Sorghum

DawgMedic

Senior Member
We came across a bag of Wild Game Sorghum and planted it with our food plot this year in Hancock County... All of our usual items ( IC Peas/Spybeans, etc..) have already been mowed down... the sorghum grew well... stayed relatively short ( 3-4 feet max) and started forming heads about a month ago... I was told that the deer would not eat it until after a frost, when the heads dry out...
I was at the land yesterday.. and the tracks around the food plot looked like someone had run an tractor and an aeriator through the area... i tried to see why they were all there... then i noticed almost all of the seed heads are gone from the sorghum....
Has anyone else had a similar experience? I will be planting more next year.. but will be watching it closer.....
Just curious is my deer are that hungry.. or if it is a good food plot choice... Your thoughts please?!
 

Lane Morrell

Senior Member
They seem to like sorghum when the heads are young and the seed is in the milk stage or still immature. They will do sunflowers the exact same way. Good food plot choice.
 

Milkman

Deer Farmer Moderator
Staff member
Interesting, I have planted mixes that were a small percentage of sorgum. But your planting is strictly sorgum only, not mixed with anything else ?

Is the residual plant still standing short enough to get a clear shot at a deers chest?
 

Forest Grump

Senior Member
In the mixes I planted this year that contained WGF sorghum or milo, most of it developed pretty good heads, despite the drought. Deer ignored it, ate the sunflowers first, then the peas, & all in the last 2 weeks the heads on virtually all the sorghum plants disappeared. They are way beyond milk stage, but should have still had high tannin levels & been bitter. I had intended that those spots remain until winter, but once all the food was depleted, they got mowed & turned under this weekend. I still have some standing in spots where there were no peas, just grain sorghum. Makes me think it wasn't birds, but I have not had any observation of the deer eating it. (Had already pulled all the cameras off those plots).

Traditionally, deer will leave it until winter, when the tannins have been degraded & better food sources exhausted. Some will feed on it in milk stage, & it is said that once they learn to eat it, they frequently will not let it get out of milk stage before they devour it (which is usually before deer season), so managers often get discouraged with using it. I have not used it much, mostly tried it this year because of the severe drought the last few years, I needed something that would grow anyway & compete with the weeds.

Mine did OK (some of it had pretty small seed heads), but I what I didn't really like with a mix of peas, sunflower & milo was there is virtually nothing you can spray it with to help with weed competition. So when it got really dry, I got a lot of sicklepod & morning glory that grew up amongst the rest.
 

GAGE

GONetwork Member
My father in law planted this NWTF sorghum in late June, early July, and the deer, doves, quail and turkeys are in it everyday.
42E28129-6CC2-4BF0-AF7A-82AC8ADEBFE2-1479-0000029012975273.jpg
 

Forest Grump

Senior Member
Interesting, I have planted mixes that were a small percentage of sorgum. But your planting is strictly sorgum only, not mixed with anything else ?

Is the residual plant still standing short enough to get a clear shot at a deers chest?

Yes, what remains is sufficient for a sense of cover, but plenty low enough to visualize the deer well, in most cases. (weeds not withstanding: I got sicklepod I could hide an elk in :D)

The main issue is, once the heads are gone, there is no food value there: nothing a deer can eat, so it is no different than having any other grass there. If they don't leave it until winter, (or even 'til deer season) its only purpose is cover. I'd prefer peas, beans, or sunn hemp for the superior nutrition provided (kudzu bug may change my mind on that; nearly drove me off the tractor this weekend)
 

Killdee

Senior Member
I had the same experience with Sorghum, when the heads turned brown they devoured it in 1 week. I never could get it timed right to hunt it and havent planted it in a few years.
 

glynr329

Senior Member
I planted ks 989 and I planted it perfect about 5 to 6' tall now. I planted at the end of July. Got my fingers crossed it will be left alone till opening day.
 

01Foreman400

Moderator
Staff member
We plant 13 acres scattered throughout our property every year mostly so we can quail hunt it. I can count on one hand the times I've seen deer eating it in the past 5 years. It also might be because we have a lot of other food for them to eat as well.
 

fishingtiger

Senior Member
i had it planted two years ago at my place and on opening day of bow season, the deer were wading through it eating the heads. They seemed to really like it for cover and food. Made for a great plot the first few weeks of the season. I am going to get around to planting more one day.
 

Ihunt

Senior Member
Most people I know plant it in early June so it will be in the milk stage during bow season. The deer seem to eat it well during that time.
 

Okie Hog

Senior Member
i noticed almost all of the seed heads are gone from the sorghum....
Has anyone else had a similar experience?

In 2007 we planted three acres of iron clay peas and milo (grain sorghum) at one place. The heads matured and deer ate them all in two or three nights. We still plant milo and the deer do the same thing. Not on head has ever ripened.
 

DawgMedic

Senior Member
Interesting, I have planted mixes that were a small percentage of sorgum. But your planting is strictly sorgum only, not mixed with anything else ?

Is the residual plant still standing short enough to get a clear shot at a deers chest?

i planted IC peas and soybeans in one part of the flied closest to the stand i hunt.. and i planted the sorghum in a place about 65-100 yards away... i was expecting it to be around later in the year and possibly provide some cover for them as they milled about the field...so there were other food choices... but they have all since been devoured.. and now the sorghum has....it surprised me with all the acorns falling.. I will be planing much more next year!
 

DawgMedic

Senior Member
In the mixes I planted this year that contained WGF sorghum or milo, most of it developed pretty good heads, despite the drought. Deer ignored it, ate the sunflowers first, then the peas, & all in the last 2 weeks the heads on virtually all the sorghum plants disappeared. They are way beyond milk stage, but should have still had high tannin levels & been bitter. I had intended that those spots remain until winter, but once all the food was depleted, they got mowed & turned under this weekend. I still have some standing in spots where there were no peas, just grain sorghum. Makes me think it wasn't birds, but I have not had any observation of the deer eating it. (Had already pulled all the cameras off those plots).

Traditionally, deer will leave it until winter, when the tannins have been degraded & better food sources exhausted. Some will feed on it in milk stage, & it is said that once they learn to eat it, they frequently will not let it get out of milk stage before they devour it (which is usually before deer season), so managers often get discouraged with using it. I have not used it much, mostly tried it this year because of the severe drought the last few years, I needed something that would grow anyway & compete with the weeds.

Mine did OK (some of it had pretty small seed heads), but I what I didn't really like with a mix of peas, sunflower & milo was there is virtually nothing you can spray it with to help with weed competition. So when it got really dry, I got a lot of sicklepod & morning glory that grew up amongst the rest.

That was my understandign as well... that they would not eat it until it was late season and dry... I can tell you mine were eaten by deer based on all the tracks... it was surreal how many tracks were all the way around the sorghum and in between the stalks... i had a couple of "outlyer" plants from the main plot.. and you could see the tracks where the deer stood there and ate it...
 

drawedback

Senior Member
I have planted 9300 in different mixes for years, they always hit mine after milk stage when the heads are fully mature and start drying out. I have never had any to last until late season.
 

billy336

Senior Member
Plant it every year, deer dont mess with it much, when it dries I mow it down just before spring turkey. Osceolas love it
 

Curtis-UGA

Senior Member
We have planted a lot of sorghum over the years on our farm. I have seen deer pour into those fields in bow season eating the seeds. We call it pour mans corn! Easy to grow with few inputs. Have also had good results planting it with lab lab. Have had lab lab vines get several feet long hiding in the sorghum.
 
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