Ah, buckwheat. A lot of duck clubs do plant buckwheat (or did back when I had contact with them).
the positives of buckwheat:
1. It sprouts, grows and produces food in a fairly short period of time (about 50-60 days). this means that a northern club that does drawdowns or has late spring floods can still plant buckwheat in August and get usable duck food even if first frost is around October 1.
2. It can be planted on barely disked ground, even hand sown, and then covered by a board dragged over the loose ground, meaning it is easily planted by hand, in holes where the tractor cannot reach.
3. It does moderately well sown on damp ground as the water recedes, but we always did better with it sown over disked ground then lightly covered worked in. I think millet does better sown on bare damp ground, but that is just me.
4. ducks and other critters will eat the green parts as well as the seeds, so if it still has greens when the season starts, it is just more food.
5. If you are an outlaw, buckwheat seeds do not show up from the air or on cursory exam due to dark color and small size. This means that unscrupulous clubs or hunters could replenish eaten supplies of buckwheat in buckwheat planted areas by "winter planting" when wardens were not watching, dumping buckwheat seed directly in planted areas/baiting. I am not advocating the practice, just telling you an advantage of buckwheat as a feed/bait when used by violators. You should be aware of this just because knowledgeable wardens who understand this advantage may watch your club more closely if you do plant buckwheat extensively.
the negatives of buckwheat:
1. it doesn't last very long in terms of feed output over the season/feed output per acre. Ducks and geese can go through buckwheat pretty fast unless you have a bumper crop or a huge planting, and ducks and gees will eat it first, early in the season. I believe that in tersm of staying power, other crops are better, except millet.... Millet, in my experience goes fast too.....
2. Other critters will eat it before it is flooded, if it is ready too early
3. Calorie output of buckwheat versus corn and other sources is not as good, and in cold weather, ducks will go for other higher output foods if they are available
4. the little buckwheat seeds hurt like hell if you get them in your boot!
I just attended a waterfowl hunters' seminar where Professor Richard Kaminski of Mississippi State University spoke on "Farming for Crops and Waterfowl". It was hands down, the best and most knowledgeable presentation on duck nutrition and food plots for migrating ducks I jave ever heard. He is the James C. Kennnedy Endowed Chair at Mississippi State University on Waterfowl and Wetlands Conservation. If you do a search of him or Miss State, you can find some of their findings, and also find a book put out by them on waterfowl nutrition, wetlands and food. It would be well worth you investment getting his research on not just food, but water level management, food density and a bunch of other stuff................ I think he may be able to give you some better alternatives than buckwheat. He is also an avid duck hunter, and from what I heard during one break out, not a bad caller either............
