The Prairie Farm Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 363 (Coffee Time) We Answer Your 16 Most Frequently Asked Prairie Questions Part 1 Jun 03, 2026

Show notes

In part 1 of our FAQ mini series, we answer the following questions.

1. How long does it take for a prairie planting to become established?
2. How do I prepare the site for planting?
3. Is tilling or breaking up the soil recommended before planting?
4. When is the best time of year to sow native prairie seeds?
5. How do I handle maintenance (mowing) in the first year?
6. How high should I mow in the first two years, and when should I stop?
7. Should I water or fertilize my newly planted prairie?

hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your CRP, backyard prairie, native wildflowers and grasses, hunting habitat, and more)

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

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

Chapters:

0:00:00 Welcome

0:10:52 How Long Until a Prairie Planting Is Established?

0:23:03 How Do I Prepare the Site for Planting?

0:34:11 Is Tilling Recommended Before Planting?

0:38:37 When Is the Best Time to Sow Native Prairie Seed?

0:47:09 How Do I Handle Mowing in the First Year?

0:54:52 Kent's Way vs Jon Judson's Way

0:57:56 Should I Water or Fertilize a New Prairie?

Ep. 362 Inside Iowa’s Biggest Prairie Restoration and The Bison That Graze It May 29, 2026

Show notes

Andrew Di Alessandro of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service joins the Prairie Farm Podcast to discuss Neil Smith Refuge, prairie restoration, prescribed fire, bison and elk grazing, private lands conservation, funding challenges, and how landowners can connect money, recreation and legacy to meaningful habitat work across Iowa and Illinois.

Hoksey Native Seeds (for all your CRP, Backyard Prairie, Native Pasture, Hunting Mixes, and more)

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

BirdHunterSupply.com (for all your bird hunting supply needs, and all your bird dog supply needs)

Chapters:

0:00:00 Welcome

0:02:00 Meet Andrew Di Alessandro

0:03:05 Italian Names in Dutch Country

0:09:11 Rostered to Western Wildfires

0:12:13 Hot Shot Crews and True Heroes

0:18:16 Hard Hats on Prairie Burns

0:21:17 INHF and Mixed Feelings on Big Restoration

0:24:18 Conservative Species Production Plots

0:30:21 How Much Less Funding Is There Now?

0:33:25 Not Enough Staff for Minimum Burn Standards

0:36:27 Hail Punching Through PVC Greenhouse Roofs

0:39:28 Managing a Growing Bison Herd

0:42:31 Where the Bison Came From

0:45:33 Bison Ignoring Prescribed Fire Crews

0:48:36 What Elk Munch When Prairie Browns

0:51:38 Deer and Wildlife on the Refuge

0:54:40 Tree Encroachment — Chris Helzer's Warning

0:57:44 Dollar Signs, Legacy, and Recreation

1:00:46 Being a Generalist to Sell Conservation

Ep. 361 (Coffee Time) How Tree Nut Farms Affect The Ecosystem and The Economy May 27, 2026

Show notes

On this Coffee Time episode, Nicolas and Kent crack into the global nut industry (forgive the pun), from California almonds and pistachios to pecans, cashews, and peanuts. They talk water use, pollination, pricing, supply chains, and why legumes might matter more in native prairie establishment than we usually give them credit for here.

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

Iowa Cover Crop (for all your cover crop and small grain and cool season forage needs)

Chapters:

0:00 Welcome

12:21 How Tree Nuts Are Grown, Priced, and Impact Ecosystems

15:25 Shipping Bees for the Nut Bloom

18:27 Losing Less on Corn Than Cotton

21:29 Pistachios — U.S. Share of World Production

24:31 Co-ops Setting Pistachio and Almond Prices

27:34 Pecans — Native to the United States

36:40 Cashews Rarely Processed Where Harvested

39:41 Favorite Nuts and Molar Problems

Listen to the Land: Conversations about Conservation w/Doug Duren Ep. 3 May 26, 2026

Show notes

Another of Doug Duren's quarterly episodes where we have a wide ranging conversation on turkey habitat, savanna restoration, Aldo Leopold, chainsaw stories, and native landscapes. The crew digs into why habitat is the answer, why native plants matter, and how restoring prairie brings back birds, bugs, and the wildness we need.

Ep. 360 The Man Who ACTUALLY Does The Physical Work to Fix Water Quality With Prairie May 22, 2026

Show notes

Senior Environmental Scientist for EOR Kevin Griggs joins us to talk reed canary grass, wetland restoration, Iowa water quality, tile drainage, data centers, and the hard truth behind conservation work. His conservation conversation is practical, honest, and hopeful.

