Planting Corn and Soybeans Together
Filed under: Ask Grant, Food Plots
I’m asking this question for my husband. He and I both hunt. He hunts more, but I have the computer skills! We own 75 acres in central Virginia. Last year we planted 10 acres of continuous soybean acreage for tax purposes. We are now required to plant these 10 continuous acres. But it is such a large area that we didn’t see many deer using the soybeans during daylight. This year, we want to try corn since we think it will provide food and cover…is this correct? We have a tractor and drill but not a corn planter. Can we use a drill? How many pounds per acre should we plant? Do we need to spray for weeds since it’s going to be for wildlife and we are not too worried about high production? And lastly, is it possible to mix soybeans with the corn or should we just plant the corn by itself? Thanks and great videos, we watch each week! Ami
Ami,
Thanks for watching GrowingDeer.tv! Are there other soybean fields in the area? I ask to determine if the local deer herd is conditioned to consuming soybeans. There are no other soybeans planted near The Proving Grounds. The deer living at my place, nor their deceased relatives, had ever seen a soybean to my knowledge. It took a couple of years for the deer to learn soybeans were a good source of forage here.
The group 7 forage soybeans from Eagle Seed usually get 4′ +/- tall, and provide cover till they get consumed or mowed. Corn provides better cover, but doesn’t provide any quality food during the antler and fawn development season. Therefore, it seems planting half the field in corn and half in soybeans would be a good option. I use a no-till drill to plant corn. I simply use cardboard and tape to block every other downspout. This allows me to open the seed meter wider on the remaining downspouts so the corn seed doesn’t get cracked (and therefore won’t germinate).
I used to commonly mix corn and soybeans in food plots. However, a better yield can be produced if they are planted and managed separately. I would strongly suggest controlling the weeds. The crop’s yield will be much higher, and there won’t be as many weed seeds in the field the following year!
Growing Deer together,
Grant
