Shows / The Prairie Farm Podcast
The Prairie Farm Podcast
All things conservation, prairie, gardening, permaculture, hunting, and agriculture. ”Conservation happens one mind at a time.”
Episodes
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 409 (Coffee Time) Is Horsepower More Expensive and Fur Pelts Are Becoming Popular Again
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…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 408 Do Virtual Collars ACTUALLY Make Sense for Livestock??
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…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 407 (Coffee Time) 1 Million Trees Cut Down for POLITICAL AD MAILERS
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…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 406 $20M Non-Profit, HOAs, Data Centers, and The Future of Land Ownership
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…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 405 (Coffee Time) Balancing Hunting and Family, EcoData Centers, and Judd's Big Bucks
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…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 404 What Do Trout Need for Habitat and The New Hoksey Marketing Manager
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…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 403 (Coffee Time) 17 Ag Grants and Programs You've Never Heard Of
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…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 402 Why Walmart Will Never Tell You Where Your Food's From And Why Food Hubs Fail or Succeed
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…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 401 (Coffee Time) What Happened to All The Different Tractor Companies??
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…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 400 Iowa's New Trail Camera Rule, Cross Bows, Drones, CWD, and Is Iowa REALLY The Trophy Buck State?
Iowa DNR state deer biologist Jace Elliott sits down with Nicolas and Kent to talk about the new trail camera ban on public land, drones for deer recovery…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 399 (Coffee Time) Harvest Week is Stressful! And Noise Pollution for People and Animals
Harvest is here and the crew is running on fumes. Nicolas, Kent, Riley, and Judd talk through a stacked week of native seed harvest, then dig into the science…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 398 Hunting Trail Cameras, The Upcoming CRP Cliff, and Why Land Prices Are Stagnant
Realtor and CRP planter Steve Hansen joins Nicolas and Kent to test a new Friday format: a rolodex of topics. They cover Iowa's public land trail camera ban…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 397 (Coffee Time) Should Cover Crops Be Subsidized? A Review of the National Cover Crop Survey
Coffee Time Wednesday with Kent and Riley. We dig into the National Cover Crop Survey: who's planting covers, what it costs, why so many farmers quit after one…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 396 How We Run Our Prairie Farm and What It Takes To Start One
Kent Boucher turns the mic on Nicolas Lirio for a look back at Hoksey Native Seeds' first year after Carroll. They cover an auction gone sideways, a lost…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 395 (Coffee Time) Do Prairie Fires Keep Flies and Ticks Away And Wendell Berry Tribute
Fire may be the cheapest pest control tool on the prairie. Nicolas, Kent, and Riley break down research showing burned pastures cut horn flies on cattle by 41%…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 394 How Big Meat Packer and Giant Grocery Stores Are Ruining Agriculture
Barons author Austin Frerick joins Nicolas and Kent to unpack why American butter turned white, how JBS and Cargill captured the food system, what a chicken…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 393 (Coffee Time) TRIVIA!! How much have you learned the past 100 episodes??
Riley takes the host chair for a Prairie Farm Podcast trivia showdown. Nicolas and Kent face 20 questions pulled from past guest episodes, covering prairie…
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Ep. 392 What This Weather Scientist's Studies Tell us of The Midwest's Climate Future
Iowa State agronomy professor Dr. Brian Hornbuckle joins Nicolas and Kent to talk weather, water, and the Iowa landscape. We get into corn sweat, why rain is…
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Ep. 391 (Coffee Time) Which Prairie Species Are Invasive to The Rest of The World
Nicolas and Riley dig into milkweed banned in the EU, broomsedge, ragweed's 7.4 billion euro allergy bill, and the 2016 Palmer amaranth scare. Plus bare soil…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 390 What Pesticide Companies Are Doing In Washington to Make Billions
Sarah Starman of Friends of the Earth joins Nicolas and Kent to break down pesticide tort immunity: who is lobbying for it, how the EPA got captured, and why…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 389 (Coffee Time) Should We Use Farmland for Solar and Who Wins... A Bison or Bull?
