Great to see you again at the Southeast Deer Study Group conference! All the beans you see in the GrowingDeer.tv episodes, except some in the episode filmed in Illinois, are the Eagle Seed forage beans we discussed. I hope you will place a utilization cage on your plots this year so the growth of each forage type can be compared.

The lab I and several of my clients use is Waters Ag. I order the Basic Test 4, as I like to know the level of several trace minerals. I always tell the lab what crops I’m going to plant, and that I want a maximum yield so they can give me fertilizer recommendations to help me meet my site-specific mission.

The scientific name for the grass shown in front of that buck is Andropogon virginicus. It is also know by several common names such as: Broomgrass, Broomsage, Broomsedge bluestem, Broomstraw, Sage grass, and Yellow bluestem.

It is a native warm-season grass that is often confused with little bluestem. However, in the fall/winter Broomsedge is typically yellowish tan, while little bluestem has a bronzy color. Broomsedge rarely is more than 2 feet tall at maturity. Seeds are light and fluffy. It’s an indicator of poor land as dense stands are indicative of acid soils, phosphorus deficiency or overgrazing. That pretty much describes The Proving Grounds, except where I’ve used Antler Dirt to improve the soil.

I hope our paths cross before the next annual Southeast Deer Study Conference!

Growing Deer together,

Grant