# Buck Forage Oats



## destincabo (Jul 29, 2014)

Does anyone have thoughts on Buck Forage Oats? Am trying got decide what to plant for my first fall/winter plots and some folks in the area swear by them? I'm in S.GA near Bainbridge.


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## shdw633 (Jul 29, 2014)

I have used BFO's and "bulk" oats and to be honest I have not seen any difference in how the deer take to my plots over the years.  I bought into the hype when they first came out but did not see any difference between them and any other oat out there.  That being said I am sure there are those out there that will disagree with me but that is just my opinion.


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## Gadestroyer74 (Jul 29, 2014)

My opinion is like yours aswell ^^


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## Crakajak (Jul 30, 2014)

I will also agree.
Oats will do well that far south,I would add some clover and chicory or rape to the mixture also.


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## Core Lokt (Jul 30, 2014)

BFO's have a pretty bag, coker 227's do not. that is the only difference that I have seen.


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## OmenHonkey (Jul 30, 2014)

As far as I can tell over the years of planting oats for food plots, I tried the BFO and in my opinion an Oat is an Oat. Feed oats have worked great for me and are cheaper.


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## destincabo (Jul 30, 2014)

OmenHonkey said:


> As far as I can tell over the years of planting oats for food plots, I tried the BFO and in my opinion an Oat is an Oat. Feed oats have worked great for me and are cheaper.



thanks to everyone that has replied. it seems the consensus is a forage oat is a forage oat. And I don't need the pretty bag of oats.  I had read about oats, wheat and clover (crimson or durana)

Would you mix wheat with the oats and clover or just go straight oats and clover?  I have zero experience with planting or hunting over oats or wheat. This is the first fall and winter for the property so I have no idea what the deer  prefer. 

thanks for y'alls info to this amateur food plot planter.
As for my equipment I have a tractor, disc, seep spreader and drag. So I've got the basic equipment to get after it.

Fields have were limed last spring and they are growing an excellent stand of Iron Clay peas that were planted early May. So I've good soil to work with.


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## shdw633 (Jul 30, 2014)

I add wheat, crimson clover, rape and red top turnips to my mix of oats.


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## Gadestroyer74 (Jul 30, 2014)

I planted coaker 227 oats and gore wheat top dressed with white clover and red clover


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## destincabo (Jul 30, 2014)

I've been reading about winter wheat. I've not heard of Gore Wheat. I've googled it and found Georgia Gore Wheat, that must be the one you are talking about?


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## doerun101 (Jul 30, 2014)

Agree, Coker $10.00 pr bag vs $30.00+ pr bag... Can afford to top with clover and mix with winter peas.


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## shdw633 (Jul 30, 2014)

doerun101 said:


> Agree, Coker $10.00 pr bag vs $30.00+ pr bag... Can afford to top with clover and mix with winter peas.



I'm thinking of going with the winter peas over the turnips this season, do they mow them down as fast as they come up?  The turnips and rape will last for a while till that first frost before the deer tear them up on my lease but they won't let anything else get above an inch tall without taking it out!!


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## Gadestroyer74 (Jul 30, 2014)

destincabo said:


> I've been reading about winter wheat. I've not heard of Gore Wheat. I've googled it and found Georgia Gore Wheat, that must be the one you are talking about?



I guess that's what it's called


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## destincabo (Jul 30, 2014)

Gadestroyer74 said:


> I planted coaker 227 oats and gore wheat top dressed with white clover and red clover



What percentage do you mix?

I've seen some plot seeding mixes:
wheat or oats 40 lb/acre
Crimson Clover 15 lb/acre
arrowleaf clover 5 lbs/acre

Would you go with something like
20lb each gore wheat and oats
10 lb white clover
10 lbs red clover


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## Gadestroyer74 (Jul 30, 2014)

Woo wee that's a lot of clover .. The recommended rate for clover is 5 lb an acres I believe. always mixed half and half on the wheat and oats and then used clover based on my plot size usually couple pounds a plot. Maybe some these more educated folks might know better than me . That's a shade bit over my pay scale lol


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## destincabo (Jul 30, 2014)

Gadestroyer74 said:


> Woo wee that's a lot of clover .. The recommended rate for clover is 5 lb an acres I believe. always mixed half and half on the wheat and oats and then used clover based on my plot size usually couple pounds a plot. Maybe some these more educated folks might know better than me . That's a shade bit over my pay scale lol



thanks for the reply back. I'm a salt water fisherman so this is all new stuff to me LOL. i'll back the cover down to 5 lbs per acre and go 50/50 wheat to oats. appreciate your input.


