Cereal rye food plot for deer

[kennym]

Who has planted this stuff and what can you tell me about it?  I planted 6 acres of beans last year and the serious deer herd kept them ate into the ground.

So this year I've planted ladino clover and it's coming along, but I'd like to sow something in to help with later winter greens.

TIA

kenny

[Ryan Rothhaar]

Cereal rye (not rye grass) is good stuff. You broadcast it around labor day in this part of the country (I've used both here in IN and on my farm up the road from you). Guys either do some minimal ground work or spread then mow over it to cover it a bit. Germinates easily, minimal input needed ...if you broadcast into the remnant of your standing beans with lots of bare ground and the nitrogen the beans put in the ground all you really need is rain.  Into clover your best bet is to top mow the clover over it a little to get some coverage. Deer will hit it all fall/winter if you have the same or more population that I have in Putnam Cty. Spread it thick, 150-200 lbs/acre. In your area you will have to terminate in the spring either by mowing when the heads develop or spraying. You can let it go to seed, but it can really become a jungle in the spring if weather is right.  I have not observed preference between rye oats or wheat, and rye is cheap and easy.

R

[Mike Bolin]

I've planted cereal rye/winter rye in late summer along with clover as a "nurse" crop for clover. Deer do utilize the rye, especially in the late season and in early spring as it is the only green around during those periods. I did have a little left over seed last year that I broadcast into standing clover this spring and it did ok. I didn't have a lot of seed left so it was pretty sparse.
If you get a good stand of rye, be cautious when you mow it the following year. I used to mow it around Memorial Day weekend but found that the does left their fawns in the shaded areas of the rye. I walked the rye to check for downed limbs and found three fawns bedded in about a 1/3-acre rye/clover plot. Now I wait until the rye is dead, but still walk the plot.
Rye is a good soil builder, as is buckwheat but I have had better luck with the rye. A Labor Day broadcast of rye, either right before or right after a good rain should work well. I suggest going a bit heavier on the seed rate when top seeding. The turkeys will appreciate it too!

[kennym]

Thanks guys! Any need to mix wheat in with it or no?

All advice welcomed!!

[dklug]

Winter rye is a great deer attractant. Used it again just last year when the deer annihilated my brassica crop. Just spread it on the ground, mowed what was left on the plot to cover the seeds, and watched it attract deer all fall until the snow got too deep. The deer hit the rye at all times of the day, including mid-day all fall. They love the stuff.

[Friend]

I layer forage oats with cereal rye three weeks later and possibly again in another three weeks. Have many times, layered forage oats three weeks later with wheat. The food plot looks great however, in my area, the wheat is barely touched by the deer.

I also layer brassicas and soybeans when there is plenty of bare ground and/or the deer have fed overly heavy on them.
Note: Cereal rye is far too competitive to plant initially with forage oats, brassicas and soybeans.

In my experience, a great food source in one locale may be a very poor food source in another. Trial and error are often required.

[kennym]

Thanks guys, I'm gonna plant it if I can find some.  I know some farmers plant it for a cover crop around here.  Hopefully a local farm store will have it...

[Ryan Rothhaar]

I know my neighbor in MO gets his at the MFA in Kirksville.

R

[kennym]

Thanks Ryan , bro says his neighbor gets it at MFA in Brookfield.  So must be fairly available...

[Srongchoo]

It’s awesome stuff. Deer love it