1. Home
2. Conferences
3. 2022 National Farm Business Management Conference

Economic Feasibility of Developing CRP Land for Quail Hunting with the use of the SAFE program

Courtney Bir

Summary

Farms are continuously looking for ways to diversify their operations. Increasing potential revenue from CRP lands is one way to increase profitability. We propose the curation of game birds, namely quail, on CRP land to increase a net farm income through the sales of hunting rights. Quail is one game bird with acceptable habitat throughout the US. Our study focuses on Oklahoma, but the principles and methods could be applied or adjusted for quail habitats across the US. This work will determine 1) the optimal introduction rate and habitat curation on CRP land to establish the population for hunting purposes and 2) under what conditions, including timing and the use of SAFE money, this enterprise diversification may be profitable for farm businesses. We will use dynamic programming to determine the optimal population of quail given set acreage and management strategies. We will vary the timing of the enterprise start in conjunction with CRP renewal, and the availability of SAFE funds. The Net Present Value (NPV) of the management strategies will be compared using cost benefit analysis to provide information for decision making. This research will provide information for those interested in diversifying farm businesses and optimizing the choice of enrolling land in a CRP program.

Details

---