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## Gadestroyer74 (Jul 30, 2014)

Your welcome there are some very knowledgeable folks in here I'm sure they will be along soon to shed some light aswell


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## shdw633 (Jul 30, 2014)

Gadestroyer74 said:


> Your welcome there are some very knowledgeable folks in here I'm sure they will be along soon to shed some light aswell



I think you covered it quite well!!


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## elfiii (Jul 31, 2014)

destincabo said:


> Would you mix wheat with the oats and clover or just go straight oats and clover?  I have zero experience with planting or hunting over oats or wheat. This is the first fall and winter for the property so I have no idea what the deer  prefer.



30% oats, 30% grain rye, 30% grain wheat and the remaining 10% can be a mix of rape and clover (Crimson or Yucchi Arrowleaf). There are plenty of seed companies that offer it pre-mixed.

Before you go spending money on expensive Durana seed I would make sure I had my soil pH where it needs to be. Do cereal grains with some brassicas or annual clovers this year, turn it into the soil as a soil amendment next Spring, get your pH right and then try the perennial white clovers next Fall.


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## Milkman (Jul 31, 2014)

IMO the biggest difference in Buck Forage and other no brand combine run oats will be noticed at the cash register


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## Gadestroyer74 (Jul 31, 2014)

Note when playing brassicas you don't use nearly the seed rate as they have a lot of top growth and will choke out other crops


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## destincabo (Jul 31, 2014)

milkman said:


> imo the biggest difference in buck forage and other no brand combine run oats will be noticed at the cash register



10-4


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## destincabo (Jul 31, 2014)

elfiii said:


> 30% oats, 30% grain rye, 30% grain wheat and the remaining 10% can be a mix of rape and clover (Crimson or Yucchi Arrowleaf). There are plenty of seed companies that offer it pre-mixed.
> 
> Before you go spending money on expensive Durana seed I would make sure I had my soil pH where it needs to be. Do cereal grains with some brassicas or annual clovers this year, turn it into the soil as a soil amendment next Spring, get your pH right and then try the perennial white clovers next Fall.



Thanks for the tip. When did a soil test in January, have no idea where it is, but we had 2 tons per acre spread and discked into our larger plots. Have grown some great ICP plots, as well as some sorghum, alcye clover, etc.  Friend who gave us some planting advise (has lots of land in n.Florida) says we have good soil.  Now that I've learned a lot more since we got the property I'll be much more knowledgeable about our next soil test. Even in small wooded plots we have opened up in the last month, I've put 500 lbs of pellitized lime in them just to get them going. No way to get the big lime truck into the small plots, but I'll test all soil and lime accordingly in all plots after turkey season.  The way things have grown, the ph must be pretty good as our plants are growing well.


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## Gadestroyer74 (Jul 31, 2014)

If I was trying to improve my soil in the spring I would plant buck wheat. Let it go to seed. Then bush hog it will reseed itself before it goes to seed plow it under as a green manure crop depending on the plot size I always dump alittle lime every year just for good measures. I tend to watch what farmers do when I drive I rarely ever seem them fertilize anything. Sometimes I see them plow in liquid nitrogen for corn. See them lime in jan etc most usually rotate crops that compliment the other. I believe the same process works with what we do for deer. Keep a plant actively growing then plowing it under before it seeds adds green manure to the soil and builds it. This not really needing to add a lot. That's how I do it. Soil test is the correct way to do it. I just never have this has worked for me for nearly 20 years


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## destincabo (Jul 31, 2014)

Gadestroyer74 said:


> If I was trying to improve my soil in the spring I would plant buck wheat. Let it go to seed. Then bush hog it will reseed itself before it goes to seed plow it under as a green manure crop depending on the plot size I always dump alittle lime every year just for good measures. I tend to watch what farmers do when I drive I rarely ever seem them fertilize anything. Sometimes I see them plow in liquid nitrogen for corn. See them lime in jan etc most usually rotate crops that compliment the other. I believe the same process works with what we do for deer. Keep a plant actively growing then plowing it under before it seeds adds green manure to the soil and builds it. This not really needing to add a lot. That's how I do it. Soil test is the correct way to do it. I just never have this has worked for me for nearly 20 years




thanks for the tip on that. we put in iron clay peas this spring on May 1 into all of our fields. For several reasons, start a spring summer feed for the deer and I had also hear that ICP's were good for the soil (Nitrogen).  This is a big experiment for me, trying to find out what works, what will grow, what will the deer eat. Its been a fun learning experience and everyone said you'll make mistakes along the way. Which I have, by planting some clover in May, but I had seeds and I couldn't stand it (they were not going to grow in the closet).  Lesson learned. LOL


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## Forest Grump (Jul 31, 2014)

Milkman said:


> IMO the biggest difference in Buck Forage and other no brand combine run oats will be noticed at the cash register



Milkman: did you ever do a trial, where you planted, side by side, BFO vs. bob, Coker, feed oats vs. wheat, etc...?
And I don't mean, well, one year we planted X, or we put one plot in X, another in Y... As much as that seems like a test, it is not equivalent to doing strips, or test plots, to see if your deer actually prefer X over Y. 

