Texas 2016 Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch’s 9th annual field day is set from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sept. 30.

The ranch is 11 miles west of Roby on U.S. Highway 180, or just east of the intersection of Farm-to-Market 611 and U.S. Highway 180.

“Our theme for this year is Can We Insulate this Quail Boom?,” said Dr. Dale Rollins, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service wildlife specialist at San Angelo and the ranch’s executive director.

Rollins, who is also AgriLife Extension’s coordinator for the ongoing Reversing the Decline of Quail state initiative, said this year’s quail crop looks to be better than what he calls the “jubilee year” experienced in 2015.

“It’s pretty incredible to see back-to-back boom years like we’ve experienced recently,” he said. “But our most recent counts are up by 20 percent over last year’s bumper crop. Now the question becomes, how long can we ‘insulate’ the birds and sustain the good times?”

The field day will feature tour stops addressing prescribed burning, prickly pear management for quail, ongoing research efforts and managing for monarch butterflies.

Two Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units will be available for private applicators. 

Registration is $10 due upon arrival. The fee includes refreshments and lunch. Participants are encouraged to RSVP for meal planning purposes to Mary Lynn Nelms at 325-653-4576. 

The field day is sponsored by the Reversing the Decline of Quail initiative, Dow AgroSciences and the Rolling Plains Quail Research Foundation.

For more information on the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch, see www.quailresearch.org .