So my lease is 416 acres in Southern Live Oak County. I have a few smaller food plots and one larger one of winter oats in which i dont know how much longer that will be around. I am not feeding protein yet (prob start next year) I have been doing some research on roasted soybeans and wow 35% protein. So my question is this i have all feeders still running with corn but i am thinking of filling one of the 600 pound feeders with soybeans the next trip and feeding 2 times a day for 2 seconds to stretch it. Everything is so green down there it is crazy. So my question is this enough to see any kind of benefit from the herd during the summer months when they need the ptorein the most or am i kinda whizzin in the wind with this?

Ricochet, I've always been told soybeans = attractant more so than protein, just like corn but something different. I've also been told kind of unlike corn, deer either like the soybeans or don't. Just don't whizz upwind buddy.

We feed a 50/50 mix of roasted soy beans and corn that we buy bagged that way.

The deer really like it, it never clogs the feeder and we don't have to have a separate protein feeder. Less expensive as well.

Not true. Soybeans generally have 30-40% protein.

I have used them a few times. The deer ate them up in Haskell, but won't touch them in East Texas. Last time I bought them, they were only a couple bucks more than corn. Couldn't hurt to try them.

Thats kind of what i was thinking not twice the price of corn but since i am only planning on running it out of the central feeder 1200 pounds i am only looking at roughly 335 to feed all summer until mid august or so (thats 2 fillups) so dont know if it could hurt.just wonder if it will have any positive effect on the deer.

This. One thing I noticed also was that deer found the feeder faster with the soybean mix in it. Waller Rice Drier sells it both ways, mixed and not.

i feed 50% soy / 50% protein pellet free choice. They hammer it.

How much are yall paying for soybeans? Straight and mixed.

Waller rice drier shows 9.70 for 50/50 mix and for soybean shows 13.90 i believe.per 50 pound sack that is.

Do them Waller guys have dealers or can you only buy direct from their place? I have been looking for a substitute that is cheaper than Mr Buck that I pay $10.50 for 50 pounds. Them Waller guys are a little cheaper but not worth the drive.

What do you mean when you say positive effect? Are you talking antler growth? If so the answer is no, throwing soybeans twice a day from a timed feeder at 600lbs over several months it will have virtually no effect on antler growth. Any protein regiment intended to increase antler size should be free choice and be fed year round.

If by positive effect you mean a larger variety of food available to the deer and attracting deer for trail cam photos maybe if they prefer them over other native browse.

Keep in mind even though the soybeans are 30-40% protein that dosent mean the deer's intestinal tract actually absorbs all that protein. Usualy 16-18% is about all they'll benefit from. The roasting will help but after about 20% the rest ends up as fertilizer.

Realistically the protein of the soybean doesn't increase antler growth. It increases body mass. The mineral in protein feed is what really impacts antler production. Supplementing mineral also will help. Antler is bone, not muscle. Although improving overall deer health and body mass indirectly helps a deer in antler production without adequate mineral intake you will not maximize antler growth.

I tried it on two different places in Throckmorton and had no luck. They came to the peanut butter smell quick but only picked out the corn and left the soybeans and then they stopped coming. I gave it almost 6 months on the 2nd place and their habits didn't change. I wound up dumping about 200 lbs of it on the ground and refilled with plain ol corn. The hogs tore it up when I dumped it out. I guess it really all depends on where you are. I am considering the apple scented corn, I hear its one heck of a good attractant. If not, I will dump it out for the hogs also, lol.

An antler is still 44% protein. So it needs protein but you are correct in stating mineral/trace mineral/vitamins are the key.

I am going to try it again this year, but like fowlplayr said it can be iffy in east Texas. At my local feed store I can get roasted soybean/corn mix for $11.95/50# bag and I am going to mix some Antlermax in with it and feed it free choice.

I'm thinking about starting to feed soybeans this year. Does anybody know a feed store that carries a good soybean/corn mix, I'm thinking 50/50, between Dallas and Wichita Falls?

McKinney feed store. That's right up the road from you. They have the best prices because they mix and bag their own. They call it "Buck Rations" there. I tried it on two different leases in Throckmorton and had no luck with it.

My "special mix" I run is protein pellet/soybean/HayRite/corn - with a handful of my secret ingredient. Can't say it does much for antlers since I've started, but it darn sure brings them in from a long way off. I swear they tell the other deer two ranches over. It's rare a deer on our 5000 acre lease that someone has on cam that doesn't regularly hit my feeders - and I know that I have about 6-8 deer that hop the west fence 600-700 yards away and come straight to my feeders just for the snacks - I have them on cam jumping the fence. They make a beeline to my spot, eat, than head straight back across. Judging from comments from other lease members, I have way more deer coming to my area (no one else feed protein). It is rare that I don't see at least 10-15 per sit (all year long), in groups of 3-5 at a time, taking turns. Unfortunately, there are lot of does and trash bucks.

A couple of other funny notes. My corn feeders go off before the protein feeder (timed Lamco). Most of the time, the deer at the corn feeder will stop and immediately go to the protein feeder when it goes off, then return to the corn after all the mix is consumed. I now have two does and a fawn/yearling that will walk up within 20 feet of me when filling the Lamco - if I go sit in the Jeep parked right next to the feeder, they will come right up and feed. I betcha if I tried I could feed the one doe by hand.

I also see most "different stuff" at my feeder on top of the hill than anyone else at the lease - so much so they sometimes think I'm BS'ing except I have cam pics. I've had mountain lion, bobcats, porcupine, hogs, sika, aoudad (most recent), and even zebra - all free range from "somewhere". (although the cats were hunting, not feeding on the mix) - even had what appeared to be a small elk or stag I saw last year once from a distance. About the only thing I haven't seen or caught on cam yet is a fallow or axis.

If the Lamco runs out, activity in my area drops WAY off. During the periods when I step up the feed amount, I've had as many as 25 deer at once, butt-to-butt feeding in the trough.

In the Midwest, deer eat soybean green leaves in summer and early fall (soybeans that were planted after wheat was harvested). Then, they like to eat the beans out of the pods in mid to late winter. They seem to hit corn fields early, then the beans when it gets colder.

With this information, some might want to try the roasted bean mix starting around Christmas around Collin and Grayson counties.

i use the 50/50 corn/soybean mix almost exclusivly and have never had deer not eat it in hunt/collin/fannin/kaufman counties.

That is true about the mid west. However those beans aren't roasted, just naturally dried. The roasted beans seem to be more palatable to the deer.

I tried the roasted soybean/corn mix from McKinney feed supply in Collin, Grayson and southern Oklahoma with bad results. However, I only tried from August to October. The deer would not touch the roasted soybeans. This is why I offered up trying it in the colder months if someone doesn't have good luck in the early season.

Waller Rice Drier has roasted soybeans, 50# bag = $19.15
there is also a 75% corn/25% roasted soybean blend, Roasted Deer Blend, 16% protein, 50# bag = $9.30
50% corn/50% roasted soybeans, 22% protein, 50# bag = $12.55
raw soybeans in a 50% corn blend, Deer Mix, 50# bag = $9.70

we have found the roasted soybeans are a wonderful attractant (smelling like roasted peanuts). where I hunt, the deer love them!

Yes, there are feed stores and convenience stores in the area that sell the products.

The problem with soybean is that although it is very high in protein in runs through the digestion system and out the back end faster than there body is able to absorb the protein into their body.

That is true about the digestion of protein. However, the roasting process of the soybean, or any grain, makes it more digestible than a raw soybean allowing a greater amount to be absorbed.