These places are not trying to grow and hold deer. Though they often have plenty!
I bet they do!..

..I’m with you on that……I’m considering quail too……I’m thinking about the plant response they’re trying to achieve in those “fallow fields” and the species that they want present and in the amount they want them in, etc……Those things will likely grow the way you want them to in good ag soil even with less than desirable soil management practices…….I don’t think you’re likely to get the same quality response in crappy soil regions though because many of those desirable plant species need better growing conditions that what sand can provide without the organic matter being present…..When you break a soil down to nothing but base sand then you tend to get stuff coming in that doesn’t have a whole lot of beneficial wildlife use….
A lot of our “plantations” here in my area sit on top of sand pits….I don’t see them in the spring though so all I really see are the plowed up fields in the winter…..It may be working exactly like they want…….I would still say to that…..Test it compared to a field with 5-6% organic matter and see if the productivity doesn’t significantly change…..It did in my sandy field…….Take all of that bite out of those big ass disks and just let them chop down the vegetation and disturb the soil……There’s no need to churn dirt a foot deep……
Something else you also lose in a field when you deplete the soil OM is soil life and the food web associated with it……