Should I Bulldoze Timber to Create a Soybean Food Plot?
Filed under: Ask Grant, Food Plots
I hunt in Oklahoma on about 1,000 acres of family land. One field has about 40 acres of clover. I’m thinking about taking a dozer and pushing some timber to make another 5 acre soybean food plot across the creek from the clover. It’s in a wooded area where deer hang out often. Would this work? Bill
Bill,
Forage soybeans should grow fine at your place. Like all crops, soil nutrients, weed control, and soil moisture are key! The forage soybean varieties I use from Eagle Seeds are Roundup Ready, so weed control is easy. When removing the trees to create a new plot, instruct the dozer operator to leave as much of the dirt on site (literally remove the dirt from the root wads, etc.) as possible. This requires a bit more work, but will pay major dividends in the future. In addition, have the plot ripped after the trees are removed from the site. Ripping 20″ deep or so is critical because the weight of the equipment used in addition to the trees being felled and skidded will cause severe soil compaction. If that compaction is not fractured by deep ripping, most crops will not produce well for years because their roots will have minimal penetration. Deep ripping is a critical step to establishing good plots on sites that were recently logged.
Growing Deer together,
Grant
