Food Plots Dove Fields

[CBU93]

So every year, there is some talk about dove fields and planting sunflowers...Chaneylake has that market cornered with great results most every year. I thank him for being so responsive to questions and open with his approach each season.

To take this topic and turn it slightly...what other crops would you suggest for possibly planting as a primary dove field and the prep involved?

As an example, sunflowers are king IMO for dove hunting and a recommended crop by TWRA in their videos. Challenges are with equipment and cost...lots of spraying, best to plant in rows, timing is crucial to have mature seeds by hunt dates.

Simple field, break up ground, spread wheat as an agricultural practice...simple, can be more cost effective. Challenges are in timing and broadcast rates to avoid baiting, confusion amongst hunting party as to legality.

What would be something in the middle? What say about brown top millet grown to maturity and bush hogged? Effective? What equipment is needed?

Any other options? I have access to tractor, disk, hare, potentially a small sprayer, three point broadcast spreader.

 

[MickThompson]

Millet is a good choice especially if you have too many deer to grow sunflowers and wheat can be a good component too if the deer and turkeys don't strip all the heads first.


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[CBU93]

Mick,
Will bush hogging suffice or do I need to disc as well to provide some bare dirt for the doves?

 

[nwsg76]

Letting someone cut your millet for hay is recommended. It will be cut a a lower height and will be used by doves more than bushog. Remember stubble height of 3 inches is equal to chest high on a dove. 1 to 2 inches is preferred. We have wheat, sunflowers ,and millet for our dove buffet.

 

[MickThompson]

Mick,
Will bush hogging suffice or do I need to disc as well to provide some bare dirt for the doves?

Bush hogging makes a bunch of thatch and buried seed. Disking just buries it. I would either have it hayed like NWSG76 said or try to burn it if the millet is dry enough and the weather cooperates.


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[MickThompson]

Growing is definitely the way to go. You can legally top sow 150# wheat per acre for a deer plot or you can grow >2000# of wheat grain on the same acre.


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[Chaneylake]

Before I had all the equipment that I needed, I did the follow and it worked decently well.

Burn down with gly 4

Once vegetation is dead lightly disc

Once disked blend sunflower seeds with fertilizer and sow over top
I would cut sowing rate about half so can go over twice

Very lightly disc in seed and fertilizer

 

[Chaneylake]

Mick,
Will bush hogging suffice or do I need to disc as well to provide some bare dirt for the doves?

Doves are lazy feeders and clean is better

 

[Chaneylake]

You can do any type seed as posted above, just check on ideal date

 

[CBU93]

Chaney,
Do you use brand name seed? Any post emergent herbicides? Or pesticides recommended?

 

[nwsg76]

Here are some products to get you started. Which exact product you need is based on your field history and current weeds.
Look up university of Tennessee publication weed control manual. Entire section devoted to sunflowers.

 

[hillbillyfab]

https://extension.tennessee.edu › ...PDF
Web results
2019 Weed Control Manual for Tennessee - UT Extension

I looked this up, because we plant a few small plots of sunflowers. I'm always looking to make our fields better.

 

[Chaneylake]

Chaney,
Do you use brand name seed? Any post emergent herbicides? Or pesticides recommended?

I am using a hybrid seed this year(2020). Its very short stature and 88 days maturity. $300.00 per 225,000 seed. we need 4 bags this spring.
I basically spent all of February trying to find this seed. I finally found a seed outfit in North Dakota that would ship me 4 bags of seed.

My idea on early maturity is that the sooner I have food available the doves will build habits on feeding in our fields.

I burned down our 7 fields on March 28. I sprayed 32 ounces of gly-4 and 8 ounces of dicamba in 10 gallons of water per acre.

In about another week(when dirt is dry enough) I will run scratcher do-all over all fields.
while running scratcher do-all I am spraying out the front of the do-all 32 ounces in 10 gallons of water "Treflan Herbicide"
Treflan has to be incorporated into the soil or it will "evaporate"

once the above is completed I am ready to plant.

this year I will be planting a seed every 8 inches on 38 inch rows. My vacuum planter is just that accurate.
at the same time I will be spraying out the back of the planter
7 ounces of Zidua and 24 ounces of Duel Magnum and 2 ounces of generic insecticide in 10 gallons of water per acre.

if the above works like 2019 did then I am finished until sunflower plants mature. At the most I might have to spot spray some grasses with "Select Herbicide"

once plants mature I spray over the top 32 ounces of gly-4, 8 ounces of dicamba and 1 ounce of generic cimmaron.

the last spraying gets anything that possibly made it through the summer and keeps our fields basically clean until the following spring.

about 2 weeks before opening day of dove season I will bush hog no more than 10 percent in each field.
about all I bush hog is a 10 foot path around the perimeter of each field and one pass through the center of each field.

