The Prairie Farm Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 334 Why Are Farmer Suicide Rates So High and What Can We Do About It Feb 20, 2026

Show notes

Dr. Karen Vanderhoff joins us to discuss what she is seeing in the health crisis of Midwest farmers. The suicide rates are very high compared to other occupations, and we want to know why and what we can do about it.

hokseynativeseeds.com (for CRP mixes, hunting habitat mixes, and backyard pollinator mixes)

Chapters:

0:00:00 Welcome

0:02:00 Meet Dr. Karen Vanderhoff

0:03:04 Self-Soothing Instead of Hard Work

0:06:06 Simmering Awareness That What You Do Doesn't Matter

0:09:09 Grandma Born 1919 — Depression and Pandemic Resilience

0:12:11 Raised on Farms but Not Farming

0:15:14 From 800-Acre Big Farms to 10,000 Acres

0:18:17 Nobody Betting on Nicolas for the Family Farm

0:21:23 Environment, Food, Water, and Soil Connected

0:24:27 Watching Where the Cow Grazed

0:27:29 Most Painful Times — Not Eating What You Want

0:30:30 Six-Week Screen Fast Before Treatment

0:33:32 Stimulants on Campus Black Markets

Ep. 333 (Coffee Time) Are Things ACTUALLY More Expensive Than They Used To Be? Feb 18, 2026

Show notes

There's a lot of talk about how the price of living has shot through the roof. But is that actually true?? It's a complicated question that involves things like quality of life, inflation, hourly wages, median vs average, and more. We dive into this on Coffee Time Wednesday this week. You won't want to miss it.
Hoksey Equipment Auction (You can filter by saying 50 mile radius with 50153)

Hokseynativeseeds.com (for CRP Mixes, Backyard Pollinator Mixes, Hunting Habitat Mixes)

Chapters:

0:00 Welcome

9:08 Spreadsheet Showdown — Hours of Work Per Purchase

12:12 Pound for Pound, Hour for Hour

15:12 Cars Cost More — and Do Way More

18:14 Rent: 34 Hours of Work Then, 64 Now

21:15 Raises That Only Match Inflation

24:18 What Did 1965 Feel Like Adjusted?

27:22 Every Generation Takes All the Chips

30:28 Past a Point Money Stops Improving Life

33:31 Giant Corporate Profits Don't Lift 8,000 People

Ep. 332 Which Prairie Species to Grow If You Want to Start a Prairie Farm Feb 13, 2026

Show notes

Laura Walter, of the Tall Grass Prairie Center, joins us to discuss the new species she is trying to grow at her facility. Also, which species is no one else growing that she has available for new growers. We also talk about hemiparasites and more.

hokseynativeseeds.com (for backyard pollinator mixes, CRP mixes, hunting mixes, and more!)

Chapters:

0:00:00 Welcome

0:02:00 Meet Laura Walter

0:03:05 Harvest Years That Change Seed Size

0:06:07 Separating Spikelets From Crabgrass

0:09:10 Quack Grass Spreads Aggressively

0:12:14 Smartweed, Waterhemp, and Early Successionals

0:15:17 Academic and Practical Value Together

0:21:22 Secret Sauce vs Sharing Knowledge

0:24:25 Kernza and the Land Institute

0:27:29 What You Can't See Below Ground

0:30:31 Exposing Prairie Roots in the Pit

0:36:34 Tiny Roots Gluing Soil and Feeding Microbes

0:42:37 Hemiparasites and Local Reproduction

0:45:40 Which Plants Host Hemiparasites?

0:48:42 Canadian Lousewort — Readily Available Hemiparasite

0:51:44 Celebrity Nickname SOG

0:57:47 Establishing Pedicularis With Sedge Hosts

1:00:48 Handpicking Species That Drop Seed in 12 Hours

Ep. 331 (Coffee Time) These Iowa Politicians Killed a Bill That Could Enhance Water Quality... Feb 11, 2026

Show notes

There was a push at the Iowa Capitol to put the Buffer Strip Pollinator Program into a bigger setting for farmers to put onto their land. But it was killed in subcommittee. Why? We're trying to find out. Check out another riveting episode of Coffee Time Wednesday on The Prairie Farm Podcast.

hokseynativeseeds.com (for buffer strip pollinator mixes, backyard prairie mixes, CRP mixes, and a lot more!)

