Which Eagle Seed Variety Should I Use?
Filed under: Ask Grant, Food Plots
Dr. Grant, I have been talking to the good folks at Eagle Seed about their bean species and have placed my order for this year’s seed. Have you had experiences with Large Lad, Big Fellow, or Managers Mix? If so, what were the results as far as production and deer preference? I will be planting the Eagle Seed beans this spring in the southeast region of Kansas and would like your opinion on what bean seed to try. I am planting three plots totaling 12 to 14 acres. Also, I already have a 17 acre field of clover on this farm and would like to plant two or three small 1/4 to 1/2 acre plots. What would you recommend for variety in these areas? Thank you, Lee
Lee,
I have planted the Eagle Seed Large Lad and Big Fellow varieties and the Game Keeper blend at The Proving Grounds and at client properties literally throughout most of the whitetails’ range. Both Large Lad and Big Fellow are excellent forage producers! From my experience, Large Lad seems to produce a bit more grain (pods). This is a plus when the plots are managed (as several of mine are) as 10 month + plots. Deer consume the forage and then consume the pods. The only time Large Lad is not attracting and feeding deer is when I prepare the plot for replanting and the time necessary for germination.
Big Fellow seems to be a bit more drought resistant. I use this variety where the conditions are a bit more droughty (sandy soils, west facing slopes, etc.). The Game Keeper blend has Large Lad and Big Fellow plus a climbing/viney variety that will produce forage extremely late into the growing season. It a good option if you are unsure of the conditions where the plots will be planted. Eagle Seed’s web site has a detailed description of each variety/blend.
There are gads and gads of clover varieties. I doubt any of them will provide forage throughout the entire growing season in southeastern Kansas unless it is an abnormally wet year. Clover is a great crop to use to cover the gap in time between early spring and when the temperatures become warm enough for more productive forage crops (like forage soybeans) to produce.
Given this, I usually plant about 10% or less of my food plots in clover and the remainder in a more productive forage crop. When clover is growing actively it produces gads of forage during a short timeframe. Therefore, not much acreage is needed. The exact percentage of the plots that should be planted in clover will vary from property to property depending on growing conditions and the number of deer using the plots. However, I would suspect that a 17 acre field of clover produces more forage than the local herd consumes during early spring and provides almost no quality forage during the late summer or late winter (the two critical stress periods). Late winter is a good time to review the productivity of food plots so the plan can be tweaked for the next planting season.
Growing Deer together,
Grant