Next, darn if it doesn't vary: I know people who plant rape, & their deer eat it like it's good; my deer wouldn't eat a rape plant if they were starving slap to death, I can plant a mix of rape, turnips & radish: they will eat all but the rape, it will be 3 feet across, not a bite. Everything else is a stem. 

I do tests that are as standardized as I can make them, removing as many variables as I can. If you will look at what buckforage does, it is far in excess of what other seed companies do in terms of trying to determine deer preference, palatability, productivity, etc...

I have seen people on here referring to them having a "fancy bag with a picture on it". What in the world, people? That is near about the most boring paper bag you could have? Have you seen Pennington's? That's a pretty bag! And heck yes, I have planted their seeds! How else could I judge or comment on them...oh, well, I guess I could just offer a random opinion based on having planted some X & the deer there ate it. Why not just plant ryegrass, I don't know how many people I have seen on here say "pawpaw always planted..." Some places, you could take green spray paint & deer would eat whatever was green. 

Now, is it worth it to you to pay double or more for BFO's? 

I think that is an individual decision. In many cases, we will not have temps cold enough to freeze oats out during deer season, so if you are interested only in attracting deer & not year-round nutrition, buy stock oats. 

BFO will put on 10X the tillers of an Ag oat. It will remain in juvenile stage longer, so it is both more palatable and more digestible; and it provides higher protein. Whether it is worth the difference in price is up to you. 

I have posted several videos, indicating how much actual research & development goes into selecting these varieties, more can be provided, if necessary, but it shouldn't be.



Gadestroyer74 said:


> If I was trying to improve my soil in the spring I would plant buck wheat. Let it go to seed. Then bush hog it will reseed itself before it goes to seed plow it under as a green manure crop depending on the plot size I always dump alittle lime every year just for good measures. I tend to watch what farmers do when I drive I rarely ever seem them fertilize anything. Sometimes I see them plow in liquid nitrogen for corn. See them lime in jan etc most usually rotate crops that compliment the other. I believe the same process works with what we do for deer. Keep a plant actively growing then plowing it under before it seeds adds green manure to the soil and builds it. This not really needing to add a lot. That's how I do it. Soil test is the correct way to do it. I just never have this has worked for me for nearly 20 years



When you are watching what those farmers are doing, do you ever look any further into it?

They put fertilizer (esp. N) in furrow, as liquid, which you guys can't do, in corn, because it has a very high N demand. You need to learn what your crop is removing from the soil each year, vs what you are putting back. And you absolutely MUST do a soil test: it may very well be that everything you _Think_ you are applying, has no effect at all. 

Crop rotation is not done to "compliment" the prior crop, but rather to plant things that do not support the same diseases or pests, or so you can eradicate a problem weed.


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## shdw633 (Aug 1, 2014)

Forest Grump said:


> Milkman: did you ever do a trial, where you planted, side by side, BFO vs. bob, Coker, feed oats vs. wheat, etc...?
> And I don't mean, well, one year we planted X, or we put one plot in X, another in Y... As much as that seems like a test, it is not equivalent to doing strips, or test plots, to see if your deer actually prefer X over Y.



Forest I know that you know a ton about these things; and with all due respect, I will have to disagree on this one.  I do those side by sides on our 2000 acres and close to 70 or more foodplots, and as I stated I saw no difference in the consumption or attraction to the BFO over the standard bulk oat that are put in our guest stands.  

To be honest I think pressure to an area has more to do with deer attraction and consumption of a foodplot in an area than the actual forage that is in it a lot of the times, i.e. if I have two refrigerators, 1 filled with Bud Light and the other with Old Milwaukee Light and my wife is sitting by the fridge with the Bud light in it.....I'm going to the Old Milwaukee fridge so I don't have to hear her complain about how many beers I have drank!!!

As far as the protein goes, how much more protein is in BFO versus other oat products, I can't find that information on any of the BFO sites and seem to get the same information you just posted almost word for word.  We all know that if you are planting for protein consumption there are much better forage to be planted then oats so that being said why not spend the extra money you saved on not buying BFO and buy those seeds, such as rape, turnips, clover, chicory, etc. that are better at producing protein than oats and are better attractants than oats.  As far as being younger shoots and more juvenile of a plant being more attractive to deer, I again go to the other forage most of us plant in the foodplot, such as IC peas, winter peas, clover, turnips, etc. as being a better attractant than the oats.

