The Prairie Farm Podcast

Dr. Jim Butler of the Kansas Geological Survey joins us to talk about the Ogallala Aquifer. How fast is it draining, why rain takes years to reach it, and how one group of Kansas irrigators cut water use 25% without losing money. Plus water rights, proposed pipelines, and data centers.   hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture mixes, and more) iowacovercrop.com (for all your cover crop mixes, waterway mixes, forage mixes, small grains, and more) MckayInsAgency.com (for all your financial planning and insurance needs)

Kent is in a tree for the rut, so we start with deer biology and why poaching is the one crime hunters never forgive. Then we dig into why new tractors cost up to $2,000 per horsepower, and how Iowa’s collapsed fur market left raccoons running unchecked across the landscape.   hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture mixes, and more)   BirdHunterSupply.com (for all your bird hunting supplies and dog hunting supplies)

Matt Vermeersch of Root and Raise Land and Livestock joins us to talk virtual fencing, Highland cattle, and grazing sheep under solar panels. We dig into whether Nofence collars pay off, why Matt’s beef tested at a 1.14 to 1 omega ratio, and what Iowa’s culture really looks like today. Be sure to stay tuned for our new outro at the end of the episode- HUGE thanks to musical talents of Kenny Leiser, Augie Dougherty and the always generous Doug Duren. Follow Kenny: @madisonviolin Follow Augie: @augiedougherty Follow Doug: @dougduren   hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture mixes, and more) iowacovercrop.com (for all your cover crop mixes, waterway mixes, forage mixes, small grains, and more)

Election day at the shop, and the crew is drowning in political mailers. Nicolas, Kent, and Riley dig into the billions of pieces mailed this election season, how many trees that takes, and a contest to turn 2028’s mailers into art. Plus sports betting, fear, and Nicolas’s latest virtue signal.   hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture mixes, and more)   MckayInsAgency.com (for all your financial planning and insurance needs)   BirdHunterSupply.com (for all your bird hunting supplies and dog hunting supplies)

Hannah Inman, CEO of the Great Outdoors Foundation, joins Nicolas and Judd to talk about how a small Iowa nonprofit moves tens of millions of dollars into wetlands and water quality. They dig into why conservation has to pay, who funds it, data centers and water, and prairie in HOAs.   hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture mixes, and more)   BirdHunterSupply.com (for all your bird hunting supplies and dog hunting supplies)

When does a hobby cross the line into selfishness? The Coffee Time crew digs into hunting, family, and sacrifice, then takes on EcoGPT, data centers, and whether we’d undo AI, social media, or smartphones. Plus Judd’s two missed bucks and a classic debate: solid colors versus camo in the deer woods.   hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture mixes, and more) iowacovercrop.com (for all your cover crop mixes, waterway mixes, forage mixes, small grains, and more) MckayInsAgency.com (for all your financial planning and insurance needs)

Pierce Nelles, Hoksey Native Seeds’ new marketing manager and a Driftless fly fishing guide, joins the crew to talk trout. Why cold water matters, how a prairie stretch ran three degrees cooler than pasture, Iowa stocking, spawning seasons, and what hunters and anglers really think about conservation right now.   hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture mixes, and more)   MckayInsAgency.com (for all your financial planning and insurance needs)   BirdHunterSupply.com (for all your bird hunting supplies and dog hunting supplies)

Kent tells the story of the cleanest kill of his life, a muzzleloader buck stalked through standing corn on the wind. Then Nicolas runs through 17 little-known programs that help beginning and small farmers get started, from savings matches and apprenticeships to cost shares, and why marketing matters for farmers.   hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture mixes, and more) iowacovercrop.com (for all your cover crop mixes, waterway mixes, forage mixes, small grains, and more) 1. PFI Savings Incentive Program: https://practicalfarmers.org/programs/savings-incentive-program/ 2. PFI Labor4Learning: https://practicalfarmers.org/programs/labor4learning/ 3. PFI Cost-Shares:    Grazing Infrastructure: https://practicalfarmers.org/programs/grazing-infrastructure-cost-share/    Extended Rotations: https://practicalfarmers.org/programs/cost-share-for-extended-rotations/    Produce Safety: https://practicalfarmers.org/programs/produce-safety-cost-share/ 4. Land Stewardship Project Farm Beginnings: https://landstewardshipproject.org/farmbeginnings/ 5. Minnesota Down Payment Assistance Grant: https://www.mda.state.mn.us/downpayment 6. Nebraska NextGen Beginning Farmer Tax Credit: https://nextgen.nebraska.gov 7. Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship: https://www.dga-national.org/programs/dairy-grazing-apprenticeship 8. North Central SARE Farmer Rancher Grant: https://northcentral.sare.org/grants/apply-for-a-grant/farmer-rancher-grant/ 9. Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund: https://farmvetco.org/fvfellowship/ 10. American Farmland Trust Brighter Future Fund: https://farmland.org/brighterfuture     Farm to Stay (with Airbnb): https://farmland.org/farm-to-stay 11. Organic Farming Research Foundation Farmer-Led Trials: https://ofrf.org/research/farmer-led-research-trials/ 12. Oregon Farm Corps: https://www.oregonfarmcorps.org/apprenticeship 13. California Healthy Soils Program: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oars/healthysoils/ 14. Washington Sustainable Farms and Fields: https://www.scc.wa.gov/sff 15. Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program (TAEP): https://www.tn.gov/taep.html 16. Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund: https://www.kyagr.com/agpolicy 17. NC AgVentures Farm Grant: https://agventures.ces.ncsu.edu/application-for-ag-ventures-grant

Tommy Hexter bought a tiny local food market at 20 and grew it to nearly seventy Iowa producers. We talk food hubs, pay-what-you-can groceries, why Walmart can’t tell you where your eggs came from, running for the statehouse at 24, and why Iowa’s soil should make it America’s food capital.   hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture mixes, and more)   iowacovercrop.com (for all your cover crop mixes, waterway mixes, forage mixes, small grains, and more)   MckayInsAgency.com (for all your financial planning and insurance needs)  

Harvest has the Hoksey crew running on fumes and fighting old combines, so naturally we’re talking tractors. Nicolas, Kent, and Judd dig into how John Deere, Case IH, Allis-Chalmers, Oliver, and Ford got where they are, why farmers stay loyal to one color, and what right to repair means today.   hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture mixes, and more)   BirdHunterSupply.com (for all your bird hunting supplies and dog hunting supplies)