The Prairie Farm Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 392 What This Weather Scientist's Studies Tell us of The Midwest's Climate Future Sep 11, 2026

Show notes

Iowa State agronomy professor Dr. Brian Hornbuckle joins Nicolas and Kent to talk weather, water, and the Iowa landscape. We get into corn sweat, why rain is coming in bigger chunks, how trading prairie for row crops changed our summers, and a NASA satellite that might spot thirsty plants early.

hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture mixes, and more)

iowacovercrop.com (for all your cover crop mixes, waterway mixes, forage mixes, small grains, and more)

Chapters:

0:00:00 Welcome

0:03:37 Meet Dr. Brian Hornbuckle

0:06:59 Is Corn Sweat Real?

0:09:18 Climate Models, Butterflies & Digital Twins

0:14:33 Why Real Data Still Beats AI Hype

0:17:56 How Row Crops Changed Midwest Summers

0:19:12 Rain in Bigger Chunks

0:22:36 What Shapes Corn Belt Weather

0:27:04 Greenhouse Effect in Plain English

0:37:03 El Niño, La Niña & Hard Forecasts

0:41:19 Wetter Springs, Fertilizer & the Warming Hole

0:49:31 Invent vs Adapt Our Way Out

0:54:29 Peak Carbon and the AI Energy Problem

1:01:33 Feedbacks, Wildfire & Air Quality

1:07:38 Spotting Thirsty Plants from Space

1:12:45 Inside NASA's SMAP Satellite

1:19:36 Little Ice Age & Indigenous Fire

1:25:59 Solar Fields and Climate Scale

1:31:26 Strong Communities / Where to Find Him

Ep. 391 (Coffee Time) Which Prairie Species Are Invasive to The Rest of The World Sep 09, 2026

Show notes

Nicolas and Riley dig into milkweed banned in the EU, broomsedge, ragweed's 7.4 billion euro allergy bill, and the 2016 Palmer amaranth scare. Plus bare soil temperatures, cooler trout streams below prairie, and a mix built to bust clay.

hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture mixes, and more)

MckayInsAgency.com (for all your financial planning and insurance needs)

BirdHunterSupply.com (for all your bird hunting supplies and dog hunting supplies)

Chapters:

0:00 Welcome

7:37 Iowa Prairie Documentary Project

10:46 Combine Breakdowns and Wild Bergamot

12:18 Metal Allergies and Canker Sores

15:19 Milkweed Banned in the EU

16:51 Mare's Tail Crowding Out Pollinators

18:22 Ragweed, Broomsedge, and Allergy Costs

22:55 Palmer Amaranth and International Weed Law

25:57 Why Tallgrass Diversity Travelled Poorly

28:58 Bare Soil Temperatures in July

30:31 Cooler Trout Streams Below Prairie

35:03 Clay Buster Seed Mix

36:36 Hiring a Marketing Manager

38:07 Busy Season With Judd Off the Grid

Ep. 390 What Pesticide Companies Are Doing In Washington to Make Billions Sep 04, 2026

Show notes

Sarah Starman of Friends of the Earth joins Nicolas and Kent to break down pesticide tort immunity: who is lobbying for it, how the EPA got captured, and why only 1.4% of likely-carcinogen pesticides carry a cancer warning. Then forever chemicals, sewage sludge, and one condemned Michigan farm.

hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture mixes, and more)

BirdHunterSupply.com (for all your bird hunting supplies and dog hunting supplies)

Analysis: EPA only requires cancer warnings on 1.4% of pesticides with probable and likely carcinogens -- Center for Biological Diversity The Chemical Industry Has Infiltrated the EPA — Friends of the Earth Tracing Bayer's ties to power and Tracking the Trump administration's favors to the pesticide industry — U.S. Right to Know What Happens if Bayer Pulls Roundup? — Farm Action Organic for All Study: Just two weeks on an organic diet can reduce pesticides in your body up to 95% -- Friends of the Earth Chapters: 0:00:00 Welcome 0:03:05 Meet Sarah Starman — Tort Shield for Pesticide Companies 0:06:08 Bayer's Army of Lobbyists in D.C. 0:09:12 The Coffee Shop Analogy for Liability 0:12:15 Warning Labels and Health Hazards 0:15:18 EPA Capture and Inside Baseball 0:18:19 Carcinogen Labeling Rates 0:21:20 Does Emailing Your Rep Actually Help? 0:24:22 From Plaintiff Lawyer to Tort Reform Champion 0:30:27 More Pesticide Chatter Than Ever 0:33:28 Polling on How Americans Feel About Pesticides 0:39:37 MAHA, RFK, and Farm Advocacy Groups 0:42:41 What's Actually in a Jug of Roundup 0:51:49 Regulation, Affordability, and Reshoring 0:57:54 Lower-Lift Fixes Beyond Bans 1:00:57 Baby Food and Chemical Residues 1:03:59 Farm Resilience Money Through EQIP and CSP 1:10:03 The Chemistry Cliff and EPA Re-Reviews 1:16:08 Forever Chemicals in Everyday Products 1:19:10 Biosolids on Farm Fields 1:22:14 PFAS in School Meat 1:28:22 Who Profits From Cracking the Code 1:34:26 Buying Organic and Everyday Choices

