Farmers Help Migrant Birds in Arkansas Mud Drive

Through the Arkansas Mud Drive, farmers and landowners are asked to voluntarily flood their fields by closing water-control structures within 14 days after harvest. This will keep valuable sediments and nutrients in the fields, as well as provide much needed habitat for waterfowl and shorebirds.

Row-crop agriculture, hunting, wildlife watching and fishing combined generate roughly $4.5 billion in economic activity for Arkansas. The simple practice of voluntarily flooding farm fields after harvest provides the opportunity to bolster the economic impact of all of these sectors at the same time.

Since pumping water is not encouraged through the Mud Drive, and only closing structures is required, farmers will not be out time or money. The goal is to catch rainfall, which is free; and only a few inches of water are needed to support birds. If structures aren’t closed, the soil that escapes a farm field after harvest has nutrients bound to it that the farmer paid for. That is money …read more

Source:: AmmoLand