The Prairie Farm Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 372 The Pros and Cons of Grazing Cattle, Bison, Sheep, and Goats on Prairie Jul 03, 2026

Show notes

Join Nicolas and Kent as they sit down with Elizabeth and Loren Steele from Hamilton Native Outpost. They discuss the incredible nutritional benefits of prairie-raised beef, managing native grazing systems, and why diverse plant communities build healthier livestock and landscapes.

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

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

Chapters:

0:00:00 Welcome

0:02:00 Meet Elizabeth and Loren Steele

0:03:04 Health Benefits in Grass-Finished Meat

0:06:06 Compounds in Meat and Milk From Diverse Forage

0:12:11 Native Grasslands Before Settlement

0:15:12 Virtual Fence and Boundary Noise

0:18:14 How Sensitive Bison Really Are

0:21:15 Chicks Home for a Week — Tiny Farm Life

0:24:16 Opportunity in Bison

0:30:19 Better for Livestock, Soil, and Wildlife

0:33:20 How Much Remnant Prairie Is Left

0:36:24 Haying Regimes and Plant Communities

0:39:26 Bears and Prairie Understory

0:45:30 Cool-Season Grasses in Ag Mixes

0:48:32 Timing Grazing Across Species

0:54:38 Conservation Fit to Preference Becomes Corn

0:57:38 Virginia Wild Rye and Bird Dogs

1:00:40 Species Preferences and Milkweed Toxicity

1:03:46 What Goats Do to Brush

1:09:50 Goat Meat in the Midwest Market

1:12:53 Feedlot Flavor vs Grass Potential

1:15:54 Introduced Cool-Season Forage Background

1:22:02 Switchgrass Windows and Gaps

1:25:05 Letting a Field Rest a Full Season

1:28:07 Justifying Expensive Seeding Rates

1:31:11 Eastern Gamagrass — Beloved Stepchild

1:34:12 Mixing Bluestems vs Monocultures

Ep. 371 (Coffee Time) Good News for CRP in the Farm Bill and What Littering Costs Rural America Jul 01, 2026

Show notes

Join Nicolas, Kent, and Riley for this week's Coffee Time as they dive into the latest Farm Bill updates, extending CRP through 2031, and exciting new cost-share opportunities for prairie burning and grazing. Plus, the guys discuss America’s billion-dollar littering problem and what it costs the USA.
hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, CRP mixes, hunting habitat mixes, pollinator mixes, native pasture mixes and more)
IowaCoverCrop.com (for all your cover crop, water mixes, and more)
MckayInsAgency.com (for all your insurance and financial planning needs)

Chapters:

0:00 Welcome

6:12 Casey's Rankings and Small-Town Food

9:12 Feeling Better After Lunch

15:14 Farm Bill Defense and Ag Subheadings

18:15 CRP Cap Stays at 27 Million Acres

21:21 Stocking Rate, Drought, and Grazing Rules

24:23 Wildlife-Specific CRP Practices

27:24 Commodity Markets and Emergency Food Reserve

30:27 Sheep Import Deficit

33:28 Project 2025 and Administration Moves

36:31 NRCS Capacity Conversation

39:33 Trends Since 2020

45:38 What Littering Says About Us

48:39 Treating Land and People With Respect

(Bonus Episode) Advocacy Fatigue, Roadless Rule, and Mining Permits w/Travis Hall Jun 30, 2026

Show notes

Join Kent and Nicolas as they welcome Travis Hall, Associate Editor of Field & Stream, to discuss public land advocacy, the roadless rule, and why protecting our wild spaces requires active participation from hunters, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts everywhere.
hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, CRP mixes, backyard prairie, pollinator mixes, and hunting habitat)

Chapters:

0:00:00 Welcome

0:02:00 Meet Travis Hall

0:03:07 Growing Up on Field & Stream

0:09:13 Outdoor News and Local Blurbs

0:12:16 Neighbors Teaching Hunting and Fishing

0:15:18 Public Land Sales and Extraction Permits

0:18:21 Advocacy Fatigue and Who Still Engages

0:24:27 Stakeholder Compromise on Federal Land

0:27:29 Losing Prime Habitat in National Forest

0:30:33 Mining on Privately Owned Land

0:33:36 Roadless Rule and Inventoried Acres

0:39:42 Budget Reconciliation and Public Land Riders

0:42:43 Tongass Old Growth at Risk

0:45:45 Private Entities Benefiting in Perpetuity

0:48:46 Capitol Switchboard — Make It Accessible

0:54:52 Going Mildly Viral Outside Your Bubble

0:57:55 Breaking Social Media Addiction

1:07:04 Mike Lee's Poison Pill

1:10:04 Voters Who Can Make Politicians Mad

1:16:10 Alaska Firewood Ban on Public Forests

1:22:15 Homeowners Insurance and Falling Trees

Ep. 370 How State Legislation Determines the Quality of the Deer Herd w/Skip Sligh Jun 26, 2026

