Cropland Management

Minor changes in an area's crops can have a major effect on wildlife numbers. This chapter discusses management practices for cropfields and adjacent areas that are practical, profitable and beneficial to wildlife.

Crop Fields

Conservation tillage

Many land managers consider conservation tillage to be the most promising single practice for reducing soil erosion. It also is very beneficial for wildlife, especially quail, pheasants and songbirds.

Conservation tillage is a broad term that refers to several tillage methods that maintain crop residue - stubble, grain and other plant seeds - on the field surface. These tillage methods control erosion, conserve soil moisture and increase organic matter, resulting in better field soil conditions. Studies have shown that conservation tillage fields can have yields that equal or exceed conventional tillage fields. In addition, production costs are less for conservation tillage systems.

Residues from conservation tillage provide both food and cover for wildlife. In particular, waste grain and weed seeds left after harvesting are staple foods for wildlife in winter. If you must plow in the fall, plow only a portion of the field and leave the field borders for spring tillage.

Currently, conservation tillage methods dictate an increase in pesticide use. Proper application of these pesticides will reduce both production costs and hazards to the environment.

Crop rotation

Crop rotation is simply the planting of different crops in the same field from year to year. Long-term rotation means planting three or even four different crops before returning to the original crop. These practices increase the health of the cropping system and add plant diversity to the land.

Continuous cropping means that the crops in a field do not change each year. Crop-disease experts report that the highest risk for crop diseases results from continuous cropping. Insect problems also are more prevalent under this system, so more pesticides are needed. Most corn and soybean diseases and associated pests can be controlled by a simple crop rotation.

Legumes always are a good choice - and often a necessity - for rotation because they add nitrogen to the soil and reduce fertilizer requirements for next season's crop. Sweet clover, for example, can produce up to 174 pounds of plant nitrogen per acre. Legumes also make ideal wildlife nesting cover and food if mowing is delayed until after July 15. Clovers can be seeded into row crops after the last cultivation to reduce erosion, add nitrogen and provide wildlife cover during the winter. See Plantings Beneficial to Wildlife and Fencing to Protect Wildlife Food and Cover for seeding charts.

Small-grain crops, such as wheat and oats, provide nesting cover throughout the spring and summer. The stubble of these crops, cut high and left undisturbed, makes excellent brood-rearing habitat for quail and pheasants. The seeds of annual plants associated with small-grain stubble provide food for wildlife.

Legumes and small grains help prevent soil erosion. Good rotation crops for sloping fields include corn or milo, soybeans, wheat or oats, and clover.

Contour strip cropping

The practice in which row crops are planted in strips along the natural contour of the slope and next to a grass strip is referred to as contour strip cropping. It provides erosion control and plant diversity.

The strips of grass, legumes or small grains act as a filter that traps sediment and slows water runoff. The strip width is dictated by the severity of the erosion problem and the slope of the field. Where erosion is severe, permanent grass strips should be maintained between strips of crops. These strips should be seeded to a grass/legume mixture that is beneficial to wildlife. See chart on Plantings Beneficial to Wildlife. All of the listed grass/legume mixtures produce high-quality hay. In some years, the seed and hay harvested from these strips can produce more income per acre than the adjacent row crops.

Strips seeded to grass/legume mixtures serve as travel lanes and cover for wildlife. These strips also provide nesting and roosting cover and, if possible, should not be mowed until mid-July.

Field Borders, Fencerows & Turn-Rows

Field borders can be seeded to grass/legume mixtures that are attractive to wildlife. See chart on Plantings Beneficial to Wildlife.

When planted around cropfields, native warm-season grasses and other grasses, such as redtop and timothy, serve as valuable nesting, brood-rearing and concealment cover for wildlife. These grasses may be hayed in July when adjacent crops provide cover.

Field borders next to woodlots, wooded fencerows, hedgerows and other brushy areas offer more opportunities for wildlife. Shading and root competition from trees and shrubs in these areas can be minimized with the use of a tractor-drawn root plow, which prunes the roots of woody plants. Root plows are available on loan from many Soil and Water Conservation districts in Missouri.

Turn-rows planted to a grass/legume mixture will help control soil erosion, provide space to turn equipment and serve as a roadway along the edge of the field. Grass/legume borders also provide cover for ground-nesting birds, such as meadowlarks, pheasants and quail. These areas should be clipped at two-year intervals to prevent woody sprout invasion. Clipping should be done in mid-July, after the peak of the nesting season.

