other, place where planting for summer comes in is if you are doing QDM in places far enough south for summer to be a stress period for deer. QDM requires sufficient scale to have measurable impacts on the herd, so most folks, even in the south, don't really benefit from planting for summer. With smaller properties, it simply increases human activity on the property. Most would be better off selecting a fall mix that covers summer as well for soil building purposes.

I didn't say that our summer plots create a doe factory, I said they provide "additional fuel" for a doe factory, in our case seeming to draw in many more doe groups from neighboring properties than drawing in bucks over summer, which we then have to then try to account for in our own QDM plan and try to feed over winter.
While we don't plant summer plots like the above mentioned cowpeas etc. (except for experiments), our plots are never empty, besides focusing our fields on winter food with corn and beans, we also put out cheaper and easier soil building cover crops on any empty spring plots, usually rye and oats. I like your comment on human activity, that is one of the oft overlooked keys to creating good deer habitat.

 

[yoderjac]

Ya, the "Doe Factory" concept is a concept coined by some of the tv personalities. It is one I don't buy into at all. I don't think there is any such thing, at least not in my area. Deer do behave differently in different locations, so, I can't say it doesn't exist anywhere.

I find that it is not the presence of does groups that reduces the presence of mature bucks. In fact it is the opposite here. While bucks typically choose security over quality food more so than does, they don't avoid an area because of does. I think the concept is a conflation of correlation and causation. I think in many cases, it the human activities related to the ongoing maintenance of habitat (food plots or whatever) that reduces buck activity. Does are more driven by food. Fawns need to be in good physical condition entering their first winter (even more true the further north you go). This drives fawn and their family groups to food more so than bucks. So, we observe more does than bucks, but my camera data shows mature bucks simply use this part of the habitat at night.

With properties large enough to attempt QDM, there is plenty of room for both quality food plots and sanctuary for bucks. I think in many cases, folks attempt to do QDM on properties that don't have sufficient scale. This adds a lot of activity to their land while neighboring land with less activity is providing sanctuary for bucks. With small properties, folks are better off, focusing on managing the property to improve hunting rather than attempting QDM. If one's objective is shooting mature bucks, sanctuary and cover is key on a smaller property. Folks just wanting to harvest deer in general may want to focus more on plots for attraction.

Lots of the TV experts need to come up with ideas that they can "sell" to their audience and they love to coin phrases like "Doe Factories" to keep folks tuning in. There is certainly a kernel of truth in the idea that maintaining quality food is related to use and anchoring of doe familial groups. This can be a good thing if you have sufficient scale and are doing QDM, especially when the rut kicks in. It can be a bad thing if you want to shoot mature bucks and you have a small property and your neighbor has thick sanctuary cover.

 

[Long Cut]

So the 2023 WI Powerplant came in...
52% Hutchinson Soybean
23% Cowpea
11% Perdovik Sunflower
9% sunhemp

I’m still waiting for Merit seeds blend and some rain to come back our way.
Depending on how this goes, I may mix my own blend next year. Typically the weeds (crab, Johnsongrass, sicklepod) and various other weeds take over whatever isn’t burned or planted it seems like.

I’m going very minimal with these plantings, toss seed before a rain and let the Rye/crimson clover provide shelter for the crop before they dry up. We’ve got temperatures hitting the mid 80’s so I’m anticipating another 2-3 weeks before the winter annuals fade away. I’m not planning on fertilizing, spraying or mowing. Minimal impact here for my fawns & poults.

 

[yoderjac]

So the 2023 WI Powerplant came in...
52% Hutchinson Soybean
23% Cowpea
11% Perdovik Sunflower
9% sunhemp

I’m still waiting for Merit seeds blend and some rain to come back our way.
Depending on how this goes, I may mix my own blend next year. Typically the weeds (crab, Johnsongrass, sicklepod) and various other weeds take over whatever isn’t burned or planted it seems like.

I’m going very minimal with these plantings, toss seed before a rain and let the Rye/crimson clover provide shelter for the crop before they dry up. We’ve got temperatures hitting the mid 80’s so I’m anticipating another 2-3 weeks before the winter annuals fade away. I’m not planning on fertilizing, spraying or mowing. Minimal impact here for my fawns & poults.

How well surface broadcast works depends on the seed and you soils. I have very good luck with sunn hemp and buckwheat, especially if I run a cultipacker over it or broadcast before a heavy rain. I have poor luck with soybeans, cowpeas, and sunflowers when surface broadcasting for summer. I do have a small Kasco 4' no-till versa drill that I use if a mix has larger seeds like these. All the seed I use for fall surface broadcasts well with my soil.

Best of luck!

 

[Long Cut]

How well surface broadcast works depends on the seed and you soils. I have very good luck with sunn hemp and buckwheat, especially if I run a cultipacker over it or broadcast before a heavy rain. I have poor luck with soybeans, cowpeas, and sunflowers when surface broadcasting for summer. I do have a small Kasco 4' no-till versa drill that I use if a mix has larger seeds like these. All the seed I use for fall surface broadcasts well with my soil.

Best of luck!

I’ve had limited results broadcasting soybeans or peas into standing crops.
I’ve seen multiple videos of guys seeding and mowing or crimping rye over the soybean seed with good results.
I may do a throw & mow or just drag if I get a wild hair. If we get a couple days of good rains I’ll just broadcast seed into the standing crop and let it go naturally.