Show notes

Skip Sligh returns to The Prairie Farm Podcast to discuss the harsh realities of modern land stewardship. From the challenge of hunting mature whitetails to combating the rise in rural poaching and managing vulnerable acreage, Skip offers an honest, grounded look at what it takes to protect Iowa’s native habitats.

hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, CRP, hunting habitat, pollinator mixes, and more)

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

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

Chapters:

0:00:00 Welcome

0:02:00 Meet Skip Sligh

0:03:07 Giant Deer Without Big Money

0:09:14 Rising Tide of Whitetail Habitat

0:12:19 Parcelled Habitat in Wisconsin and Michigan

0:15:22 Hunter Density Myths vs Iowa Data

0:18:24 Over-the-Counter Wisconsin Tags

0:21:25 Restriction Counties and Herd Management

0:27:30 Non-Resident Landowner Lobbying

0:30:32 Acreage Minimums Driving Prices Up

0:36:39 Legislation That Sold Out Residents

0:39:42 Iowa Had No Deer for Decades

0:48:48 Losing Pheasant Hunting — Get Kids on Small Game

0:54:54 Bolstering Small Towns Like Knoxville

1:00:58 Western Nebraska Towns Built on Hunting

1:07:01 Poaching and the Taxidermist

1:10:05 Losing a Handful to Poachers Every Year

1:16:09 Stiffer Penalties as a Deterrent

1:19:15 Plea Downs Need More Teeth

1:25:17 Hunters as Small-Business Customers

1:28:20 Talking Land Without the Hate

1:31:22 Data Centers and Funding IWILL

1:43:36 Banking a Good Year for the Bad Ones

1:46:42 Mortgages on Houses and Vehicles

1:55:48 Young People Leaving Iowa

Ep. 369 (Coffee Time) Will the Fed's Plan for Immigrant Labor Save Dairy Farms..? Jun 24, 2026

Show notes

Join Nicolas and Kent for another Coffee Time Wednesday! This week, they share their harrowing adventures with old farm equipment, the realities of harvesting native seeds, and dive into a deep discussion on the changing economics of dairy farming and agricultural labor. Grab your coffee and tune in!
hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, CRP, hunting habitat, backyard prairie, and more)
IowaCoverCrop.com (for all your cover crop, forage mixes, waterway mixes, and more)

Chapters:

0:00 Welcome

6:04 Coffee Time Intro

9:07 The Retiree Welder-Fabricator

12:09 Machinery That Needs Serious Work

15:18 Jed Doing the Planting This Year

21:20 What H-2A Immigrant Labor Actually Is

24:23 Gross Profit vs Real Dairy Margins

27:27 Raising Wages to $38 an Hour

Ep. 368 This man likely knows more about Iowa water quality than anyone Jun 19, 2026

Show notes

Join us as Dr. Larry Weber from the University of Iowa discusses the critical intersection of water quality and public health. We explore off-grid living, the importance of native prairie in conservation, and the growing nitrate crisis in Iowa’s waterways. Discover how informed communities can protect our shared water resources.

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

Iowa Cover Crop (for all your cover crop mixes, water way mixes, small grains, and more)

McKay Insurance (for all your insurance and financial planning needs)

Chapters:

0:00:00 Welcome

0:02:00 Meet Dr. Larry Weber

0:03:04 Rooftop Water to Drinkable

0:06:05 Prairie Planted 14 Years Ago in Clay

Ep. 367 (Coffee Time) We Answer Your 16 Most Frequently Asked Prairie Questions Part 2 Jun 17, 2026

Show notes

We answer the following prairie questions in the second half of our FAQ miniseries.

8. What is the best way to broadcast both large and small seeds evenly?

9. What is the role of prescribed burning in long-term prairie maintenance?

10. Will the native plants spread and fill in over time?

11. What do I do about reed’s canary grass?

12. What do I do about Canada Thistle?

13. What do I do about brushy encroachment?

14. What do I do about Brome in my prairie?

15. What do I do about Big Bluestem that is taking over?

16. Can I interseed flowers back into my prairie?

hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your CRP, Backyard Prairie, Warm Season Pasture Mixes, Hunting Habitat, Buffer Strips, and more!)

BirdHunterSupply.com (for all your bird hunting gear, and your bird dog's gear)

Chapters:

0:00:00 Welcome

0:05:44 Role of Prescribed Burning Long-Term

0:21:42 Will Native Plants Spread and Fill In?

