The Prairie Farm Podcast

Molly Pickering, Policy Director for Illinois Stewardship Alliance, joins Nicolas and Kent for a wide-ranging conversation on what's actually broken in America's food system. From monopoly meat packers to cottage food laws to pesticide drift hitting small farms, Molly brings the policy perspective that most farmers never get to hear. hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, native pastures, native habitat mixes, and more) BirdHunterSupply.com (for all your bird hunting supply needs)

Welcome back to another riveting episode of Coffee Time Wednesday! The Nebraska Sandhills just went through the largest wildfire in state history. What does that mean for the prairie and the cattle on that prairie? Then the conversation shifts to Iowa's water. Two new reports just tied nitrates and pesticides to Iowa's extremely high cancer rate. Who's responsible? Who pays? hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your backyard prairie, native pasture, and native seed mixes) Iowa Cover Crop (for all your cover crop and alternative crop needs) McKay Insurance (for all your insurance and financial planning needs)

Ray Geroff is a district heritage biologist for the Illinois DNR and has burned over 100,000 acres of prairie. 3,900 were just the day before the podcast. In Episode 344, Kent and Nicolas break down burn safety, proper weather windows, what each season of fire does to your landscape, using fire against sericea and brome, and what happens when a prairie never burns. This is burning 101 from someone who does it for a living every single year. hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed needs. And we also do prairie restoration and management and site visits.) McKay Insurance (for all your insurance needs) BirdHunterSupply.com (for all your bird hunting supply needs, as well as bird dog gear, and more!)

Nicolas and Kent start this one recanting how a man tried to steal two tractors from them through their recent farm auction. Tim Brown, The Bearded Uplander, is back, and this one gets real fast. His bird dog Mac nearly died from a grass awn that migrated through his body — and it happens way more than people think. The guys break down which wild ryes are dangerous for hunting dogs, how to protect them at the tailgate, and then get into building pheasant habitat that actually works. Informative, honest, and a little terrifying if you run a bird dog. hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your CRP, backyard prairie, and pollinator mixes) Iowa Cover Crop (for all your cover crop and alternative crop needs)

Eddie Andrews joins us to discuss the riff between republicans and democrats in Iowa, property taxes, school ESA's, and of course water quality. We enjoyed this conversation and believe you will as well! hokseynativeseeds.com (for CRP mixes, backyard prairie mixes, native pasture mixes, and hunting habitat mixes) Iowa Cover Crop (for all your cover crop needs) McKay Insurance (for all your insurance and financial planning needs)

Kent, Riley, and Nicolas talk about what's going on with the Farm Bill today, and what status it has in the legislative pipeline. They also discuss what would need to happen for Iowa to have a higher tax bracket for out of state land owners. There's a lot of uncertainty for the rural United States, especially with farming. What can we do to enhance it? What needs to change? hokseynativeseeds.com (for backyard prairie mixes, habitat mixes, CRP mixes, EQIP mixes, and a lot more)

Justin Meissen, Research and Restoration Program Manager at the Tallgrass Prairie Center, joins the Prairie Farm Podcast to talk prairie establishment from the ground up — literally. Why native annual weeds aren't always your enemy. What months to plant and which ones to avoid at all costs. How seed size predicts establishment success. And what "coefficient of conservatism" actually means. This one's packed. hokseynativeseeds.com (for backyard prairie, CRP mixes, hunting habitat mixes, native pasture mixes, and more) Iowa Cover Crop (for all your cover crop needs)

Kent's very own father, Alan Boucher, joined us to discuss a journal entry from a woman in the 1800's. We also discuss whether or not someone should burn a prairie field now or in May to eliminate brome. hokseynativeseeds.com (for CRP, Backyard Prairie, and Hunting Mixes) Iowa Cover Crop (for all your cover crop needs) Bird Hunter Supply (for all your bird hunting supplies)

Derek Orth, a fourth general dairy farmer, joins us to discuss if small dairy farms could have a spot in the US market in the future. Dairy farmers do a lot of work for very little pay, and we get into the nitty gritty on the podcast. hokseynativeseeds.com (for backyard prairie, pollinator, native pasture mixes, and more) birdhuntersupply.com (for all your bird hunting gear and to give back to conservation)

Join us for another riveting episode of Coffee Time Wednesday. Today we discuss Bayer's Tort Immunity at the federal level and the chance they have at succeeding. We also talk about Iowa Secretary of Ag Mike Naig's recent conversation about grazing CRP. Hoksey Native Seeds (for Midwest CRP Mixes, Wildflower Patch Mixes, and More) Iowa Cover Crop (For all your cover crop and small grain needs) McKay Insurance (For a better insurance experience)

Black Hawk is a mythological character at this point. But why is that? What did he do, or not do? Dr. Patrick Jung, author of The Black Hawk War of 1832, joins us to tell us the incredible story of the last Native American to resist in the Midwest. To order his book hokseynativeseeds.com (for native prairie and wildflower seeds and mixes)

It's finally here! Farm Bill Updates are coming. Kent was home with the kids, so the one and only Judd McCullum joined Riley and Nicolas to talk about the new Farm Bill. Our Hoksey Auction (filter with the keyword "Lynnville") Hoksey Native Seeds (for prairie mixes, wildflowers, and more!)

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)

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)

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!)

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!)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

In this episode Kent interviews Nicolas about his story of going from reluctant farm kid to Bible college to prairie farm CEO. Be warned, this interview is unfiltered and is as authentic as Nicolas and Kent know how to be. hokseynativeseeds.com (for backyard prairie and hunting habitat and CRP and wildflower needs)

Welcome back to another absolute banger Coffee Time Wednesday! This week the whole gang is back together-- Kent, Riley, and Nicolas. They discuss the new pilate prairie strips program that is currently being tested in Iowa. Need prairie or wildflower mixes. We've got them at hokseynativeseeds.com. We have pollinator mixes, hunting habitat mixes, CRP mixes, Prairie Strip Mixes, Perennial Food Plot mixes, Native Pasture Mixes, and a lot more.

Lyndsey Braun, Doug Duren, and Brock Rosenkranz join us to discuss the issues with hunting access and the joys of Deer Camp. hokseynativeseeds.com (for hunting habitat mixes, backyard prairie mixes, and more native seed needs)