That all being said, if I was just going with only oats then I might spend the ridiculously extra money on BFO, but since I put a variety of forage in my plots, I will save the money from the BFO and put it into the other, more beneficial seed.  JMO


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## Milkman (Aug 1, 2014)

Forest,

I have not done a side by side. I have done plots in different locations with one and the other and did not see any difference in grass production and deer utilization.

I have also done the Athens Seed fall mix in different locations. Their regular Fall mix uses the high dollar brand seed. The Fall economy mix uses no name brand.  I found no difference in either of them producing a good food plot. The economy is about 50% of the cost.

However, I will be the first to admit that I don't look at   food plots I do as scientifically as I probably should. I am always interested in your posts and learn a lot from them.


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## Gadestroyer74 (Aug 1, 2014)

I will second what the other two have said above . I also stated you should do a soil test for proper preparation. I am a truck driver and drive by the same areas hundreds of times mainly Indiana Illinois Kentucky Ohio. I don't know everything they do. However over 21 years I have seen about it all. I know the rotate crops in the same areas corn here one year beans in it the next. I have seen them with there spray rigs spraying beans and crop dusters spraying corn etc. seen them liming and all that. Also seen them doing soil test. Seen them pulling the tanks behind plows plowing I the liquid . I'm not a farmer and don't claim to be. From watching learning and reading and trial and error I have figured out what works for me.. I always learn a lot for forest gump post and glad he is here along with the others. Aslong as you have fun enjoy what your doing and it makes you happy wether right or wrong that's all that really matters. Deer hunting/ farming shouldn't turn into a business and take out the sport and fun in it. It just becomes another job then. I'm gonna keep doing it the way I have for 20 years works for me


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## dblnranch (Aug 1, 2014)

Forrest, I'm with you on this.  I have done side by side plantings with BFO for the last 7 years.   Why the last 7 years you ask?  Because after having success with BFO the first season, I began putting every variety of oat or other grains up against it.  Plotspike, bob oats, feed oats, tri-mixes(oats-wheat-rye), straight winter wheat, straight rye, and then one time I broke the bank with a mix from Whitetail Institute. This set up I use during bow and gun season so I will always plant a variety in this plot and between the adjacent planted pines regardless.  I usually plant two grains and over seed with rape and turnips close to my stand for bow season. My motivation is not to conduct a study but it sort of informally works out that way. I have a large elevated stand there so when my boys are with me, the likelihood of seeing deer is always good.

This takes place on my N. Florida farm in Madison county.  Sandy loam soil. Two 90 yard strips that vary from 10-20 yards wide.  I disc, level, add seed / fertilizer, then disc again.  I have also yet to disc to deep.

The BFO has out performed every other oat I plant.  I would put winter wheat second ahead of the plotspike brand(can't remember the oat variety). 

If anyone is traveling through Arkansas, like I was on a family vacation last month, convince your wife you need to drive through Little Rock for some reason.  Give them a call to be sure they are there and stop by.  By no means  are these guys cooperate America. I dealt directly with the founder of BFO and his son. Mr. John Butler gave me a quick background and history of the development of this variety, which is its own branded variety "buck oats" as of a few years ago.  I could only squeeze 2 bags ($28/bag)in my wife's mini van and had to cut my conversation off with Mr. Butler after almost 20 minutes of talking deer. He was very genuine and I could tell had a passion for his work.   My kinda person.  My impression is these guys are certainly not only in it for money, like a few seed companies I am sure you know of are.

As long as I can afford to hunt, I can afford to pay a little extra for this quality seed.  IMO, considering the cost that goes into planting, it is well worth it.


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## Forest Grump (Aug 1, 2014)

Milkman said:


> Forest,
> 
> I have not done a side by side. I have done plots in different locations with one and the other and did not see any difference in grass production and deer utilization.
> 
> ...



Milkman: 

I intended that to sound more like a question & less like an accusation, but as usual, I could have said a lot in that post better than I did. I have been advised that posting after drinking is an unwise practice, but I'm sure I will have to do some more tests before making up my mind...

No one should be expected to plant their plots like they were doing a scientific experiment. Hunting is supposed to be fun, or at least, it used to be that way. 

What I ran into, when trying different things different ways, was that I had a lot of variables that came into play & affected the results, other than what I was trying to test. 
What I've taken to doing lately, is using a drill, which I know most folks don't have, and filling one side with oats & the other with say, wheat. Or beans vs peas. Then I get a 7 foot wide strip of X next to one of Y in the same spot, so they have the same location, soil, weather, pressure, etc...
But I've done mixtures, patches, 1/2 a plot, X one year, Y the next, whatever I could think of. 