Chapters:

Ep. 330 Where Does Your Produce ACTUALLY Come From Feb 06, 2026

Show notes

Produce in America is grown at unprecedented scale in human history. But how is it done. Who grows it, and how does it get to our tables? Should any changes be made to the system? We sit down with Seth Oren, who has been on produce farms all across America, and he gave us the inside story.
hokseynativeseeds.com (for backyard pollinator and prairie grass and all your other native seed needs)

Ep. 329 (Coffee Time) Looming Farm Crisis -- These Crops Are Losing The Most Money Feb 04, 2026

Show notes

Crop prices are freaky right now. We sit down and walk through the different major crops in America and if any farmer is making any money on their acres.
hokseynativeseeds.com (for CRP mixes... because CRP at least cuts you a check)

Chapters:

0:00 Welcome

3:05 Deboning Deer for CWD Rules

6:06 Driftless Midwest Is the Best Part

12:10 Corn at $5–$5.40 — Lowest Since 2019

15:14 Hay You Couldn't Give Away

18:17 Transferring Debt From Equipment to Land

21:22 Brittle Rice That Can't Go to Humans

24:24 GDP Growth and Export Buildout Abroad

27:26 What Cotton Ground Can Pivot To

30:26 Healthiest Land Is Still Worked and Producing

33:31 Keeping Farmers Going in America's Interest

Ep. 328 This Lady Changed Midwestern Beer Culture and Now Want To Bring the Same Reform to Cancer and Nutrition in Iowa Jan 30, 2026

Show notes

Megan McKay is a legend in the Midwestern beer world. She founded Peace Tree and helped push legislation to allow for the microbreweries we love today. But what is she doing now? She is working hard to change the way Iowan's look at food, their health, food deserts, and cancer.
hokseynativeseeds.com (for backyard pollinator mixes, and all your other prairie and wildflower needs)

Chapters:

0:00:00 Welcome

0:02:00 Meet Megan McKay

0:03:05 Lobbying for Iowa's Brewing Industry

0:06:09 Shipping Full Kegs Just to Sell a Growler

0:09:15 Brewery Culture Before Social Media

0:12:16 Same Chains in Every Small Town — Closing Peace Tree

0:15:18 Branded Craft From Multinational Conglomerates

0:21:22 World Beer Cup and Outside Validation

0:24:24 Fertile Soil — No Market to Grow Food Here

0:27:25 Sold a Bill of Goods on Expensive Proteins

0:30:29 What Grandpa Ate for Produce as a Kid

Ep. 327 (Coffee Time) Iowa’s Proposed Healthy Water Bill and Congress’ E15 Fuel Issues Jan 28, 2026

Show notes

A lot going on in the world of conservation and ag this week. First, we dive into the new Healthy Water Act that the Iowa Democrats have put forward. Secondly, we discuss the E15 Fuel issue that the federal legislators are "figuring out". Both of these policies would have major ramifications for the Midwest. One for our health, and the second for our economy.
hokseynativeseeds.com (for backyard prairie, buffer strip mixes, hunting habitat mixes)

Chapters:

0:00 Welcome

9:10 Iowa Healthy Water Act Proposed

12:16 Clarifying the Water Quality Information System

15:20 More Funding for Buffer Strips — Not a Mandate

18:23 $30 Million Statewide — Not That Huge

21:27 Most Nitrate Comes From Heavily Tiled Fields

24:29 Why Reluctant Farmers Resist Change

27:34 Having as Few Sacred Cows as Possible

30:38 When Voluntary Programs Prove It — Make It Law

33:39 Year-Round E15 Solidifying Corn Market Share

Ep. 326 How to Start Farming as a Young Farmer and the Nuts and Bolts of the Farm Crisis Jan 23, 2026

Show notes

Chase Brown, a 6th generation farmer in Illinois, joins us to discuss billionaires that gobble up land, farm organizations that aren't benefitting farmers, and how he would start farming if he was a new farmer today.

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

Chapters:

0:00:00 Welcome

0:02:00 Meet Chase Brown

0:03:09 Getting Livestock Back on the Farm

0:09:14 Solving Problems Worth Your Time

0:12:15 Will Downturns Kill Conservation Practices?

0:15:18 Asking Why — Farmers Good at What They Do

0:18:19 Questions for Ag Lenders

0:21:24 Autonomous Equipment and Corporate Land

0:24:25 Beholden to the Bank — Sheriff at the Door

0:27:29 Equity Buying Another Year or Two

0:30:32 Crop Insurance Wants Drought Everywhere but Here

0:33:35 One Factory Makes One Thing Efficiently

Ep. 325 (Coffee Time) Which Apps Are Good For Us and Secretary Burgum Pulls Grazing Permits Jan 21, 2026

Show notes

Join another riveting episode of The Prairie Farm Podcast Coffee Time Wednesday! This week Kent and Nicolas argue over ecological regulation, and we discuss which of the world's greatest apps are net negative and net positive.

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

Chapters:

0:00:00 Welcome

0:02:00 Good Bad Apps Game

0:03:07 Instagram Curating vs YouTube Feeding You

0:06:12 WhatsApp — Closer to a Net Negative

0:09:16 Addictive Good Interactions With Friends

0:12:17 Seed Prices Too Low — Saying No

0:15:18 Magnifying Fallen Human Nature

0:18:20 Law of Counterpositioning

0:24:23 Desertification Photos vs Overgrazing Nuance

0:27:25 Leaving Land Alone Isn't Always Better