(Jessica Cornelison / KCUR 89.3)

The Midwest has a reputation for vast fields of corn and soybeans that stretch to the horizon. But on some farms, strips of wildflowers and little bluestem now interrupt the crops, tiny glimpses of the prairie that once dominated the region. They’re an effort to hold back the fertilizer runoff that pollutes drinking water and then travels hundreds of miles downstream, where it fuels the Gulf of Mexico’s infamous Dead Zone.

Read Rachel Cramer's reporting on prairie strips and see photos of prairie strips.

This episode was reported by Rachel Cramer from Harvest Public Media and Iowa Public Radio. It was produced and mixed by Celia Llopis-Jepsen. Up From Dust's editors are Mackenzie Martin and Stephen Koranda.