Farmers not planting crops. How much will it affect hunting?

[yetti462]

I hope to get my Ford 2row busy and get my patch planted before Wednesday.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Just saw a blurb on the news. Only 31% of corn has been planted (in Indiana) and 17% of Soy Beans. Both should be up in the high 80 to high 90% range by now (on average).

 

[ghitch75]

it won't bother my hunting at all on my ground.....my deer eat acorns...but i'm sure they will plant beans on our ground in Shelby county...

 

[Mgderf]

I would tend to think that the lack of crops for deer food may actually help some hunters.
Field crops may not be available, but as posted above, mast is in abundance this year.
Our woods looks like a jungle with all the rain we've gotten.

It would seem to me that with less food in the fields, it will cause the deer to forage in the woods for more of their sustenance.
I was at my property on Tuesday and the amount of acorns is astounding.

I don't think the deer are going to starve without corn this year, but they will have to forage more for their meals.
This should make for more opportunities for hunters.

This is my hope anyway.

 

[indiucky]

Not a lot of field crops in my hood so it shouldn't affect things too much. OTOH, I've never seen the browse grow like it is this year, its going absolutely crazy!

I know...

 

[Cattman]

If the farm you hunt doesn't get planted this year, approach the owner about strip food plots Turnips, etc. along the wood lines you hunt. They are considered cover crops and wouldn't hurt his eligibility for crop insurance on the corn or soybeans he was unable to plant.

 

[yetti462]

Just found out today 300 acres downstream of my place is not going to get planted. That'll help me out.

I got my corn planted Tuesday night. It Got flooded last night, never fails. Waited for June due to my history of battling the creek bottom and blamo 3" fell.

 

[rengler22]

Any update on this? What ended up happening on your farms/leases? Our lease has about a 50/50 split of soybean and corn; this is only the 2nd year we've hunted a lease with crops on it, so I'm not too familiar with it all and the implications of weather like we had this spring.

How late will corn be up this year? Good or bad thing based on the timing of the crops this year?

 

[JimH]

The big plus I see is no crops = no crop damage permits.

 

[phylodog]

Any update on this? What ended up happening on your farms/leases? Our lease has about a 50/50 split of soybean and corn; this is only the 2nd year we've hunted a lease with crops on it, so I'm not too familiar with it all and the implications of weather like we had this spring.

How late will corn be up this year? Good or bad thing based on the timing of the crops this year?

I don't know when corn will start being harvested around our farm but I can guarantee you we will be hunting the field edges up against it until it's gone.

 

[Rookie]

I talked to the farmer that owns a few of my hunting spots. He said it looked like harvest would be around Thanksgiving.

 

[yetti462]

I did see a corn field getting picked on Monday.

 

[rengler22]

I don't know when corn will start being harvested around our farm but I can guarantee you we will be hunting the field edges up against it until it's gone.

Good plan. What is your setup when you hunt like this? Tree stand along the edge where possible? Ground blind? Something else?

 

[rengler22]

I did see a corn field getting picked on Monday.

So it sounds like anywhere from now until Thanksgiving depending on where you are and when they planted. We will have to wait and see! I can hardly think about work with Oct 1st just around the corner.

 

[phylodog]

Good plan. What is your setup when you hunt like this? Tree stand along the edge where possible? Ground blind? Something else?

We hunt out of lock on stands almost exclusively. We prefer to be 20(ish) yards inside of the woods with a clear shot to the field edge when hunting standing corn. Last year we had an encounter with one of the biggest bucks on our farm on the edge of a standing corn field. A week later my partner killed the largest we had on a different edge of that same field and I killed the one we'd had the encounter with a few days later from the same stand. When the corn is up and the rut is near or on, a corn field butting up against the woods is an awesome place to be.

 

[Mark-DuCo]

I haven't seen any picked yet, but i have seen some corn cut for silage.

 

[johntheplinker]

Some of the corn down here was already picked 2 weeks ago, quite a bit more looks ready. Some of the beans are just starting to turn yellow but most are still green as can be.
With it being so dry the last month or so a lot of the excessive vegetation is really dying off.

 

[Leadeye]

A lot of farmers put out late beans on bottom land because of high water in the spring. Doesn't affect my area as there are no crops for miles.

 

[ghitch75]

only crop around here is acorns....

 

[yetti462]

only crop around here is acorns....

Red/black oak are loaded this year. I found a red oak limb on the ground and no so sure it didn't break due to acorn weight. Seen some loaded persimmon trees too.