While I’m on small acreage (61 acres) we’re in a co-op with several larger properties (2,800 and 650 acres) to our direct East & West. We have the thick cover, I’m just trying to get our 3 acres of food plots dialed in so more bucks imprint on them.

 

[yoderjac]

I’ve had limited results broadcasting soybeans or peas into standing crops.
I’ve seen multiple videos of guys seeding and mowing or crimping rye over the soybean seed with good results.
I may do a throw & mow or just drag if I get a wild hair. If we get a couple days of good rains I’ll just broadcast seed into the standing crop and let it go naturally.

While I’m on small acreage (61 acres) we’re in a co-op with several larger properties (2,800 and 650 acres) to our direct East & West. We have the thick cover, I’m just trying to get our 3 acres of food plots dialed in so more bucks imprint on them.

Yes, a coop can really be a great device for QDM. You don't need to own it all, you just need everyone to be like minded. As long as everyone stays on board, a QDM coop can really work out.

I think retaining moisture by crimping WR over beans might increase germination rates. Sounds like you are on the right track. I don't know if bucks imprint on plots, but 60 acres of thick cover where you can control pressure with a couple small plots as part of a 3000+ acre coop is a great position to be in!

 

[Drycreek]

Yoder, I’m with you on the doe factory thing. I certainly think you can have too many does, especially if you don’t shoot some. However, I hunt for the enjoyment and the venison. Everyone in my family likes it, so I will shoot whatever I think the property will bear to put some in my freezer. There’s nothing scientific about my measurements, but I know when I see more does or less does. If I think it doesn’t hurt to take one, I’ll do it. I do not shoot bucks less than 3.5 years old even if they are legal (13” minimum inside here).

As for bucks “imprinting” on food plots, they certainly do when they are younger, but less when they reach 3.5 or older in my experience. One thing they do imprint on though, is does during the rut. If you have the does, the bucks will come too. They will also hit those plots at first and last light after the rut because they are tired and hungry. If you hunt food plots, and I do, the first consideration should be accessing and leaving your stand with very little chance of educating the buck that may be just in the woodline out of your sight or may be in your plot but past shooting light. I think getting busted during hunting season causes much more disturbance than planting food plots a month before the season opens. My cameras tell me this.

 

[yoderjac]

Yoder, I’m with you on the doe factory thing. I certainly think you can have too many does, especially if you don’t shoot some. However, I hunt for the enjoyment and the venison. Everyone in my family likes it, so I will shoot whatever I think the property will bear to put some in my freezer. There’s nothing scientific about my measurements, but I know when I see more does or less does. If I think it doesn’t hurt to take one, I’ll do it. I do not shoot bucks less than 3.5 years old even if they are legal (13” minimum inside here).

As for bucks “imprinting” on food plots, they certainly do when they are younger, but less when they reach 3.5 or older in my experience. One thing they do imprint on though, is does during the rut. If you have the does, the bucks will come too. They will also hit those plots at first and last light after the rut because they are tired and hungry. If you hunt food plots, and I do, the first consideration should be accessing and leaving your stand with very little chance of educating the buck that may be just in the woodline out of your sight or may be in your plot but past shooting light. I think getting busted during hunting season causes much more disturbance than planting food plots a month before the season opens. My cameras tell me this

Yes, you can definitely have too many does. When we started our deer numbers were way out of whack. We shot every doe we saw for the 7 or 8 years. We eventually get things into better balance. We have mixed objectives for our place as well. From a hunting standpoint, we are trying to balance QDM with introducing new hunters to the sport and recreation. We let new hunters shoot any deer, but we have our experienced hunters pass bucks under 3.5 yo, just like you. In our area, that is the top 10% of our bucks.

I agree with you that hunting pressure has a larger impact than habitat management, but they all impact mature bucks. I've got a wireless camera network with solar panels that runs 24/7/365. A few years back I extracted data and plotted it. It provides amazing insight. Our total pictures of deer vary as the seasons change to some extent, but the percentage of pictures during shooting hours is very interesting. The daytime pics begin to drop in September as we do our fall plan and guys begin checking stands. Our archery season begins in early Oct and daytime picture percentages continue to drop. They continue to drop but have a small bump during the rut in Nov. By mid-Nov when our gun season kicks in, we get a very low percentage of daytime pics. It continues to drop through the season. That pressure impact takes a while to rebound. Our season ends in early Jan, but it is March before we see daytime picks begin to recover.

I think there are two kinds of pressure, general area and local. Unless you have a lot of land under your control, deer will leave you property from time time time. They seem to feel the pressure from hunters on other properties regardless of what is happening on your property. The second kind is local. You getting made is the perfect example and it seems to have the most impact.

 

[Drycreek]

I have noticed the same trend as you have, although I don’t run cell cams I only check mine about once a month or less, and do it in the middle of the day. It doesn’t help that there is a fairly large place to the W of us that nobody hunts, or hunts very little. Many deer caught on camera come from that side. I’ve tried to lease it to no avail. There is also a 46 acre place that we surround that is virtually unhunted. I get pics of bucks coming from that completely wooded place a lot and see some in person. I think they bed there but can’t prove it. I guess if you could kill a buck every time you went it would get boring and end way too soon !