Nicolas is back from three weeks off, and the crew digs into solar on farmland: how many acres each Midwest state would need, whether panels wreck the soil…
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Ep. 388 The Status of Farming According to Bankers and Where is Agriculture Headed
Join Nicolas and Kent as they sit down with Robert Poppe, Vice President of Marion County Bank. Robert unpacks the realities of ag lending, the true cost of…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 387 (Coffee Time) Bringing Back Grazing, but Importing Beef and The Iowa State Fair By The Numbers with Aaron Van Wyk
Another NicoLESS coffee time and we are talking bovines and the state fair with our friend and fellow farmer Aaron Van Wyk. Hoksey Native Seeds McKay Insurance
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Ep. 386 How Jon Judson Created Some of The Best Reconstructed Prairies in The Midwest
Join Nicolas and Kent as they visit Diversity Farms owner Jon Judson, a veteran Iowa prairie reconstructionist. From local seed genetics and tough site…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 385 (Coffee Time) Mad Max on Cars, Conservation and Farming
We are joined by the talented Alex Hoksbergen this week for Coffee Time Wednesday. Enjoy! Hoksey Native Seeds Iowa Cover Crop
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 384 Gubernatorial Candidate Rob Sand
Iowa auditor and gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand joins the Prairie Farm Podcast to talk clean water, cancer, and conservation. He lays out a plan for the…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 383 (Coffee Time) Is Ethanol ACTUALLY a Quality Energy Investment? And a Farm Bill Update
Coffee Time Wednesday is back. Nicolas, Kent, and Riley debate which famous conservationist they'd most want as a friend, why the Farm Bill stalled over SNAP…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 382 Secretary of Ag Candidate Chris Jones
Retired water scientist Chris Jones (author of The Swine Republic and now Democratic candidate for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture) joins Kent and Nicolas to…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 381 (Coffee Time) Why Are Wildfires Breaking Out Across The Whole World?? (And we’re hiring)
Coffee Time Wednesday takes on the world on fire in August 2026, from Oregon's largest wildfire ever to France's biggest evacuations since World War Two. Kent…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 380 Gubernatorial Candidate Zach Lahn
Join us as we welcome Zach Lahn back to the Prairie Farm Podcast. We dive into Iowa's rich history, the urgent need to address water quality and cancer rates…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 379 (Coffee Shop) Cyclospora Lettuce and the Ins and Outs of Crop Insurance
Join Nicolas, Riley, and special guest Nick Moats as they dive into the realities of farm insurance, food supply chains, and the value of sitting still in a…
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Ep. 378 Why Emulating the Bison is the Secret to Profitable Farming w/ Peter Byck
Peter Byck, director of Carbon Nation and Rooted So Deep, joins The Prairie Farm Podcast to discuss the massive benefits of AMP grazing. We explore how…
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Ep. 377 (Coffee Time) The Canadian Fires and the Depletion of the Colorado River
Join Nicolas, Kent, and guest Aaron Van Wyk for Coffee Time Wednesday as they dive into the environmental impact of massive wildfires and the looming Colorado…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 376 Why The Midwest Uses Way Less Cover Crop Than The Rest of The World
Join Nicolas and Riley as they sit down with Ruth McCabe, Conservation Manager at Heartland Cooperative. They dive into the realities of agricultural…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 375 (Coffee Time) Are Pesticides Killing Our Oaks and Why Native Plants Are "In Fashion"
Join Nicolas, Kent, and Riley on this Coffee Time Wednesday as they discuss the hidden impact of agricultural chemical drift on native oaks. The guys also…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 374 How Rural Hospitals Affect Rural America and What Will The Big Beautiful Bill Do To Them
Kevin Kincaid, CEO of Knoxville Hospital and Clinics, joins Nicolas and Kent. Kevin shares about his time serving on a nuclear submarine during the Cold War…
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Ep. 373 (Coffee Time) Where Are Your Invasive Weeds ACTUALLY From
Join the Prairie Farm Podcast crew on a road trip as we dive into the origins and natural predators of invasive prairie weeds. Smooth Brome, Sericea Lespedeza…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 372 The Pros and Cons of Grazing Cattle, Bison, Sheep, and Goats on Prairie
Join Nicolas and Kent as they sit down with Elizabeth and Loren Steele from Hamilton Native Outpost. They discuss the incredible nutritional benefits of…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 371 (Coffee Time) Good News for CRP in the Farm Bill and What Littering Costs Rural America
Join Nicolas, Kent, and Riley for this week's Coffee Time as they dive into the latest Farm Bill updates, extending CRP through 2031, and exciting new…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
(Bonus Episode) Advocacy Fatigue, Roadless Rule, and Mining Permits w/Travis Hall
Join Kent and Nicolas as they welcome Travis Hall, Associate Editor of Field & Stream, to discuss public land advocacy, the roadless rule, and why protecting…
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Ep. 370 How State Legislation Determines the Quality of the Deer Herd w/Skip Sligh
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…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 369 (Coffee Time) Will the Fed's Plan for Immigrant Labor Save Dairy Farms..?
