According to Howell, these areas are the limiting factors on most agricultural lands. Leaving a border of native herbaceous cover around fields will increase these habitats and create additional winter food sources. Here's how it's done. Leave a strip of fallow ground around each field. As little as 10 feet will benefit quail, but where possible 20 to 50 feet is a better width for a border.
Many people simply let their borders lie fallow without planting.
Annual weeds soon begin to appear, which provide excellent brood-rearing food and cover. In the Southeast, native grasses begin coming in naturally during the second year. These provide quality nesting habitat. Succession is slower in the Northeast and the Midwest, where native grasses are often planted on borders. Little bluestem or indiangrass, for example, is mixed with legumes such as partridge pea.