food plots on prevent plant acres

UGUIDE

UGUIDE

Active member
Any qualified suggestions anyone has would be helpful. My operator called tonight and said he was probably going to take prevent plant on 2 fields on my farm that were going to be planted to soybeans but too wet or he ran out of time to get to them. he said I could plant some stuff in their for pheasant hunting but there is not a lot of clarity about what you can plant or not plant in order to comply with crop insurance.

He is checking with his insurance agent and getting back to me. Looks like ai would not be able to get anything planted until week of July 12th anyway.

Any qualified usggestions or ideas?
 
Chris, I think the deadline to insure 010 crop was way back in March?

Bird seed sunflowers. Plant the black oil seed that is sold for bird food. Much less expensive, grows great. I have a 4 acre patch for wildlife.
Give the soil a once over, will get the weeds. These sunflowers grow faster then anything I know, even weeds.
Plant them with a grain drill I think is best.
Makes decent Winter cover to. You will have wonderful!! pheasant habitat.:10sign:
 
I don't know what you can get away with planting within the program guidelines. We usually plant sunflowers here in May in order to get them to beat frost and be available for dove. Here you have to spray them for insects or the head cutters kill the flower. The winter cover that they provide is also minimal. If you're thinking pheasants, this late I would go with either German or Proso millet. I might mix in some forage sorghum in order to get some stronger standing cover. The German will put on tons of seed and could be hayed or grazed at a later date. I don't know how long your growing season is up there, but the millets have the shortest maturity dates of about anything you can grow. Another option would be to mix cowpeas with the millet. That would improve the brood-rearing aspect of the planting and provide more insect protein. The added N to your soil for next year wouldn't be bad either.
 
You may be able to plant an approved cover crop on the Prevent Plant acres, which cannot be grazed or harvested until after Nov 1. If you plant something other than an approved crop, such as corn, beans, sunflowers, on those acres then there would be a 65 percent reduction in the Prevent Plant payment.

An approved cover crop is defined as "A crop generally recognized by agricultural experts as agronomically sound for the area for erosion control or other purposes related to conservation or soil improvement".

If you want to plant a cover crop make sure you get it approved by the crop adjuster.
 
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landman said:
You may be able to plant an approved cover crop on the Prevent Plant acres, which cannot be grazed or harvested until after Nov 1. If you plant something other than an approved crop, such as corn, beans, sunflowers, on those acres then there would be a 65 percent reduction in the Prevent Plant payment.

An approved cover crop is defined as "A crop generally recognized by agricultural experts as agronomically sound for the area for erosion control or other purposes related to conservation or soil improvement".

If you want to plant a cover crop make sure you get it approved by the crop adjuster.
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Good advice Landman. Sounds like forage sorghum and some millet might fill the bill.
 
UGUIDE said:
Good advice Landman. Sounds like forage sorghum and some millet might fill the bill.
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I was at the farm spraying weeds yesterday when I nearly ran over a hen and some chicks with the ATV. I quickly backed up to let them get away safely and it was then that I noticed something like a sign on the hens back. I put the ATV into forward and lurched forward to get a peek at the wording, it said "Uguide or Bust". Go figure - and they were headed southwest to the promised land!
 
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landman said:
I was at the farm spraying weeds yesterday when I nearly ran over a hen and some chicks with the ATV. I quickly backed up to let them get away safely and it was then that I noticed something like a sign on the hens back. I put the ATV into forward and lurched forward to get a peek at the wording, it said "Uguide or Bust". Go figure - and they were headed southwest to the promised land!
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"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled broods yearning to fly free,

The wretched refuse of your no-till land,

Send these, the homeless, native poultry to me,

I lift my Benelli beside the golden food plot!"
 
UGUIDE said:
"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled broods yearning to fly free,

The wretched refuse of your no-till land,

Send these, the homeless, native poultry to me,

I lift my Benelli beside the golden food plot!"
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I said to them "why not stay here, why leave?" They responded by saying that they heard the accomodations and food was a little better, like milk and honey, but the deciding factor for them leaving was my dam dog.........
 
You could try buckwheat if it gets late in the season as it grows very fast. It also brings in tons of insects when it is in bloom and also pretty to look at. However it will not stand up to winter weather very long. Some around hear use it as plow down to improve there soil.
 
Thanks for the suggestions WIN but it has to stand over winter to be worth anything in my book. I am going with some cane and millet. Got a drill that has a grass box so putting millet in grass box and cane in the drill portion. See what happens I guess. Plannin on about 10 acres in 4 2.5 acre blocks.

Stay tuned for "as the drill turns" daytime pheasant huntiong drama". Shoot, I am starting to sound like coot!
 
Other options are to mix the seed at the proportions you want in the field and put the mix in the seed box or to put individual boxes in the rows and alternate rows of the two varieties. I frequently mix German millet, Proso millet, African millet, Pearl millet, Atlas forage sorghum, Ellis forage sorghum, and Egyptian wheat. Having the variety of adaptations makes sure something prospers despite the conditions. Most years they all make seed with varying maturity, size, standability, and shatter.
 
UGUIDE said:
Thanks for the suggestions WIN but it has to stand over winter to be worth anything in my book. I am going with some cane and millet.
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What kind of millet are you using and how long does it stand up for? I made the mistake of planting brown top millet. Apparently I picked the wrong stuff because some strong winds/rain blew mine over just the other day.
 
1GB said:
What kind of millet are you using and how long does it stand up for? I made the mistake of planting brown top millet. Apparently I picked the wrong stuff because some strong winds/rain blew mine over just the other day.
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Proso, but I like PD's idea of a mix for diversity and success. By success is I don't look for millet to stand and provide cover but just seed head for food.

PD. Thanks for the tips. I will also defer to local seed guys based on time of year and what they have on hand.
 
Siberian Millet is a forage crop. Very leafy. foxtail head with very small seeds.
Probably make some good Fall cover. No frost tolerance.
Does grow very fast.
Doves, let it ripen and you WILL have doves!! NO!! Winter or Spring value. OK

I grow about 60 acres of Siberian millet each year.
Pics from 09 at my ranch.
P1010078-2.jpg

P1010009-6.jpg
 
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UGUIDE said:
Proso, but I like PD's idea of a mix for diversity and success. By success I mean I don't look for millet to stand and provide cover but just seed head for food.

PD. Thanks for the tips. I will also defer to local seed guys based on time of year and what they have on hand.
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By my ultimate definition of success I feel that unless a food plot is still standing in April (has good cover qualities left)and has some seed head left on it it is worthless in terms of managing to your most extreme seasonal elements.
 
UGuide, What your talking about is a BIG field of standing corn.
Millet?? NO WAY!!
If you come up with another standing crop come April, with seed. PLEASE let us know.:)
 
U, some of your success will depend on how you plant the crop. The Siberian Millet above was planted pretty thick to encourage stem growth and maximize tonage. Planted a bit sparcer it should produce more head and a thicker stalk resulting in more standability. Also, mixing the different varieties usually results in a mixture of the various strengths of each plant type. It'll give you a better chance of having food available for a longer stretch.
 
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