Join Nicolas and Kent for another Coffee Time Wednesday! This week, they share their harrowing adventures with old farm equipment, the realities of harvesting…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 368 This man likely knows more about Iowa water quality than anyone
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…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 367 (Coffee Time) We Answer Your 16 Most Frequently Asked Prairie Questions Part 2
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…
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Ep. 366 Are Pasture-Raised Pig Farms Viable?
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…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 365 (Coffee Time) Does the Midwest ACTUALLY “Feed the world”?
In this Coffee Time episode, Nicolas, Kent, and Riley debate whether the Midwest really feeds the world, dig into commodity calories, exports, food security…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 364 The Details of Our Fight for Public Lands w/Hal Herring
Hal Herring joins The Prairie Farm Podcast to unpack American Prairie, grazing permits, public lands, ranching culture, and the hard history behind…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 363 (Coffee Time) We Answer Your 16 Most Frequently Asked Prairie Questions Part 1
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? 2. How do I prepare…
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Ep. 362 Inside Iowa’s Biggest Prairie Restoration and The Bison That Graze It
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…
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Ep. 361 (Coffee Time) How Tree Nut Farms Affect The Ecosystem and The Economy
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…
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Listen to the Land: Conversations about Conservation w/Doug Duren Ep. 3
Another of Doug Duren's quarterly episodes where we have a wide ranging conversation on turkey habitat, savanna restoration, Aldo Leopold, chainsaw stories…
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Ep. 360 The Man Who ACTUALLY Does The Physical Work to Fix Water Quality With Prairie
Senior Environmental Scientist for EOR Kevin Griggs joins us to talk reed canary grass, wetland restoration, Iowa water quality, tile drainage, data centers…
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Ep. 359 (Coffee Time) How E15, Trump in China, Straight of Hormuz, and El Niño Affect Commodity Prices
This week on Coffee Time Wednesday, we dig into everything shaking up commodity markets heading into summer. It's complicated with a lot of nuance, so grab…
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Ep. 358 How A Writer And Comedian From the Midwest Became The World’s First Celebrity
Mark Schneider, development and marketing manager of the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in Hannibal, Missouri, joins the Prairie Farm Podcast to talk about…
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Ep. 357 (Coffee Time) Legalized Hunting on National Parks and Grazing Leases on BLM Ground
We dig into two big conservation stories... the Trump administration's memo opening select national park lands and wildlife refuges to hunting, and the BLM's…
- The Prairie Farm Podcast
Ep. 356 What Great Habitat Looks Like and Why Hunters Are America’s Conservationists w/Travis Frank
Travis Frank, host of The Flush TV show and podcast, joins Kent, and Nicolas in Minnesota for a wide-ranging conversation on upland bird hunting and habitat…
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Ep. 355 (Coffee Time) Does “No Mow May” ACTUALLY Help The Bees??
Nicolas, Kent, and Riley break in the new studio with a conversation about society's spring lawn routine. They dig into No Mow May, what actually started it…
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Ep. 354 The Man Who Manages the Most Diverse Prairie We’ve Ever Seen
Keith Horn stopped for coffee and a donut on his way mushroom hunting. A real estate sign a block away changed the course of his life. The 50 acres he bought…
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Ep. 353 (Coffee Time) How Trees Affect Mental Health and A New Study on Agrochemicals and Cancer
Trees cut depression by a third, reduce crime, and make people spend more money. That's what the research says. Then the team brings a brand new Nature…
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Ep. 352 How to ACTUALLY Fix the Water Quality and Are Data Centers Good for Rural America
Johnathon Swanson from Polk County Conservation joins Nicolas and Kent talk about Iowa's water quality crisis. They dig into tile drainage, nitrates, saturated…