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

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

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

Ep. 359 (Coffee Time) How E15, Trump in China, Straight of Hormuz, and El Niño Affect Commodity Prices May 20, 2026

Show notes

This week on Coffee Time Wednesday, we dig into everything shaking up commodity markets heading into summer. It's complicated with a lot of nuance, so grab your coffee cup, and let's jump in!

hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your CRP, backyard prairie, and hunting habitat mixes)

birdhuntersupply.com (for all your bird hunting equipment and bird dog equipment)

Chapters:

0:00 Welcome

9:12 Trump in China as Salesman

12:14 Brazil Soy and Plenty of Rain

15:16 Paper Wealth vs Real Wealth

18:19 Billionaires Who Give More Than They Take

Ep. 358 How A Writer And Comedian From the Midwest Became The World’s First Celebrity May 15, 2026

Show notes

Mark Schneider, development and marketing manager of the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in Hannibal, Missouri, joins the Prairie Farm Podcast to talk about the real Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain) and how he became the "world's first celebrity".
hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seeds, CRP, hunting habitat needs)

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

Iowa Cover Crop (for all your cover crop, forage mixes, waterway mixes and more)

Chapters:

Ep. 357 (Coffee Time) Legalized Hunting on National Parks and Grazing Leases on BLM Ground May 13, 2026

Show notes

We dig into two big conservation stories... the Trump administration's memo opening select national park lands and wildlife refuges to hunting, and the BLM's decision to revoke American Prairie Reserve's bison grazing leases. We weigh both sides honestly and talk about what it means for the long game.

hokseynativeseeds.com (for CRP, backyard pollinator, native pasture mixes, and more)

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

Chapters:

0:00 Welcome

3:05 Quit Looking at the Comment Section

9:11 Screen Time and Losing Self-Respect

21:23 EPA Pullback and Pesticides Returning

24:29 What They Mean by National Park Hunting

27:30 Shared Claim on American Public Land

33:34 Hunting BLM and National Forest

36:34 Greed Squeezing Every Last Drop

45:43 American Prairie Bison as Wildlife vs Livestock

48:45 Tourism Value vs Livestock Taxes

51:47 Nowhere Left for Bison but Yellowstone

54:49 A Loss for the Prairie — Confident They'll Adapt

Ep. 356 What Great Habitat Looks Like and Why Hunters Are America’s Conservationists w/Travis Frank May 08, 2026

Show notes

Travis Frank, host of The Flush TV show and podcast, joins Kent, and Nicolas in Minnesota for a wide-ranging conversation on upland bird hunting and habitat. From Iowa pheasants and Kansas quail restoration to hunting dogs and conservation philosophy, this one covers a lot of ground worth covering.
hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your habitat mixes, CRP mixes, and other native seed needs)

IowaCoverCrop.com (for all your cover crop, small grain, and non row crop seed needs)

Chapters:

0:00:00 Welcome

0:02:00 Meet Travis Frank

0:03:05 Talking Bluestem a Hundred Ways

0:06:09 CRP in 20-by-30 Blocks

0:09:11 Corners Landowners and Wildlife Both Value

0:12:12 Big Habitat Complexes Across the Midwest

0:15:13 Habitat Day Safety Talk

0:24:19 Places Pointed Out on the Family Farm

0:27:21 Birds Flushing Way Early

0:30:23 Survivors Holding for a Shot

0:39:28 Last Hunt Perspectives

0:42:30 Dog Powering Through Pain

0:48:34 Packed Youth Hunts We Never Had

0:51:35 Empowering Hunters to Speak

1:00:44 Seeing a Grizzly in a Bad Mood

1:06:49 More Wolves in Minnesota Than Anywhere in Lower 48

1:09:51 How Smart Wolves Really Are

1:18:55 Bird Dogs — Setters, Pointers, Shorthairs

1:28:03 Pheasants Forever Buying Land Back

1:31:05 Turkey Hunting With His Son at 4:30 AM

Ep. 355 (Coffee Time) Does “No Mow May” ACTUALLY Help The Bees?? May 06, 2026

Show notes

Nicolas, Kent, and Riley break in the new studio with a conversation about society's spring lawn routine. They dig into No Mow May, what actually started it, what a 2023 peer review found, and which common lawn weeds genuinely help native bees.

hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your backyard prairie, pollinator mixes, habitat mixes, and native seed consultation)

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

BirdHunterSupply.com (for all your bird hunting supplies)

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