I just finished planting dutch clover. It cost $45 deliver for 10 lbs from Outsidepride.com. It comes inoculated. Some I used in bare areas and most went onto my food plots. 10 lbs is enough for an acre. My food plots are small and nestled in the woods.
This is my first attempt, so cannot offer much advice. The owner of the deer camp next to me has numerous food plots (7-8 acres planted) on his 260 acres. He spends $2000/yr on seed, lime and fertilizer. That is not for me. My cost for about an acre of has been $45 for the seed and $120 Plot-Start and Plot-Boost from these guys:
DeerGro | Deer Food Plots Sprays Growing Bigger Deer
Applying the Plot-Start was very simple and much easier than using lime as well as about 1/2 the cost.
Doing it the "right way", like my neighbor, costs $250-300 per acre. He plants different crops spring and fall. My cost was $165/acre for this year and will be much less moving forward. I do not plan on rotating crops and will just use clover year round. May need to over-seed next year and then every second year; and apply lime or Plot-Start once a year if needed.
But the big saving is in equipment. I was able to use the landscape rake I already have to prepare the soil. The seeds are so tiny I was leery of using my broadcast spreader so used a little hand held unit. Got a bit of walking exercise...LOL. Spraying was easy with my pull behind on my lawn tractor. I do not need to invest in a tiller or cultipacker. And I will not need to kill off crops to plant the next crop.
I realize I will not be feeding the deer optimally for their seasonal needs but it is better than doing nothing. If it does not work, I have very little invested so not a huge risk.
Fortunately, I am an "honorary member" at the deer camp next to me. I help out a bit and they let me hunt the second week of rifle season after they leave. I am not allowed to shoot a buck unless it is 8pt or better but they will let me harvest as many does as I wish as our ratio is something like 10:1. I am thankful for my status there and decided I would not shoot a buck anyway. Some of the guys might be a bit ticked off if I harvested a 10 pointer on their property. Thus my desire to have something on my land as well.
Good luck with your plots. There is a lot of stuff on what to plant and how. I got overwhelmed and decided to KISS.