2023/2024 Quail Forever Farmer of the Year Award - Featuring Arkansas' Jason Carter

Quail Forever’s 2023/2024 Precision Farmer of the Year Award, sponsored by John Deere, is presented to Jason Carter of Monticello, Arkansas. The annual award recognizes the innovative use of precision ag technology and utilization of data to identify profitable solutions for agriculture and wildlife on working lands throughout America.
A native of southeast Arkansas, Cater and his family run a successful row crop and cattle operation, balancing productive agriculture with extensive wildlife habitat development. Several years ago, he obtained a new parcel of property for his operation, which he recognized held negligible agricultural value, but tremendous conservation opportunity. Starting with a total of 644 acres, he split the property in half - creating 322 acres of quail and pollinator habitat.
To learn more about Quail Forever's precision ag and conservation solutions, visit: quailforever.o...

[@senorphipps4984]

I appreciate the farmer and his conservation mindset, but I wished you discussed the birds more, like how many there are and how they use the property instead of so much fluff

[@paulmelton7261]

👎 If ANY of my QF money went into that, I'll Just drop my membership...... Quail ? Huntable populations on the lands shown here will be a pretty BIG Stretch.....
Nothing against a working Farming enterprise, just don't pull my leg about how they produce quail

[@colinjohnston5465]

Quail are migrant visitors to the UK so not 100% comparable to what I see round here in the South Downs National Park in the UK. However, we have a major problem (not just pressure groups wanting to ban all hunting, shooting, fishing) and that is habitat and species loss. Grey partridge (Huns in the US) are native here but their population has fallen off a cliff. Why? Farming practices over the last 40 to 50 years. The maximise production mantra has been a disaster for all wildlife. One local landowner near me took it upon himself to turn this round and has been successful. He went from 5 wild breeding pairs of greys to over 2,00 birds in 12 years. It took time, money and family commitment to do it. Private landowners and farmers are the key to us keeping every wildlife species from local extinction. We have to treasure them all from the plants, the bugs and the bees through our delicious ground nesting birds that feed on them (such as quail and partridge) plus all their predators which must be managed intelligently.
It was interesting to hear that fire, controlled burning, is recognised as doing so much good in practical conservation. So called environmentalists in the UK (especially Scotland) are trying to ban its use. Not because they don't privately accept it is an excellent management tool, they know that. It is because it is such an effective tool that they want it banned so our cherished quarry species become unviable for hunting. How messed up is that?
Farmers like the Carters are the way forward and the biggest plus that we can have to save all the field sports that we all love. Well done the Carters, John Deere and QF for this conservation and hunting success story.
Thanks, QF, for bring us this success story. Keep up the good work!

[@danielwales1484]

Show me the quail!