Last week we finished planting! The cereal rye was successfully crimped by the Goliath and Eagle Seed beans are already germinating through the terminated rye! During the following months, the Eagle Seed forage soybeans will supply our deer herd with quality forage. Not only do we plant quality forage to promote healthy deer, it is a great way to attract deer and create a great hunting location this deer season!

This plot is within bow range of our Summit stands and will be a great hunting location when deer are eating standing grains!

Every year we protect a portion of our Eagle Seed beans during the summer months with a Non-Typical Hot Zone Fence in select locations. This ensures that even though deer may browse outside of the fence, they do not consume all the forage in the area. When season rolls around, we can simply open the fence and have a great food source to hunt over!

Here are the steps to take when setting up your Hot Zone fence:

1. Create the fence with your hunting strategy in mind. Think of where your stand or blind will be located in relation to the fence/food source. Consider which wind to hunt and how to enter and exit without alerting deer.

2. Build the fence as soon as beans begin to germinate. You do not want deer to associate the beans inside the fence as a food source. This will decrease the chances that deer will try to jump the fence to feed inside.

3. Make sure it is set up correctly. The Hot Zone electric fence works because it is designed as a two fence (3 strand) barrier. The outside fence has a thick, tape-like polyline that should be strung 18 inches from the ground. Three feet inside the outer fence there should be another fence that has two stands of polyline. The lower wire should be 10 inches from the ground and the top wire 24 inches from the ground.

4. Keep the electric fence turned on ALL summer. If the fence is not on during a portion of the summer, deer will learn that they can jump it with out consequences and will do so even when it is turned on.

5. Open the fence when the conditions are right for hunting! If you open the fence when it is hot and deer are feeding during the night, they can easily lick the field clean during several nights (depending on the size of the field). Or if there is not a suitable wind forecasted for hunting, deer can browse it quickly before you are able to effectively hunt.

If you’re a small food plotter and wish to save quality forage for early deer season or wish to allow beans to mature so that you can hunt over standing grain this winter, the preparation starts now! Stay tuned this summer as we share updates about our food plots and hunting strategies as we prepare for fall!

Enjoying Creation,

Daniel