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.

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

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

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!

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)

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)

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)

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)

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!)

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?

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)

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)

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)