Good chance I’ll be doing something similar this fall.

Welcome to the forum and the thread!....It’s really cool to see new folks showing up and participating.



It’s sounds like you’ve got a promising situation to work with. If you can get a bushhog in there then I’d just start bushhogging it and play it by ear as you go. The more you mow it…..the more you should see it revert back to a grassland prairie ecosystem. You’ll likely see some native warm season grasses begin to return. I would imagine that 2-3 mowings during the growing season would be all you needed. If you still had too many woody species like sweetgum after that then you could look to spraying if needed. If not, then you should be ready just to fall right in line with what the rest of us are doing. You could go ahead and broadcast something like cereal rye this fall if you wanted to but just keep your expectations in perspective.

Thanks for the replies. The place is a poster child for forestry mulching - 4" trees everywhere - but I'd rather just chip away at it with a bushhog, widening the roads as I can. The areas that I've mowed and burned have knocked the trees back almost completely. The old roads have lots of broomstraw already and there are a few areas I plan to throw out some seedheads from black eyed susans and purple coneflowers for a grassland area. I think I'll time any discing or dirt moving work to be in the early spring, so that the weeds will come on strong throughout the spring and summer, and then throw and mow the following fall.

It looks like Elbon Rye or any cereal Rye is going to be hard to get this year and if you do find some it's going to be high dollar. Supposedly do to a bad crop in the mid-west or something anyhow I guess will all be using wheat as our base for TM.

Also it might not be a bad idea to reserve or pick your seed wheat up early. You don't want to show up at the co-op or whatever and there out on the weekend you want to plant because of the shortage of cereal Rye.

Well that sucks......That happened a few years ago as well and cereal rye went up to over $20 a bag.

Yep. I was quoted 28 it sucks

Man I've got to where I can't function without it especially in sandy or hard pan type soil. Hey CNC do you have any other ideas other then 150-200# of wheat in poor souls?

Dang cell phone I apologise to the English majors.

Either wheat or one of the blends that has cereal rye in it. I imagine if cereal rye has gone up that much then it’ll add cost to the blends too. It really sucks because cereal rye is just what the doctor ordered in poor soils. If it’s that dang high though, I’ll have to go with something else too.

Don't overlook triticale. We use it cover cropping a bunch. Ton of mass with it.

Tricticale ain't cheap either this year but I'm probably gonna mix it with wheat in all my bean fields for a cover crop/food plot. My problem is I got dang near 100 acres to plant in a variety of soils I planned on doing it all in T&M this year. I did about half that last year in T&M or cover crop and it turned out just as good or better then the plowed and I'm done plowing period. This is coming from someone with some big boy toys inclunding a 20' fold out disc and a new 7 1/2' Brown disc and I haven't used them other then the brown on fire lanes in two years. I buy seed by the pallet or have it spread by the ton so I don't ever buy pre mixed seed with a deer picture on it I just mix it myself and save money. The bottom line is that Elbon should be the base in most T&M plots for several reasons including price and not having it this year is screwed my plans up big time. Oh yeah 257 I've got a HX15 and I love it the self cleaning sloped deck is nice. I probably don't have 40 acres on it because I have an old 1525 bushog that's still kicking and I give it hell.

257, I'm finally upgrading NT drills my poor old Tye 2007 pasture pleaser is wore slap out so I sold it this week. I'm like a little kid waiting on delivery of my new 10' JD 1590 next week. I know I'm gonna get in trouble with CNC for telling you about it on his thread but I couldn't take it I had to.

Don't be ashamed that 1590 is no till anyway. CNC isn't gonna be mad at you. Fine drill tho. Only issues with Deere cutters is it "shitting" out the back or windrowing bad. I'm open to the 15' batwing market. Have a lead on a bush whacker going to look out. Don't need too nice one but I've outgrown my Mx8.

Hell no….I ain’t mad…… I’m all for drills….The only thing about them is that they really only make sense for a certain portion of plotters who are operating on a big scale. If you're one of those people.....drills are definitely the way to go.

Well now that I say that…..a good argument could be made that broadcasting cereal rye and clover cover crops is actually more efficient in some ways than drilling. Drilling definitely places each seed in the right place more efficiently but let’s say you get to a large enough scale like a big time farmer would be operating on…. then that’s where folks start broadcasting cover crops on because drilling say 800 acres would take forever in comparison to broadcasting. If you’re broadcasting and mowing into the right situation you could probably produce similar results as a drill using T&M on winter crops like….rye, clover, brassicas. Not quite as efficient but in the ballpark anyways. I get some pretty nice winter stands of grain usually. Crops like beans and stuff though there would be no comparison….drill hands down.

I use my drill primarily for summer crops in my planting program matter of fact I've never drilled a fall plot. I do the same exact thing you do in the fall CNC the only difference is I come back and drill summer crops into it and just repeat the process everyear. I just cut out corn from my summer planting all together and plant all high quality legumes. All my planting decision are site specific depending on size and soil fall and spring. An example is if ladino cover can grow well it's getting planted in that plot. I try to look at a plot from a farmers perspective not a hunters and ask myself what will grow best in this field not how I can make a deer come to it that takes care of itself. I try to maximize every planted acre to get the highest return on my end investment by planting what I need to plant not what I want to and it's hard some times. I know that everybody don't have a no till drill but everyone that reads this can improve how that plant food plots without spending a ton of money and going to T&M is a big part of that. The guys that read this get it so the only thing I'll add is think about planting something that is the most beneficial for the deer and that will do best in your soil/plot for the longest period of time not what you think will help you kill a deer. That will take care of itself and if your soil sucks improve it using the information on this thread cause it's dead on.

257 if you can ever get your hands on a old Brown brush cutter for a go price get it. It's a super HD bushog it's basically a hybrid half tree cutter half bushog. I bought a used 7' one probably ten years ago and it's the best implement decision I've ever made. The things is unbelievable if I can get the tractor over it the thing will cut it and if I can't I'll back into it but what makes it special is you can cut your front yard with it to. I don't think they make them anymore and I have a hard time keeping folks from borrowing it other then that it's amazing. I primarily use it behind my 5075e but it's all it wants it's almost a perfect fit for my 6330 and MF 6465 and will eat a 10' pine. I put a slip clutch on it years ago and it made a big difference. I'll make a video of it cutting and post it on here in a couple weeks. By the way I believe I gave $500 and an old 5' bushog for it just to use in nasty situations so I didn't tear up my good stuff and now I can't do with out it.

257 Almost forgot I got an old 1525 bushog batwing I'd make you a deal on if you want to stay cheap. I replaced a couple gear boxes a few years ago and the deck is getting thin and I've had to weld and patch the wing hindges a time or two but its still hanging on. Its been sitting up for a while at a buddies place that I was trading for some rebuilt 4 row 7100s but it didn't pan out cause they never got rebuilt. I dang sure wouldn't warranty it but I'll make you a hell of a deal and it likes green tractors it would feel right at home behind yours.

It feels like we may be finally turning the corner with these new ideas. It’s only taken something like 6 years but I believe we may be getting close….

In all seriousness, the more people like y’all that take the risk of trying something different….the more it will give others the confidence to take that step. Eventually it’ll reach a point where it just “snowballs” and becomes main stream. I don’t think we’re too far from there. I have no doubt whatsoever that it eventually will though….Why??....Because what we’re saying is true and folks will eventually see that.