Soybeans

[LET EM GROW]

I've always asked myself this as well as others. And can never seem to get the same answer. So figured I'd ask here to someone with some know how.. When planting ag soybeans, to achieve maximum pods per "sq ft" lets say, Would you want the seed population higher so they have to compete, or space the seeds out a little more and get more pods per plant(if possible).  Meaning would a plant that had less soybean competition put on more pods, vs one that had more soybean competition. I know if you have more plants per sq ft, "technically" you should have more pods as well right?  Or would a single plant with less competition amongst each other, put on more pods per plant vs tighter spaced plants? 

 

To me it seems, the tighter spaced plants(like you see in ag country) would make more pods per "sq ft" lets say. Hence the reason farmers use tight spacing between seeds.  

Hoping to build another drill for next spring.. Trying to get ideas for row spacing etc.. The desired end result is to have as many pods as possible for winter foods. 

[wolc123]

My favorite usage of soybeans is adding them to a mix of broadcast wheat, and white clover, planted in late July or early August.  Soybeans are most attractive to deer in the early green growing stage and they act like candy, drawing deer from all over to your plots.   I see little value in spring planted soybeans because their attractiveness is minimal during the "brown-out" stage, which usually coincides with NY archery season.   Why not plant them late and get the maximum attractiveness when you can legally kill the deer ?  

Another advantage of the late planting is that it is always easy to score free leftover seed at that time from local farmers.  I never pay for RR corn or soybean seeds but soybeans do not keep nearly as well from year to year due to their higher oil content.   

[Robhuntandfish]

deer love them beans when they are green!

but yeah when they brown up - not so much.  

[TACC]

I'm not a farmer, and am trying to learn as well, since this is my first year with the soybean attrmpt.

I was under the impression that a thick spreading would be needed as well to insure at least a majority survival rate since the other usual animals will be eating a good part that is planted.

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[LET EM GROW]

Rob, In my experience. When they brown or "mature" they are desired just as much during colder weather. Great source to feed on during winter. .. The stages when they fully mature and turn yellow then drop leaves, from what I have seen the deer will leave them alone for the most part. Then return for bean pods usually when colder weather begins. But if pods didnt fully mature they wont eat them. I have planted for several years now with good results. But this year i have an electric fence set up to let them fully mature and be available for Late season ML.

TACC, Yes i always seed heavy usually around 210,000 seeds per acre. For browse pressure, and since i broadcast and use the poor mans no till, in case some dont germinate. They usually advertise as 1 bag will plant 1 acre. But i always use a bag and a half or more per acre(210,000/acre). 

[dbHunterNY]

9 hours ago, TACC said:

I'm not a farmer, and am trying to learn as well, since this is my first year with the soybean attrmpt.

I was under the impression that a thick spreading would be needed as well to insure at least a majority survival rate since the other usual animals will be eating a good part that is planted.

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hopefully they work well for you.

[dbHunterNY]

Beans get hammered either way. Awesome late season food source if there's anything left. Deer hit them green too. Here's a bachelor group of a couple 2.5 yr olds and few yearlings just the other night.

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[LET EM GROW]

I love soybeans, My favorite species to plant. I plan to incorporate some in fall plots as well this year. I have just never had the ability to have a late season stand. But this year I have almost an acre fenced off. And So far it is doing what it is supposed to do. 

[G-Man]

On 7/3/2018 at 6:58 AM, LET EM GROW said:

I've always asked myself this as well as others. And can never seem to get the same answer. So figured I'd ask here to someone with some know how.. When planting ag soybeans, to achieve maximum pods per "sq ft" lets say, Would you want the seed population higher so they have to compete, or space the seeds out a little more and get more pods per plant(if possible).  Meaning would a plant that had less soybean competition put on more pods, vs one that had more soybean competition. I know if you have more plants per sq ft, "technically" you should have more pods as well right?  Or would a single plant with less competition amongst each other, put on more pods per plant vs tighter spaced plants? 

 

To me it seems, the tighter spaced plants(like you see in ag country) would make more pods per "sq ft" lets say. Hence the reason farmers use tight spacing between seeds.  

Hoping to build another drill for next spring.. Trying to get ideas for row spacing etc.. The desired end result is to have as many pods as possible for winter foods. 

6 to 8 in rows work well but you need to remember agriculture fertalizes heavy when planting narrow crop rows same holds true for corn.. i would not go wider than 10 in as you want plant to cover the ground to prevent weed competition. in. higg herd densities under an acre plot is a waste of time as theu will decimate it before it cann grow with out measure taken. to prevent it.

you can mix into corn rows as well at 4 corn for 1 soybean .. corn can provide climbing structure for it as well as hide it from deer giving it a chance to mature

[landtracdeerhunter]

On 7/3/2018 at 6:58 AM, LET EM GROW said:

I've always asked myself this as well as others. And can never seem to get the same answer. So figured I'd ask here to someone with some know how.. When planting ag soybeans, to achieve maximum pods per "sq ft" lets say, Would you want the seed population higher so they have to compete, or space the seeds out a little more and get more pods per plant(if possible).  Meaning would a plant that had less soybean competition put on more pods, vs one that had more soybean competition. I know if you have more plants per sq ft, "technically" you should have more pods as well right?  Or would a single plant with less competition amongst each other, put on more pods per plant vs tighter spaced plants? 

 

To me it seems, the tighter spaced plants(like you see in ag country) would make more pods per "sq ft" lets say. Hence the reason farmers use tight spacing between seeds.  