0:24:32 Where Are the Rest of My Flowers?

0:27:31 What Do I Do About Reed Canary Grass?

0:38:13 What Do I Do About Canada Thistle?

0:46:40 What Do I Do About Brush Encroachment?

0:49:45 What Do I Do About Brome?

0:57:23 Big Bluestem Taking Over

1:03:57 Can I Interseed Flowers Back Into Prairie?

1:08:35 Broadcasting Large and Small Seeds Evenly

Ep. 366 Are Pasture-Raised Pig Farms Viable? Jun 12, 2026

Show notes

Matt Hatala of Prairie Rose Farms shares his unlikely path from adoption and military service to raising pasture pork in Iowa. He discusses regenerative hog production, farm marketing, local food systems, water quality, animal welfare, and why rebuilding agriculture requires courage, transparency, and healthier relationships with land, community, and risk.

hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your CRP, Pasture Mixes, Habitat Mixes, Native Seed, and more)

Iowa Cover Crop (for all your cover crop mixes, forage mixes, small grain mixes)

Chapters:

0:00:00 Welcome

0:02:00 Meet Matt Hatala of Prairie Rose Farms

0:03:06 Green Card Story and Coming to Iowa

0:06:09 Graduating When You Didn't Have to Farm

0:09:11 Gated Legalization and Corn-Bean Lobbying

0:12:14 No Built-In Limits on What You Can Do

0:15:17 Someone With Power Has to Make Room

0:21:22 Commodity Privilege — Never Learning Sales

0:24:27 Instagram Vibes vs Real Farm Marketing

0:27:28 Farming Is Easy — Selling Is Hard

0:30:29 Inherited Farms vs Starting From Scratch

0:33:33 Niche Product Needs a Matching Market

0:36:36 Happy Pasture Life vs Confinement

0:39:38 Local Food and Six Months Without Fruit

Ep. 365 (Coffee Time) Does the Midwest ACTUALLY “Feed the world”? Jun 10, 2026

Show notes

In this Coffee Time episode, Nicolas, Kent, and Riley debate whether the Midwest really feeds the world, dig into commodity calories, exports, food security, environmental tradeoffs, and what prairie, local food, grazing, and conservation minded choices might mean for Iowa’s future.

Hoksey Native Seeds (for all your native seed needs: CRP, backyard pollinator, habitat, native pasture, and more)

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

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

Ep. 364 The Details of Our Fight for Public Lands w/Hal Herring Jun 05, 2026

Show notes

Hal Herring joins The Prairie Farm Podcast to unpack American Prairie, grazing permits, public lands, ranching culture, and the hard history behind conservation in the West.

hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your CRP, backyard prairie, Hunting Habitat, native grazing mixes, and more!)
BirdHunterSupply.com (for all your bird hunting supplies and bird dog supplies)

Chapters:

0:00:00 Welcome

0:02:00 Meet Hal Herring

0:03:06 Grazing Permits — What Getting Them "Taken" Really Means

0:06:07 Taylor Grazing Act of 1934

0:09:08 Homestead Act and Controlling the Water

0:12:09 Burned Out for Taking a Stand

0:15:10 Free-Range Libertarian Who Backed the Grazing Act

0:18:15 Extracting Value From Sparse Grazing Leases

0:21:17 American Prairie and Permit Politics

0:27:25 Who Steps Up When Permits Change Hands

0:30:26 The Judith — History Since the Ice Age

0:33:29 Judgment Calls From Country to Household

0:36:31 Twice the People, Less Prairie Than Ever

0:39:32 Lobbying Dollars vs Stewardship

0:42:35 Forest Reserve Act Around Yellowstone

0:48:41 Billions of Board Feet Taken Free

0:51:44 Utah's History With Federal Forests

0:54:46 A Decorated Professional Shut Out

0:57:48 Utahns Who Appreciate Public Land

1:00:51 What Americans Actually Support

1:03:53 Public Land Won't Fix Egg Prices Tomorrow

1:06:55 Selling BLM You've Never Heard Of for Cheaper Gas

1:09:57 Local People Showing Up for Parks

1:15:59 What Is Good Extraction?

1:19:05 Grazing Conflicts and Anti-Grazing Groups

1:25:11 Email Your Rep Every Week

1:28:11 Dust Bowl Programs That Never Sunset

1:31:14 Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act

1:34:15 Population Doubled Since 1964

1:37:17 What We Want Grandchildren to Quote

1:46:24 Food Waste and Extra Calories

1:52:29 CRP and National Security Marginal Land

1:55:29 Public Lands Give People Something to Do

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