Row Crop Farmers

Much of the promotion of habitat management for quail is aimed at landowners with CRP. However, a row crop or livestock farmer can still manage for quail without affecting profit margins. This can be done by working with the edges of your fields. Here are some ideas to consider for your operation:

Spray brome or fescue in the fencerows and odd areas, overseed with

orchardgrass, little bluestem and legumes

Cut trees such as honey locust and elm in fencerows and draws to encourage shrubby growth. DO NOT BULLDOZE -- DO NOT CUT OAKS AND OTHER VALUABLE TREES

Signup for CRP filterstrips, riparian buffers, stripcropping and field borders and avoid seeding brome and fescue (when available).

Fence out woody draws

Delay haying the outside 25' of your hay fields until after July 15

Reduce chemical rates on outside rows of cropfields

$$$
Cost share is available through
Quail Unlimited
Missouri Department of Conservation
or
USDA
for most of these practices.
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