Fallow Fields & Set-Aside Acres

Fallow fields are cropfields that lie idle during part or all of the growing season. The acreage of fallow fields in Missouri has increased in recent years due to government set-aside programs. These programs help provide wildlife with the old-field weeds and grasses they need for food and cover.

Rules for managing set-aside acres under federal cost-share programs are written in each Conservation Farm Plan. Each plan is written by the Natural Resources Conservation Service using input from the landowner. At the landowner's request, land improvements for wildlife can be included in the plan.

Some plantings that benefit wildlife on set-aside acres are:

• Native warm-season grasses, such as big bluestem, Indian grass and switch grass
• Trees
• Annual grain food plots
• Cool-season grass/legume plantings, such as orchard grass and red clover, timothy and Korean lespedeza, or a similar mix.

Wildlife Management Practices gives suggestions on seeding rates and mixtures.

Grassed or Wooded Waterways

Waterways may be used as outlets for water collected by terrace systems on crop fields. These waterways vary in size according to the size of the drainage area and are seeded to perennial grasses, legumes or both. A grassed waterway is not needed in all terraced areas. In many cases a wooded draw may function as an excellent water outlet for terraces if it is not actively eroding. In addition, wooded draws can provide critical woody cover for wildlife.

Most of the native warm-season grasses can be planted on grassed waterways to help control erosion, provide wildlife cover and produce high-quality hay. They should be mowed after the peak of quail and pheasant nesting in mid-July.

Terraces

A terrace is an earthen embankment built across the slope of a field to intercept runoff water. Terraces, by design, divide long, steep hillsides into a series of shorter slopes to reduce erosion. The terrace channel is sloped toward a grassed waterway, a stable wooded draw or an underground outlet so the water runs off without creating a gully.

The three types of terraces used in Missouri are broad base, steep backslope and narrow base. All three terrace types are effective in reducing erosion; however, only steep backsloped and narrow-based terraces provide grassy cover for wildlife.

Most grass/legume mixtures are suited for seeding these terraced slopes. Switch grass works particularly well and develops into travel lanes, nesting areas and cover areas for wildlife. Woody shrubs that invade the switch-grass strip can be controlled with periodic burning.

Field Shelterbelts, Windbreaks & Fencerows

Trees planted as windbreaks can reduce wind velocities on their downwind side for distances up to 10 to 20 times the height of the trees, depending upon the species and density.

Hardwood or deciduous trees, which shed their leaves in the fall, are not as effective as evergreens for winter protection. Their bare limbs do reduce wind velocities and offer some amount of protection, however. The advantages of hardwood trees are that they are hardier, grow faster and are taller at maturity than evergreens. Field windbreaks reduce soil erosion, conserve soil moisture and provide food and cover for wildlife. See Windbreaks for information on designing windbreaks.

Woody fencerows next to cropfields provide many of the same benefits as windbreaks. Natural woody fencerows can be encouraged by not spraying or mowing next to the fence. When protected from grazing and clipping, fencerows can develop into natural travel lanes for wildlife. Planting clumps of trees and shrubs or spreading seeds of vines and shrubs along the fencerow also helps.

Cropland Management Tips:

• Establish conservation tillage systems.
• Avoid fall plowing unless absolutely necessary. If you fall plow, leave unplowed borders or strips for spring plowing.
• Minimize pesticide and herbicide applications.
• Rotate crops to include forage and small-grain crops.
• Use winter cover crops for green browse, erosion control and wildlife cover.
• Plant grass/legume border strips around all or a portion of crop fields. Mow or disk these strips at two-year intervals to control woody vegetation.
• Allow shallow draws to revegetate naturally, or plant to warm-season grasses or a grass/legume mixture. Delay mowing until after July 15 to avoid nesting losses.
• Seed waterways to grass/legume mixtures that are beneficial to wildlife. Delay mowing until after July 15, which is the end of the peak nesting season.
• Establish grass filter strips around crop-field ponds to reduce sedimentation and to add wildlife cover.
• Protect woody draws and fencerows.
• Leave a minimum of 1/4 acre of grain crops unharvested for each 40 acres of crop field. Leave crops in patches or strips near cover.