farm hunter

My family & I skied into camp this past weekend in 48degree temps. It was balmy - and after several above freezing days - the snow has settled quite a bit.

It hadn't snowed in over a week so I knew there would be good signs of use of the food plots. Its always educational to see where the deer enter the plots and when and how they use them with no hunting pressure 0 you can learn alot by what the tracks in the snow tell you.

Here's a few pictures.

This clover plot is getting good use.




The trails in & out of the corn are worn - hope to find sheds here in a couple weeks.



This clover plot is getting plenty of snowmobile traffic!


I retreived the Game Camera for the winter and had the film done - The deer are fast losing their antlers and the turkeys blow a hole through my wallet coming to the corn fields - but here's a couple deer pics from about 2 weeks ago when it was below zero.





Looking forward to spring now!

FH

StrmChzr

cool pics! what cam are you using (my Stealth Cam MC2-G Game Camera hasn't produced one quality picture, ever!)?

i gave up on corn for one reason: TURKEYS----i can't keep 'em out and/or i can't keep from spooking them when bowhunting deer.....good riddance!

lawnfarmer

Thanks for the pictures, you always do so well with them. I've had the same problem with turkeys in the corn. As many as 45 at one time. Only have two old toms now as residents. Funny to watch my wifes chickens shoo them away. They seem to wait for me to plant something. When I broadcast rye I have to do it twice.
Is that a shooting lane across the corn field? Are you trying anything different in the Spring? The sunflowers I put in didn't do to well. They looked a lot like the ones you planted. I won't do them again, the turkeys liked them since they were pretty low to the ground.

RonM

Sean can you tell if the deer are eating any of the standing corn.

farm hunter

Thanks guys,

Strmchzr -

The camera is a cheapo - Stealth. I've got alot of pictures on it - sometime I'll do just a thread on Buck pictures from 2004. My biggest complaint is Film developing costs, and the batteries cannot handle ZERO degrees very well. Sure I get some bummer pics too, but I think most of us do.

Terry - This spring will be pretty much more of the same - though I think I'm trying some brassicas - spring planted - and also July planted. I also plan to broadcast Rye/clover into some of the soybeans at the end of August next year.

Ron -

The deer are eating the standing corn, in fact it seems to be the main course. I still think more than 1/2 is still there - I'll be surprised if it all gets ate this year - there sure was alot of it. We are getting lots of use, but its been mostly mild compared to the last couple winters - and the roving hoards of yarding deer havent passed through this year. We probably have 15-20 deer working over the plots pretty heavy.

There are still alot of apples to be had - even with the snow the deer are digging for them big time, and the green plots (clover, rye) are getting some decent use.

FH

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Dan O.

Great pictures farm hunter. It's been nice so far seeing the winter so light. The deer are definitely hitting your plots and making use of your work last year. It looks like the snowmobile trail runs right next to the corn plot. I let the snowmobile club use part of my property for a provincial trail, I don't know whether your's is voluntary or not.

Dan O.

RonM

Farm hunter I was thinking that you are going to have to pick the corn either by hand or machine begore you start working the ground this spring,, especially if you are going to put that section in beans, remember you cant spray it to kill it out of the beans when it comes up volunteer, and it will come up volunteer if left in the field..

farm hunter

Thanks Dan -

Yes we let a local club use the property to pass through. We always had snowmobilers in the past - we do not live on the property. By allowing the club to put their trail trough - it seems that we have less wandering traffic on the property. I like to use the trail to get into the cabin on - its about a 1 mile hike from where I can park. It doesn't appear to bother the deer at all.

FH

farm hunter

Ron -

It will be interesting to see if the RR corn volunteer's or not. I think if it really does become a problem - I can raise the sickle mower above the Beans and cut the stray corn (do you think it would ear out? - or do Hybrids generally not?)

I hope there is some corn left - I will pick a bunch for the birds, and to have on hand. But I still think that most of it will get ate upbefore Mid April.

Do you think I can Brushhog the stalks - and Just disk it - then plant soybeans next spring? I guess I don't see why not, there is almost no grasses/sod to deal with.

I'm liking these RR plots -

FH