Ep. 389 (Coffee Time) Should We Use Farmland for Solar and Who Wins... A Bison or Bull? Sep 02, 2026

Show notes

Nicolas is back from three weeks off, and the crew digs into solar on farmland: how many acres each Midwest state would need, whether panels wreck the soil, and the hard question nobody asks. What grows under them? Plus a wild bison versus fighting bull story you have to hear.

hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture mixes, and more)

iowacovercrop.com (for all your cover crop mixes, waterway mixes, forage mixes, small grains, and more)

MckayInsAgency.com (for all your financial planning and insurance needs)

Ep. 388 The Status of Farming According to Bankers and Where is Agriculture Headed Aug 28, 2026

Show notes

Join Nicolas and Kent as they sit down with Robert Poppe, Vice President of Marion County Bank. Robert unpacks the realities of ag lending, the true cost of farm consolidation, and how debt can either cripple or propel an operation. It's a candid look at the finances behind the farm.

hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture mixes, and more)

BirdHunterSupply.com (for all your bird hunting supplies and dog hunting supplies)

Ep. 387 (Coffee Time) Bringing Back Grazing, but Importing Beef and The Iowa State Fair By The Numbers with Aaron Van Wyk Aug 26, 2026

Show notes

Another NicoLESS coffee time and we are talking bovines and the state fair with our friend and fellow farmer Aaron Van Wyk.

Hoksey Native Seeds

McKay Insurance

Ep. 386 How Jon Judson Created Some of The Best Reconstructed Prairies in The Midwest Aug 21, 2026

Show notes

Join Nicolas and Kent as they visit Diversity Farms owner Jon Judson, a veteran Iowa prairie reconstructionist. From local seed genetics and tough site preparation to interseeding, prescribed fire, weed management, and grazing, Jon shares practical guidance for building diverse native prairie communities that can truly thrive for decades ahead.

hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture mixes, and more)

MckayInsAgency.com (for all your financial planning and insurance needs)

BirdHunterSupply.com (for all your bird hunting supplies and dog hunting supplies)

Chapters:

0:00 Welcome

1:35 Meet Jon Judson

3:05 His Proudest Prairie Reconstruction

4:37 Local Genetics vs Distant Seed Sources

6:09 Converting a Brome Pasture to Prairie

7:40 Killing Bluegrass — Herbicide and Tillage

9:11 Interseeding After the First Planting

12:16 Adding Diversity to Old Low-Diversity CRP

13:47 Mowing to Open Root Space Below Ground

16:49 How to Make Interseeding Actually Work

18:21 Early Burns to Speed Establishment

21:22 Mid-July Plantings That Still Thrived

22:54 Edge Effects and Competition Keeping Weeds Out

25:56 Mowing Thistles the Right Way

27:27 Flash Grazing on Reconstructed Prairie

28:58 Linking CRP and Grazing in the Midwest

32:02 The Pioneer Generation and Carol's Anniversary

33:35 Hope in Young Biologists and USDA Programs

36:38 Expanding Around a Remnant Prairie

Ep. 385 (Coffee Time) Mad Max on Cars, Conservation and Farming Aug 19, 2026

Show notes

We are joined by the talented Alex Hoksbergen this week for Coffee Time Wednesday. Enjoy!

Hoksey Native Seeds

Iowa Cover Crop

Ep. 384 Gubernatorial Candidate Rob Sand Aug 14, 2026

Show notes

Iowa auditor and gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand joins the Prairie Farm Podcast to talk clean water, cancer, and conservation. He lays out a plan for the biggest prairie pothole and wetland restoration Iowa has ever seen, defends public land and hunting heritage, and makes the case for working across the aisle.

hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture mixes, and more)

iowacovercrop.com (for all your cover crop mixes, waterway mixes, forage mixes, small grains, and more)

MckayInsAgency.com (for all your financial planning and insurance needs)

Ep. 383 (Coffee Time) Is Ethanol ACTUALLY a Quality Energy Investment? And a Farm Bill Update Aug 12, 2026

Show notes

Coffee Time Wednesday is back. Nicolas, Kent, and Riley debate which famous conservationist they'd most want as a friend, why the Farm Bill stalled over SNAP, and whether ethanol actually pays off. Along the way: a post-ethanol Iowa, corn versus solar, and what makes a prairie look truly healthy.

hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture mixes, and more)

BirdHunterSupply.com (for all your bird hunting supplies and dog hunting supplies)

Chapters:

0:00:00 Welcome

0:03:09 Fantasy Conservationist Dinner Party

0:06:11 Teddy Roosevelt and the North Dakota Ranch

0:09:12 Western Painters and Dust Bowl Science

0:15:17 Hugh Bennett and Getting Out of the Dust Bowl

0:21:24 Farm Bill Damage and August Recess

0:24:27 Missing the 30-Day Assistance Window

0:30:32 High-Quality Ecotypes and Our Mission

0:33:35 Is Ethanol Actually Breaking Even?