Tennessee farmer manages over 1,400 acres of wetland habitat
Quail Forever’s 2024/25 Farmer of the Year Award, sponsored by John Deere, is presented to Wally Childress of Bogota, Tennessee. The annual award recognizes the innovative use of precision ag technology and utilization of data to identify profitable solutions for agriculture and wildlife on working lands throughout America.
Born and raised in West Tennessee, Childress and his family run a successful row crop operation, balancing productive agriculture with extensive wildlife habitat development. Over the last several years, he's worked to establish and manage more than 1,400 acres of wetland habitat on marginal agricultural lands, combining two of his passions: farming and conservation.
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“I’m a farmer at heart and it’s what I love to do,” Childress said. “Farmers always need to try to make a living first, but as I get older, I know I want to do more to make things better than they were before. We’ve always been told in this area quail can’t come back – I just don’t believe that, anything is possible.”
Childress has worked with local Quail Forever precision agriculture & conservation specialists and Farm Bill biologists since 2021. Since then, he has identified and voluntarily implemented various Farm Bill conservation practices throughout his property including 25 acres of CP43 Prairie Strips and 10.5 acres of CP23 Wetland Restoration. He has also enrolled 1,400 acres into a Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership (WREP) through the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS).
“Working with people like Wally is what makes my job fun,” said Jacob Taylor, Quail Forever’s precision ag & conservation specialist. “He’s shown me so many different parts of his farm, and I’ve gotten to help him do projects to make his operation more productive.”
In 2022, Childress worked with the NRCS to intensively manage 117 acres of his WREP as early successional plant communities beneficial to bobwhite quail. In the same year, he worked with QF team members to complete a prescribed burn on 50 acres as part of this management plan.
“One of the things that differentiates Wally’s approach is his partnerships with different groups such as Quail Forever and federal agencies,” said John Deere’s regional sales manager, Dave Hoffman. “He’s learned about the best practices for his farm and then shared these opportunities with his community.”
Childress strives to be involved in his community. He spoke about precision ag technology and enhancing wildlife habitat during a clinic between Quail Forever and Tennessee Tractor, a local John Deere implement dealer. Additionally, he was interviewed for the Tennessee Wildlife magazine, where he described his farm operation and how he has leveraged conservation programs and wildlife habitat to improve his farm’s profitability.
“If I can positively impact wildlife and tie it into farming – that’s what I’ve always wanted to do,” Childress said. “I want to try to be a better person tomorrow than I was yesterday.”
Thank you to national sponsor John Deere for supporting the conservation work of farmers and ranchers throughout the pheasant and quail ranges.