Jay Hitchcock

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Dale Bumpers White River NWR, 57 S. CC Camp Road, St. Charles, AR 72140

Rapid Yield Estimation Methods for Unharvested Rice Cultivated for Migrating and Wintering Waterfowl

SEAFWA Journal Volume 11, March 2024

Land managers in the southeastern United States cultivate rice (Oryza sativa) to provide calorie-dense forage for autumn-migrating and wintering waterfowl and other migratory birds. Conservation planners require accurate yield estimates for rice and other energy-rich croplands to parameterize bioenergetic models and support data-driven, adaptive resource management efforts. We developed a rapid method to efficiently estimate rice yield and quantified associated precision, accuracy, sampling time, and operating costs in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (n = 16 fields). We...