Each year, many whitetail biologists, research authorities, and other like-minded individuals gather at the Southeastern Deer Study Group Meeting. More whitetail research is being conducted than ever before, and this annual event is a hub for dissemination of the latest research discoveries.
This year, Luke T. Macaulay, wildlife management specialist with the University of Maryland Extension, was a presenter. Macaulay’s research was funded by the Maryland soybean board. The aim was to study if certain varieties were more or less susceptible to deer browsing.
“Agronomy research is difficult and variable,” Macaulay said. “You have plants growing in an environment that is highly variable. Temperature, sunlight, cloudiness, wind, rainfall, soil nutrients, insects, and so many other things that cause variability. Twenty feet away in the same field, you can have entirely different circumstances. Add on top of that another highly variable situation, which is deer behavior.”
Surprisingly, a growing practice among farmers is to plant more attractive varieties of soybeans, too. Except,
