Food Plot 1 - AG Soybeans, AG Corn, Egyptian Wheat
Utilization based on game camera survey on this crop choice + evidence of use
Growth Results
As I continue to experiment with my Ohio plots I took the same basic concept for my big field in 2021 but with a greater percentage of corn and twice the amount of Egyptian wheat. I border a property that has a lot of activity and in 2021 I found that expanding that buffer was working. So I doubled that buffer in 2022. This worked really well providing more security to the deer on my side of the line. The E-wheat came up fantastic. And so did the corn - until the silk stage. The deer, and coons just hammered it and basically wrecked the 4 acre corn plot. By September 1, it was basically gone. The only good news is that I still had a really good 5 acre buffer. The bad news is that I reduced the food source in this field by 30%. The remaining field was planted in Ag beans which came up great, but I had a hard time controlling grass and had to spray much later than I wanted to which is less than ideal. Overall, not a terrible result but far from optimal. I learned that planting corn when all my neighboring Ag fields are in beans is not a great idea. Next year I will have a new plan.
Activity Results
Because the corn got wiped out early, and the remaining beans were heavily pressured, the plot activity dropped off a lot from 2021. It was still good, just not great in my big field. There were deer there every night, but far less than I had last year. And because there were fewer beans going into the late season, the deer wiped them out by end of January.
Comments
I learn something new every year. Don't plant corn when the neighbors are all beans, and consider planting 15 inch rows next year instead of 30 inches to get your beans to canopy earlier which reduces weed growth. Also, I need a better spraying program, both pre-emergent and post-emergent sprays. Overall, however, the plot worked, and my buffer worked exceptionally well - providing security from commotion generated on the other side of my property line.
Plot Photo
Trail Cam Photo - brought to you by Moultrie 
