soybean plot

[ogemaw]

I'm in Northern Michigan and I put in a soybean plot this year.  It took a while for the plot to get going due to browsing but it turned out to be a nice plot.  We have had a few hard frosts and the plants are now brown.  While bow hunting I am seeing the deer pass on the beans and head for the clover and rape.  I'm wondering if the deer will use the bean plot again when food gets scarce?  There are a ton of pods left on the plants.  Any help out there?

[dtrain56]

To answer that, yes the deer will use the plot once the food gets scarce but that will take until it snows usually...those beans are basically no good during the hunting season now that they turned brown..
 
deer love beans but i stopped planting them because they don't provide much during the hunting season...

[buckhunter21]

I have a couple stands over a soybean (soon to be picked soybean field) and right now the deer just seem to walk through it to get to the green stuff.  Every now and then they'll munch on some....Actually last weekend I had some fawns under my stand and they were munching on it pretty good I could hear them chewing the beans from 25 ft up!

[DeerCamp]

Yes they will eat the beans once the clover is gone.. Heack they might even be eatting some of it here and there. They prefure the clover right now, so your best bet is to have a stand by the clover.. I would then keep a stand and keep it as a DECEMBER STAND ONLY.Meaning ( DONT HUNT IT or even go in the area till December.. It will be kinda like a safe zone for the deer.) That is if they are in 2 different areas.. However after reading what youve said, Im getting the idea they are rather close right? Or maybe even next to one another? If thats the case stick it out.. Those beans will provide a great sorce of food in the winter snow, and with the no baiting law passed this year, that will help you a great deal.. Where are you located at in Michigan?

[Goose]

I think the deer will continue to use it, not as much as they were all summer but will still use it none the less. The bucks will still check it during the rut and then it will become the ultimate spot during the cold months. Good luck!

[vipermann7]

ive had the same experience with beans as everyone else here has said. while they are green, you cant beat them. but now that they are dried, they wont hit them as hard until its a last-choice kind of situation. green, fresh growing plants are always more palatable than anything dried, so this time of year they will hit hardest anything green. as fall continues, that trend will continue as well. eventually we hit winter when nothing is green, and then the cycle starts over. they will always prefer whatever is "freshest" and easiest to eat and digest. come winter it means all they eat is dead stuff, but the "freshness" rule still applies whenever possible for them.

[JPH]

Just my 2 cents.
 
Now that the beans are no longer green, the deer will pass them up, but they will return in the late season, once the other sources dry up.
 
Since beans are an annual, I would not plant them again next year. That is unless you are looking for an early season plot. In my area, corn and beans are a dime-a-dozen, so I would go for clover. But if ag. crops are rare in your area, corn is a good choice. Corn provides cover and stays attractive to a deer's taste buds all through the season.

[ranwin33]

We have planted a couple acres of beans the past two years.  Deer hit them hard when their green, but pretty much leave them alone after that, or at least until the crops are out of the fields. 
 
What I did notice after putting in the plot, the deer changed their travel routes to hit the beans, then continued on their new route even when they weren't using them.   

[Goose]

Last night the 15th my dad sat on a soybean field (dried up and leaves gone) and had 9 bucks 7-1.5's and 2 older bucks and 2 does come out into the field all before shooting time was over. Unfortunantly no shot but he had the time of his life. Its a 3 acre field and is the only food source (that I know of) on a 2 mile by 1 mile patch of woods and river bottom. We only have 50 acres of that.  Anyways just thought this would be an interesting post for this thread.

[buckhunter21]

Yea, just as it's starting to get good the DNR has to throw in an antlerless hunt!!!!!!  [:@]