The best choices for the Southeast include Alyceclover, cowpeas, jointvetch, Lab Lab, and soybeans. Alyceclover is a legume which produces forage through the early fall. It produces abundant forage and withstands browsing pressure better than most of the other choices. It can be planted with cowpeas, another favorite warm-season annual legume, to help prevent overbrowsing of the peas. Cowpea varieties like Catjang, Iron-clay, Tory, and Wilcox have a wide soil tolerance and grow well with a pH as low as 5.5.
Large plots tend to withstand deer pressure best.
The same is true of soybeans, a favorite annual legume for deer plots. Soybeans may be 40 percent protein, and deer readily use both the green leaves and beans. Corn, another favorite, is planted as a general crop for deer, doves, turkeys, and other animals. It is more important as a food resource during fall and winter, and while low in protein, it provides a good source of carbohydrates and energy. Thus, it is an important food to develop energy reserves in the fall deer herd.