If the fields are clean then a person should bush hog very little.

 

[Chaneylake]

If Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas ag. extension does not mention "Zidua herbicide" then they are way behind on keeping sunflowers clean of weeds especially "pig weed".

 

[jmb4wd]

I have a food plot customer I plant corn for In Williamson co and each year they kind of dual purpose there big food plots.

They work ground in fall and sow a custom mix of wheat, oats rape and such and let It stand all summer. They then burn it off with controlled burn in august and ground is so clean. Also broadcast some feed wheat at that time and they always have a big shoot.

 

[Deer 1]

I am using a hybrid seed this year(2020). Its very short stature and 88 days maturity. $300.00 per 225,000 seed. we need 4 bags this spring.
I basically spent all of February trying to find this seed. I finally found a seed outfit in North Dakota that would ship me 4 bags of seed.

My idea on early maturity is that the sooner I have food available the doves will build habits on feeding in our fields.

I burned down our 7 fields on March 28. I sprayed 32 ounces of gly-4 and 8 ounces of dicamba in 10 gallons of water per acre.

In about another week(when dirt is dry enough) I will run scratcher do-all over all fields.
while running scratcher do-all I am spraying out the front of the do-all 32 ounces in 10 gallons of water "Treflan Herbicide"
Treflan has to be incorporated into the soil or it will "evaporate"

once the above is completed I am ready to plant.

this year I will be planting a seed every 8 inches on 38 inch rows. My vacuum planter is just that accurate.
at the same time I will be spraying out the back of the planter
7 ounces of Zidua and 24 ounces of Duel Magnum and 2 ounces of generic insecticide in 10 gallons of water per acre.

if the above works like 2019 did then I am finished until sunflower plants mature. At the most I might have to spot spray some grasses with "Select Herbicide"

once plants mature I spray over the top 32 ounces of gly-4, 8 ounces of dicamba and 1 ounce of generic cimmaron.

the last spraying gets anything that possibly made it through the summer and keeps our fields basically clean until the following spring.

about 2 weeks before opening day of dove season I will bush hog no more than 10 percent in each field.
about all I bush hog is a 10 foot path around the perimeter of each field and one pass through the center of each field.

If the fields are clean then a person should bush hog very little.

Bumping this up. It's getting close and I'm getting everything ready well in advance. Buying supplies, getting equipment ready etc.

Beginner questions:

Chemicals in large quantities aren't cheap. I'm only planting 2ish acres of sunflowers most of the sizes would last me a lifetime. . Maybe 5 acres total with other crops. Corn, wheat, oats, etc.

Source for smaller amount of Zidua or generic for example?

Doing the same planting strategy for 2022?

Any help with Buying smaller amounts of Chemicals?

Tips and tricks to help always appreciated?

 

[Chaneylake]

Bumping this up. It's getting close and I'm getting everything ready well in advance. Buying supplies, getting equipment ready etc.

Beginner questions:

Chemicals in large quantities aren't cheap. I'm only planting 2ish acres of sunflowers most of the sizes would last me a lifetime. . Maybe 5 acres total with other crops. Corn, wheat, oats, etc.

Doing the same planting strategy for 2022?

Any help with Buying smaller amounts Chemicals?

Tips and tricks to help always appreciated?

Nothing has changed except price of chemicals and the job of finding what you need.
I bought everything that I needed for the entire year. A little over $3000.00 total.
It's just the nature of the beast to have to buy 2.5 gallon chemicals and actually need less than 1/2 of the container.

 

[Deer 1]

Do you lime? Do soil test?

I've already got of urea, clearfield seed, & round up. Going to do some trading for a smaller amount of beyond.

Do you fertilize any other time? Or only when planting?

 

[Chaneylake]

I let the farmers that I rent fields from handle lime,etc.
Fertilizer before I run scratcher do-all to incorporate Fertilizer into top 2 inches of soil.

 

[Chaneylake]

Beyond will not kill pigweed