The best choices for the Southeast include Alyceclover, cowpeas, jointvetch, Lab Lab, and soybeans. Alyceclover is a legume that produces forage through the early fall. It produces abundant forage and withstands browsing pressure better than most of the other choices. Plant it with cowpeas, another favorite warm-season annual legume, to help prevent overbrowsing of the peas. Cowpea varieties such as 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.