Here are a few things I learned concerning BFO's:

1: I do think deer prefer them over other cereals. But will they pick them out of a mix? Nope. Will they walk through 100 acres of whatever to eat 1 acre of BFO's? Not usually.

2: I have yet to see them winter burn. I have seen that in Coker, Plotspike, Pennington mixes, and with Harrison Oats. I have also seen deer eat oats that were yellowed from freeze damage, but they would much prefer to eat ones that are green & lush. Whether they will burn (or freeze out & die) during deer season depends on the weather that year. 

3: I have definitely seen that BFO's remain in the juvenile growth phase much longer, and that they put on lots more tillers (at least twice as many, usually 6-12). What's important about that is the oat is more digestible, nutritious & palatable to the deer. I plant everything as a nutrition plot first, so I want the deer to utilize it as much of the year as possible. 

4: I always plant some BFO's, but almost never all BFO's. That has a lot to do with price & limited supply, but also, I'm always testing or experimenting with something, plus, I like having some wheat out there somewhere too.

If I only had one plot, & was going to plant cereals in it, I would buy BFO's. The cost of seed is about the least cost in a good plot, compared to all the rest that goes into it. But everybody has to assess their own situation & decide for themselves. I usually suggest when people ask if they should plant them to try one bag of buckforage, & plant the rest in whatever else you want to try, & see if you see a difference. If you don't it may not be worth it in your case to spend more for a certain seed. But when people suggest that they cost 35$ because they print a buck on the bag, that is simply wrong. It has to do with the selection & research that goes into the product, & to an extent by the limited supply of and the patent on them.


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## shdw633 (Aug 1, 2014)

Forest Grump said:


> 4: I always plant some BFO's, but almost never all BFO's. That has a lot to do with price & limited supply, but also, I'm always testing or experimenting with something, plus, I like having some wheat out there somewhere too.



Have you ever mixed them with other oats as a way of averaging your cost of oats?  Maybe a 75/25 Coker to BFO or even a 50/50 mix?  I would think this is a way for someone who has multiple foodplots to offset the cost of BFO while still having some of the advantages you speak of regarding BFO.  I will say that my foodplots did get burned after the winter snow and freezes last year and it basically left nothing for the deer after that, (though we do feed year long protein feed so I wasn't worried about them starving), that being said, I will admit that I did not take into consideration the cold weather application of the oats when I made my statements; however, how often do we get that kind of weather in Central/Southern Georgia, still, it would have been nice if at least 25 to 50% of the oats would have survived last season.


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## Forest Grump (Aug 1, 2014)

shdw633 said:


> As far as the protein goes, how much more protein is in BFO versus other oat products, I can't find that information on any of the BFO sites and seem to get the same information you just posted almost word for word.  We all know that if you are planting for protein consumption there are much better forage to be planted then oats so that being said why not spend the extra money you saved on not buying BFO and buy those seeds, such as rape, turnips, clover, chicory, etc. that are better at producing protein than oats and are better attractants than oats.  As far as being younger shoots and more juvenile of a plant being more attractive to deer, I again go to the other forage most of us plant in the foodplot, such as IC peas, winter peas, clover, turnips, etc. as being a better attractant than the oats.



I'm afraid your protein content of buckforage oats vs other oats is difficult to answer, & here is why:

The protein content of cereal grains is directly tied to their fertilization, specifically N, but not exclusively N. So it depends on your fertility, what you can get out of them. I will give you an example in a second, but first also realize that deer primarily consume cereal grains in fall and clovers in spring (this has been shown in many controlled studies). What they seek in fall, & cereals are high in, are carbohydrates and Phosphorous. As spring approaches, their need for protein increases, which coincides with the clover growth (clovers have more protein & calcium). This is what makes that combination such a good one. 

Now, back to the protein thing: Dr. Kroll does a field day at the Nacogdoches facility every year. Buckforage used to have a video of one year's tour on their site, but they re-did the site this year & it is no longer available. I have tried to find it elsewhere on the internet without success (they say once something is on the internet, it never leaves, but if so it sure gets hard to find). During part of that tour, he's standing in a plot of BFO's & asks the people there to guess what the protein content is (they had just had it tested). If I remember right it was just under 30%! (28 or 29). And those oats were already in exponential growth, but had not put up a flag leaf to flower yet. They were about to kill them to release the clover & chicory planted in them, because nutrition & palatability plummet when they go to seed. One does need to understand that they were using more fertility than a typical food plot, including a late application of ammon. nitrate, & they even can vary the deer density in different areas for study purposes. 

