We've gotten a bit off topic here, discussing genetics and the ethics of trophy hunting. Flintlock, your climate in PA will be roughly similar to mine in east central OH. I just finished my fourth season hunting my own food plots. I don't claim to have all the answers, but I can tell you what has worked during my few years of hunting and experimenting.
I've had good luck with clover and clover/alfalfa blends. They let me watch deer a lot during the summer and are great early season attractants, but fall off badly after the first hard frost. I tried to help that out this year by planting part of a plot in a pea/bean/grain type blend, but that part bombed due to bad drought after planting. The only part of that blend that did any good was the sorghum. I plowed under most of it in early September and planted a wheat/clover/brassica blend intended for fall planting. That worked ok; it attracted deer as it was the only fresh green growth around, but the resulting heavy pressure wiped it out.
I tried a turnip/brassica type blend a few years ago. I wasn't crazy about the results, but the brassica and especially the turnips did keep the deer coming much later than the clover did.
My 12 acres isn't enough to keep deer living entirely on my property, and I can't plant enough food plot to significantly influence deer nutrition. My philosophy for my food plots is simply to provide an attractive food source so I can watch deer during the summer and harvest one or two in the fall. Typically I will take one early season doe off my own property, then move on to hunt a neighbor's farm with much more land and better food sources. I could certainly save my time and money on the food plots, but it lets me play farmer and I enjoy being able to hunt deer on my own property.
Mistakes I've made: not controlling grasses well enough, especially in the clover plots, and not liming and fertilizing appropriately. I've tried to save money sometimes when cash is tight, and it has hurt my plots.
The equipment you suggest sounds appropriate. A plow may be helpful for the first tilling, as a disk can have a hard time adequately penetrating hard soil or sod. Don't plan on using a large broadcast spreader for any clover, alfalfa, or brassica seed; you can't set the openings small enough to seed it well. I use a hand spreader for the smaller seeds on mine. One of my customers asked me to use my three point spreader to seed clover and alfalfa on his plots, even after I told him my concerns about seed size, and we had poor results. A large outdoor store near me offers rentals on a Plot Master; that may also be an option in your area, and has the potential to save some of the initial investment in equipment.
Plan on taking a couple of years to improve the soil and figure out what works in your area. I enjoy working on and hunting my food plots, but they aren't a magic bullet. I just finished my season a couple weeks ago after taking the three deer I'm allowed in Ohio. I took one doe off the neighbor's farm, another doe off my food plot, and got my first really good buck off the farm. The freezer's full, I have antlers at my taxidermist, and I'm happy. Now I get to sit back and plan next year's plots...