Hoping to build another drill for next spring.. Trying to get ideas for row spacing etc.. The desired end result is to have as many pods as possible for winter foods. 

Cornell says a yield of about 5% less in 30" rows verses 7 1/2".   Precise seed depth and soil contact are more critical to yield. Do the deer prefer the wider row spacing?

Edited July 6, 2018 by landtracdeerhunter

[stubborn1VT]

In my experience, soybeans in a 30" row will "flex" and still cover the ground.  As for pod yield, I have read that 15" rows are optimum.  I have no idea if that is really true, since I have never grown them commercially.  I have friends who do.  They all have their own theories.

[TACC]

I love soybeans, My favorite species to plant. I plan to incorporate some in fall plots as well this year. I have just never had the ability to have a late season stand. But this year I have almost an acre fenced off. And So far it is doing what it is supposed to do. 

Looks great

Please advise what type of fencing you have used, and if that is enough to keep the deer off until later in the year.

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[LET EM GROW]

On 7/6/2018 at 4:19 PM, G-Man said:

6 to 8 in rows work well but you need to remember agriculture fertalizes heavy when planting narrow crop rows same holds true for corn.. i would not go wider than 10 in as you want plant to cover the ground to prevent weed competition. in. higg herd densities under an acre plot is a waste of time as theu will decimate it before it cann grow with out measure taken. to prevent it.

you can mix into corn rows as well at 4 corn for 1 soybean .. corn can provide climbing structure for it as well as hide it from deer giving it a chance to mature

I did a plot with a soybean and sweet corn mix se we could enjoy the corn, but a heavy rain almost completely wiped out the plot. Next year I plan on mixing some corn, just to try. I dont have the money to fertilize heavily so i dont expect too much out of it. 

On 7/6/2018 at 5:54 PM, landtracdeerhunter said:

Cornell says a yield of about 5% less in 30" rows verses 7 1/2".   Precise seed depth and soil contact are more critical to yield. Do the deer prefer the wider row spacing?

I cant say the prefer it or not, but what I have seen in soybean fields with 30" rows,  is that deer will actually bed in between these rows while they are full of foliage still. You wouldn't think a P&Y buck could hide so well in a Green near matured Soybean field but they can lol. Watched what looked like an vacant soybean field turn into a bachelor pad. Right in the middle of the field bucks just started rising up out of their daytime beds. 

As for only 5% difference i am not too worried about that. I thought the number would be much different. I would imagine farmers utilize the 30in rows for spray rigs and such with less crop damage. 

[LET EM GROW]

9 hours ago, stubborn1VT said:

In my experience, soybeans in a 30" row will "flex" and still cover the ground.  As for pod yield, I have read that 15" rows are optimum.  I have no idea if that is really true, since I have never grown them commercially.  I have friends who do.  They all have their own theories.

I agree, I hear different story from each farmer, Ive asked. But in the end of the day, they all make there dollars the same way. 

6 hours ago, TACC said:

Looks great

Please advise what type of fencing you have used, and if that is enough to keep the deer off until later in the year.

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So far it is working good, I think i have an issue with the energizer, as It doesn't hit you as hard as it should. Im going to scrub the terminals with a wire brush hopefully today and see how it does. ITs been weed whacked around twice already to keep vegetation from touching it. since that will ground the system out. This rig is the Gallagher fence kit. Bought off amazon for 150$, including the extra 1500ft of wire. Runs off (6) D batteries. When it zapped good, it was enough to make you not ever want to touch it again, now its a dull zap, enough to make you jump some but, not enough to scare ya lol. The inside row is just caution tape, one about 36" and another around 15". Its not exactly how i wanted to do it, but i just followed the directions off the box the first time around. I will probably pick up another one for next year. 

[Nomad]

As for green vs brown. Sure they hammer them when green, but my experience, hunting over them 30 years , ( 1,000 acres planted this year so we hunt over a lot of bean fields ) is, they still eat them brown just not as much.

Ive watched them pick through the dirt after harvest every year .

Don’t know much about yield other then there are many factors and it varies in parts of the same field and certainly field to field .

[LET EM GROW]

Agreed, The power of green beans in phenomenal.

These will be brown and matured up for late season. Our first time hopefully having matured late season beans for end of gun into ML season.. One neighbor usually has soybeans on there deer heaven of a property, and even after the farmer harvest, the deer are in that field for weeks if not months afterwards. I found out first hand last year the power of green soybeans for early bow season. I had to replace cards in cams every few days.  

[LET EM GROW]

Sprayed all the beans last night. I always hit them later than i wanted too. Should have done it a couple weeks ago. They get too tall and not being planted in rows, the wheeler tires snap some stems. Hand sprayed the beans inside the fence. Tonight will broadcast a big bulb blend into them. A little earlier than normal for me but im booked for a long while out not. packing and moving in to our new home.  

Its so tempting to pull this fence down and let the deer in to feed, but this plot needs to be saved for late season only. They can have the other 2.  

[TACC]

Sprayed all the beans last night. I always hit them later than i wanted too. Should have done it a couple weeks ago. They get too tall and not being planted in rows, the wheeler tires snap some stems. Hand sprayed the beans inside the fence. Tonight will broadcast a big bulb blend into them. A little earlier than normal for me but im booked for a long while out not. packing and moving in to our new home.  
Its so tempting to pull this fence down and let the deer in to feed, but this plot needs to be saved for late season only. They can have the other 2.  

They look great, what did you spray them with?

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[LET EM GROW]

I sprayed them with glyphosate, to control grass and weeds growing up from under the beans. They are round up ready beans.