Bio Blog

How many ducks can benefit from Teller’s wildlife-friendly farming practices??

By Sam Lawry
January, 2010

Each year, as a part of The Teller’s Wildlife-Friendly Farming program, a portion of the barley crop is left standing in the field un-harvested.  These strips of barley serve as “wildlife food plots” benefitting a host of wildlife species, including song birds, pheasants, turkeys and white-tailed deer.  Other species such as hawks and owls benefit from the dense rodent populations found within the barley strips.  However, waterfowl- particularly Mallard ducks - are the primary beneficiaries of the grain strips.  

So how many Mallard ducks can benefit from Teller’s food plot program and for how long?

1. 200 ducks for 10 days
2. 750 ducks for 10 days
3. 1,200 ducks for 10 days
4. 8,000 ducks for 10 days

Research regarding winter waterfowl grain consumption indicates that 1 bushel of barley can support 125 ducks for 1 day.  We estimate that average barley production on The Teller is 40 bushels per acre.  However, approximately 16 acres of barley is left standing each year.  Therefore, total barley production amounts to 640 bushels.  640 bushels of barley could feed 80,000 ducks for 1 day or 8,000 ducks for 10 days.   Over the last three years, from mid-December and ending in early January, Teller barley has attracted between 3,000 to 5,000 ducks, validating our research findings. 

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