I have food plots and have had success but I always read about how the deer just absolutely love soybeans. I wanted to plant about 5 acres or so of soybeans because there isn't any farmland near my land for a couple miles. I have also read that farmers in Canada even have a lot of success with soybeans, so I know it is possible. I guess my main questions are, for northern states, like northern Wisconsin and the U.P. , is there a certain soybean seed that will excel over others in this area? How many pounds per acre? Also since the growing season is shorter, when would they have to be planted? Any other tips on this topic would be appreciated as well. Thanks
Check out Eagle forage beans website. I think they have northern blends that you'd be interested in. As for plant date I couldn't help there as it's too far out of my area. Rate will vary depending on soil test I plant about 180,000/acre of seed. Minimum stand to shoot for is at least 100,000 plant population. More is okay, any less and they are considered too thin.
If you have any ag production in your area, head into the local ag coop. Talk to them to find out what soybean will work well in the area. They should be in tune with what beans and when you should plant them. I personally plant 1 bag per acre on my place. The bags are actually not sold by the pound, but by the seed count. Seed sizes can very, so the weight is not a constant. I'd say a bag is roughly 45-50lbs.
Yes bags are generally termed as "units" and are 80,000 seed counts...weights vary to seed size 40-50#. I should have said that I no-till drill my beans on 7.5" rows for that 180,000 seeding rate. If planting on 30" rows then Skywalker's 1 bag per acre is pretty close, a full 60# bushel per acre is better on 30" rows. Good advice on asking a local coo-op or elevator on specific area bean brand and group and plant dates.
One of these days I'll have a planter. As of now, I do it all with a bag seeder by hand. Lots of work, but I've had great results the last three years.
Sure, that will all work fine for food plots, I guess my recommendations are coming from a cash crop production point of view. Still, production is production and if we're talking about food production for deer in terms of tons per acre of mass (or mast) then I'd up those rates unless you're mixing beans with another crop for food plots. Whatever works for you though.
I have to agree, beans are unbeatable...BUT you should look at prices. Beans are one of the more expensive plots to plant. It could definitely change your mind on planting 5 acres of them. If you do it right you're going to drop a pretty penny! Seed is expensive, fertilizer is expensive, herbicide is expensive
You can expect to spend anywhere from $25/bag for cheap conventional beans to upwards of $60 for roundup ready. Greencoverseed.com has beans seed in the $30-$35 range. It's not uncommon to get $150/acre wrapped up in inputs.
Coolbean - Soybean Research - Variety Trial Results That is the results of the soybean trials for Wisconsin I also had great luck with quad pro soybean blend . It is a blend of forage beans, trailing soybeans that throw pods, cowpeas and lablab. Way better price, palatability, faster maturity and handles all soil types. Deer creek seed sells it.