He would tell you don't plant brassicas, but I do, (in moderation, without sulfur in the fertilizer), & consider them important to my overall nutrition program. You mentioned iron-clay peas, they're warm season: the first good frost & they're dead. I planted & planted Austrian winter peas (& even nutrigreen & secada peas too) until I finally gave up because I could not get deer to eat them anywhere. I could grow beautiful peas, vines 4 feet long, they'd maybe take one bite & never touch them. You want something that will dramatically increase the cost of a seed mix though, put them in. They are very expensive. 

Turnips are good for Dec & Jan, but really need cold to get palatable, & as spring nears, if there are any left, they are trying to bolt. They are super cheap though, but heavy N feeders. I get much earlier usage from radishes, personally. The clover thing we already went over, it's highest value is spring (both for attraction & as a food source)


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## Forest Grump (Aug 1, 2014)

shdw633 said:


> Have you ever mixed them with other oats as a way of averaging your cost of oats?  Maybe a 75/25 Coker to BFO or even a 50/50 mix?  I would think this is a way for someone who has multiple foodplots to offset the cost of BFO while still having some of the advantages you speak of regarding BFO.  I will say that my foodplots did get burned after the winter snow and freezes last year and it basically left nothing for the deer after that, (though we do feed year long protein feed so I wasn't worried about them starving), that being said, I will admit that I did not take into consideration the cold weather application of the oats when I made my statements; however, how often do we get that kind of weather in Central/Southern Georgia, still, it would have been nice if at least 25 to 50% of the oats would have survived last season.



I have planted them in mixtures, yes, but did not notice the deer "picking them out" as I said before, they tended to uniformly graze the whole plot, same as they do with wheat/oat/rye mixtures. 

And the cold tolerance is one of the main reasons you would chose BFO over others. We typically get some good cold in Dec, temps around 25 will freeze oats & damage them. If they get yellow & winter burned, deer usage will drop like a stone (but I have seen them still eat them). Buckforage plots are truly some of the prettiest, lushest, deepest green plots I have ever planted.


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## shdw633 (Aug 1, 2014)

Thank you for the insight Forest!!  I do know that iron clay are warm weather but I plant them in the fall in plots that I use for both bow and gun season.  I add them in with my mix as an attractant for bow season along with other forage that will remain alive after the IC is gone.


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## Killdee (Aug 1, 2014)

I have cut back on the number of plots I try to plant over the last few years so sometimes Ill spend the extra $ and plant the bfo. I will say the most lush green plots I ever planted have been BFO and the best food plot buck I ever shot was eating BFOs with a big crowd of does. I agree with FG on the winter peas also, never could get deer to eat them and I have tried many times and varietys over the years. I dont have the time or energy to experiment at my age so I just do what Forrest says and know I'm doing right.


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## destincabo (Aug 2, 2014)

Forest Grump said:


> Milkman:
> 
> I intended that to sound more like a question & less like an accusation, but as usual, I could have said a lot in that post better than I did. I have been advised that posting after drinking is an unwise practice, but I'm sure I will have to do some more tests before making up my mind...
> 
> ...



FG 
I had no idea when I started this thread it would get this much commentary and information. Its been great to follow, read and learn from. Seeing as I'm in South Georgia, just south of Bainbridge. What time of year should we start planting BFO/Gore Wheat and Clover for the upcoming gun season?


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## Forest Grump (Aug 2, 2014)

If you search on here, most of this stuff we've hashed out before; you'll always get some "an oat is an oat" folks (yeah, & a pepper is a pepper ). 

You are so far south, you are a little beyond my area of experience; generally, I recommend people in GA plant fall crops from the last week of Sept to the first 2 weeks of Oct. That will work for you too, but you have a little more flexibility, due to your coastal location. The big thing is don't plant too early: if army worms don't eat you up, your cereals will grow too tall if you plant too early & deer won't want to eat them. You need it all to stay in a juvenile phase in fall (ie: not over 4-5" tall). Clover of any type planted this fall will be pretty tiny until spring (perennials especially so). Farmers can plant wheat up to Jan & still get a spring crop. I'd watch my weather & pick a time as close to Oct 1 as I could when there's some rain in the immediate forecast. 

You are far enough south, that you have low risk of freeze damage on your oats, if you want to go cheaper. It's not like I'm a salesman for BFO, you buy what you want, & see what works for you.


