Grow better crops to attract more ducks

It’s that time of year again. Duck season is almost over and you must start thinking about next season. The coming months will be spent drying out impoundments, preparing them for planting and growing crops. If you are like most people I know however, you don’t know enough about farming to grow crops like professionals but you know just enough to be dangerous. Planting and growing crops is one of the most important aspects of having a successful duck season. It is also the most costly aspect of having an impoundment. I will attempt to explain how to grow good crops that will last throughout the whole duck season and ensure that the ducks stay in your pond.

Soil Samples

The first step to growing any crop is to get a soil sample. The soil sample should be taken in the fall before you begin flooding but can be taken in the spring after the pond has been drained. I will usually take a 5 gallon bucket and walk around the field with a soil corer or a shovel and try to take about 1 or 2 samples per acre. I take all of the samples from a particular field, mix them together in the bucket and then fill a small soil sample box full of dirt from the bucket. These soil sample boxes can be obtained at any local Clemson University Extension office. This office is also where the samples need to be dropped off once the sample has been collected. When you drop off the boxes be sure to put the type of crop you are going to grow in that particular field on the box so that the people analyzing the sample can tell you exactly what you need. Allow yourself a few weeks to get the results back as spring is a busy time of year for people submitting samples. The results from the sample can be e-mailed to you and they will tell you how much Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium you need to grow that particular crop. It will also let you know how much lime you need to put in each field. Generally speaking 1 to 2 tons of lime per acre is needed in an impoundment. The reason for needing so much lime is that the water leaches out much of the lime in the soil. When it comes time to fertilize your soil, visit your local Southern States dealer or other farm supply store and show them the results from your soil samples. They will then mix up a specific blend of fertilizers for each particular crop.

Corn

Corn is by far the most popular crop to grow in an impoundment. It is readily eaten by almost every duck there is and is relatively easy to grow. There are hundreds of varieties of corn out there to choose from and trying to choose one can be overwhelming. I generally stick with two specific varieties of corn both of which are Roundup Ready. The first variety is DeKalb