Turning Red Acres Green With On-Farm Productivity Data

Tennessee Quail Forever might be best known for its efforts towards the conservation of upland birds and other wildlife, but since last Spring, a new conservation initiative has successfully taken root - converting unprofitable cropland acres into beneficial habitats. 

Through its Precision Ag & Conservation program, Quail Forever is working directly with commodity producers to help them utilize on-farm technology.

“Because a large portion of western Tennessee is cropland, the Tennessee Quail Forever team worked to start a program that would give producers the ability to better understand their return on investment across any given field,” says Jacob Taylor, Precision Ag & Conservation Specialist with Quail Forever in Jackson, Tennessee. “Using this information, we work with the producer to identify consistently unprofitable acres that would benefit under an alternate perennial cover of native grass, legumes, and wildflowers.”

Since the program’s launch, Quail Forever has partnered with 16 producers in eight counties across Tennessee. Over 25,000 acres are currently being analyzed with over 100 acres set to be added this Spring. Several of these conservation projects utilize cost-share and incentive payments from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Taylor also attributes their success to contributions from local biologists, county NRCS and FSA offices, regional co-ops, ag supply companies, and many others. 

“Prairie strips, wildlife buffers, pollinator plots, and wetland restorations are a few practices [producers] have used that offer many environmental and agronomic benefits,” explains Taylor. “But, the main advantage for the producer is the ability to save money that’s otherwise lost each year and increase profitability on a smaller number of cropland acres.”