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## destincabo (Aug 2, 2014)

Forest Grump said:


> If you search on here, most of this stuff we've hashed out before; you'll always get some "an oat is an oat" folks (yeah, & a pepper is a pepper ).
> 
> You are so far south, you are a little beyond my area of experience; generally, I recommend people in GA plant fall crops from the last week of Sept to the first 2 weeks of Oct. That will work for you too, but you have a little more flexibility, due to your coastal location. The big thing is don't plant too early: if army worms don't eat you up, your cereals will grow too tall if you plant too early & deer won't want to eat them. You need it all to stay in a juvenile phase in fall (ie: not over 4-5" tall). Clover of any type planted this fall will be pretty tiny until spring (perennials especially so). Farmers can plant wheat up to Jan & still get a spring crop. I'd watch my weather & pick a time as close to Oct 1 as I could when there's some rain in the immediate forecast.
> 
> You are far enough south, that you have low risk of freeze damage on your oats, if you want to go cheaper. It's not like I'm a salesman for BFO, you buy what you want, & see what works for you.



FG
thanks for the info and I now understand about planting too early. My ICPs (planted May 1) look like they are starting to run out of gas, but they have definitely done a good job over the summer.  Getting clover in the mix will really help us in the spring for turkey season and keep forage on the ground (last spring we had nothing).  Can't say thanks enough for the input and advice.


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## dblnranch (Aug 3, 2014)

South of Bainbridge, plant AFTER Oct 1.


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## destincabo (Aug 3, 2014)

dblnranch said:


> South of Bainbridge, plant AFTER Oct 1.



Thank you


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## Deer Tic (Aug 4, 2014)

Forest, You said what I was thinking as I was shaking my head.
An oat is an oat? All the varieties will make for pretty pictures in your plot. However, I am more interested in drawing deer as long as possible during the season. Been planting BFO since they hit Ga and were under $15 dollars a bag. Wish that were still true! lol...  Yes there has been years I have used the others do to availability or just trying to verify my personal observations over the years... As for my sweat equity, I will plant BFO if available and draw deer most of the season. Not worth the savings IMO. My experience with the other varieties are; majority of the time they will leave them after the first month as they mature to quickly and start to section out. At that point my deer would rather go eat a briar bush!!! My BFO's stay mowed to the ground all season by our herd.
I do blend the usual stuff with them, but atleast 60% or so of BFO. 

In my 30+ years of experience and planting, there is a difference in the grazing quality!


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## mguthrie (Aug 5, 2014)

Put your clover,rape,turnips or whatever little seed you use on the ground after you drag. You'll bury most of those seeds to deep by dragging.


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## shdw633 (Aug 5, 2014)

mguthrie said:


> Put your clover,rape,turnips or whatever little seed you use on the ground after you drag. You'll bury most of those seeds to deep by dragging.



That has never happened to me in over 15 years of planting foodplots.  You just throw them on top and the birds will just have a feast, especially turkeys!!


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## Deer Tic (Aug 5, 2014)

mguthrie said:


> Put your clover,rape,turnips or whatever little seed you use on the ground after you drag. You'll bury most of those seeds to deep by dragging.



That's what I always try to do. Ideally they should be culti-packed, but not everyone has one laying around!
I do throw a little extra out for the birdies!


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## mguthrie (Aug 6, 2014)

Deer Tic said:


> That's what I always try to do. Ideally they should be culti-packed, but not everyone has one laying around!
> I do throw a little extra out for the birdies!



Yea, I don't have funds for a cultipacker. Just ride over it with the four wheeler to pack it. Put double the recommended amount for the turkey's but there scratching around helps to bury the seeds. Sucks havin a place to hunt with animals everywhere. Let nature help you get you plot growin.


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## Milkman (Aug 6, 2014)

mguthrie said:


> Yea, I don't have funds for a cultipacker. Just ride over it with the four wheeler to pack it. Put double the recommended amount for the turkey's but there scratching around helps to bury the seeds. Sucks havin a place to hunt with animals everywhere. Let nature help you get you plot growin.



I agree with you.  If those turkeys didnt scratch so much they would get twice the seeds to eat.


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## 1gr8bldr (Aug 10, 2014)

I have seen a difference in Buck forage over the typical plot spike that TS sells. Planted 2 acres of each, side by side, two years in a row, same result. The BF oats stay eaten down while the TS oats continue to grow to stalk. Good thing is that the turkeys like the seeds come spring.


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## Deer Tic (Aug 11, 2014)

1gr8bldr said:


> I have seen a difference in Buck forage over the typical plot spike that TS sells. Planted 2 acres of each, side by side, two years in a row, same result. The BF oats stay eaten down while the TS oats continue to grow to stalk. Good thing is that the turkeys like the seeds come spring.



Glad to hear of more evidence! That is always what I have observed over the years. I try every year to find something to out do BFO, but have yet to find it in the oat category!


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## GASeminole (Aug 13, 2014)

Any oats are good. Also, mix in crimson clover and trophy radishes and you have a mix that will do well, regardless of lime and fertilizer


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## Gadget (Aug 13, 2014)

GASeminole said:


> Any oats are good. Also, mix in crimson clover and trophy radishes and you have a mix that will do well, regardless of lime and fertilizer




I've tried all kinds of mixes and seeds over the last 20yrs, my current mix that goes into all my annual plots is Oats(coker or harrison), Arrow leaf clover(Yuchhi or Apache, and Daikon Radishes. Just can't beat that combo of Cereal grain, brassica, and clover. Since we do somewhere around 60 food plots every year it's all 50lb bulk bags, if you had to do that using some of these "brand" seeds it would double or triple your price.


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## elfiii (Aug 13, 2014)

shdw633 said:


> That has never happened to me in over 15 years of planting foodplots.  You just throw them on top and the birds will just have a feast, especially turkeys!!



I know it's so because I have watched them do just that. If you are going to top seed with clover, rape, etc. you at least need to run a drag over the seed bed to cover them so they aren't so easy for the birds to get.


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## Triple C (Aug 13, 2014)

Really enjoyed following this thread.  After planting BFO's for the 1st time last year we will definitely be planting again this year.  Anytime Forest Grump weighs in on a subject it's worth following!


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## elfiii (Aug 18, 2014)

Triple C said:


> Anytime Forest Grump weighs in on a subject it's worth following!



I'm going to take his advice and try BFO. Bought 150 lbs Friday. Pricey at $23.50/50 lb bag!


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## GAGE (Aug 18, 2014)

elfiii said:


> I'm going to take his advice and try BFO. Bought 150 lbs Friday. Pricey at $23.50/50 lb bag!



That is an excellent price!


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## elfiii (Aug 18, 2014)

GAGE said:


> That is an excellent price!



LaGrange Farm Supply


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## Killdee (Aug 18, 2014)

That is cheap for BFO, They didnt carry them last year, I think I paid 26$ from Julian K.


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## Canuck5 (Aug 19, 2014)

Very good price!!


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## elfiii (Aug 19, 2014)

Killdee said:


> That is cheap for BFO, They didnt carry them last year, I think I paid 26$ from Julian K.



Wish they were still in business. I miss ole Julian, Grub and the gang. Good peeps, short drive, top quality service. Hated to see them close their doors.


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## Ihunt (Aug 19, 2014)

Could someone explain to me how after buying a truck four wheeler,bow,gun, camo, stands, gas,trail camera, club dues, Etc. That spending about $15.00 more on a bag of oats that may help them have a better deer season is a bad idea? 

Planting a lot of acreage maybe I can understand but I would think most of us have maybe 1-2 plots we hunt over. Why not make it the best plots around? Lime it , fertilize it, and plant the seed that will serve you best for the time of year you will be hunting most.


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## CraKaLaCKiN (Aug 19, 2014)

ihunt said:


> could someone explain to me how after buying a truck four wheeler,bow,gun, camo, stands, gas,trail camera, club dues, etc. That spending about $15.00 more on a bag of oats that may help them have a better deer season is a bad idea?
> 
> Planting a lot of acreage maybe i can understand but i would think most of us have maybe 1-2 plots we hunt over. Why not make it the best plots around? Lime it , fertilize it, and plant the seed that will serve you best for the time of year you will be hunting most.




^^^ ding ding ding. We have a winner!!!


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## CraKaLaCKiN (Aug 19, 2014)

Can anyone tell me the standard fertilization rate per acre for BFO? Triple 13? 10-10-10?


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## Gadget (Aug 19, 2014)

CraKaLaCKiN said:


> Can anyone tell me the standard fertilization rate per acre for BFO? Triple 13? 10-10-10?




Why waste your time buying low grade fertilizer when you buy the best seeds....

Slow release Osmocote plus is the way to go if your serious about killing big deer...


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## Milkman (Aug 19, 2014)

CraKaLaCKiN said:


> Can anyone tell me the standard fertilization rate per acre for BFO? Triple 13? 10-10-10?



Your $8 soil test from the UGA extension service will tell you the rate for fertilizer and lime


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## dblnranch (Aug 20, 2014)

elfiii said:


> I'm going to take his advice and try BFO. Bought 150 lbs Friday. Pricey at $23.50/50 lb bag!



I bought a couple bags last month direct from their warehouse outside of Little Rock ,AR. Paid $28 a bag and I thought that was a deal even though I had to stuff them in my wife's mini-van.


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