The Prairie Farm Podcast

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 pas...

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, nonresident tags, crossbows, and chronic wasting disease, including surprising new data on genetic resistance that has even the experts rethinking a few things.   hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes,...

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 of sound: how traffic noise steals sleep and health, and why birdsong, running water, and prairie soundscapes actually lower your stress.   hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native p...

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, drones in hunting, the 2016 pollinator CRP boom, 44% of Iowa CRP expiring in 2027, farmland values, and whether elk could return.   hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture mi...

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 year, and whether Iowa can pay its way to cleaner water. Plus a combine door that tried to end harvest.   hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture mixes, and more) iowacover...

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 recording, stubborn spiderwort, and big wins like Judd and backyard prairies, plus native pasture, faith, and why the Prairie Farm Forum matters.   hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, nativ...

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% and slash tick counts. Then they honor conservation legend Wendell Berry and ask what it takes to keep young people on the land.   hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture m...

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 contract actually costs the farmer who signs it, and how ethanol quietly erased the pastures Iowa used to graze. Plus Costco, Sysco, and GLP-1s.   hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, nat...

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 food plants, planting dates, grazing, Iowa water quality, and the Black Hawk War.  Can you beat Nicolas and Kent's score? hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture mixes, and mor...

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 coming in bigger chunks, how trading prairie for row crops changed our summers, and a NASA satellite that might spot thirsty plants early.   hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native p...

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 temperatures, cooler trout streams below prairie, and a mix built to bust clay. hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture mixes, and more)   MckayInsAgency.com (for all your fi...

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 only 1.4% of likely-carcinogen pesticides carry a cancer warning. Then forever chemicals, sewage sludge, and one condemned Michigan farm.   hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pa...

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, and the hard question nobody asks. What grows under them? Plus a wild bison versus fighting bull story you have to hear.   hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture mixes, and m...

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 farm consolidation, and how debt can either cripple or propel an operation. It's a candid look at the finances behind the farm.   hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture mixes...

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   

Join Nicolas and Kent as they visit Diversity Farms owner Jon Judson, a veteran Iowa prairie reconstructionist. From local seed genetics and tough site preparation to interseeding, prescribed fire, weed management, and grazing, Jon shares practical guidance for building diverse native prairie communities that can truly thrive for decades ahead. hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, back...

We are joined by the talented Alex Hoksbergen this week for Coffee Time Wednesday. Enjoy!   Hoksey Native Seeds Iowa Cover Crop

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 biggest prairie pothole and wetland restoration Iowa has ever seen, defends public land and hunting heritage, and makes the case for working across the aisle. hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP...

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, and whether ethanol actually pays off. Along the way: a post-ethanol Iowa, corn versus solar, and what makes a prairie look truly healthy.   hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native...

Retired water scientist Chris Jones (author of The Swine Republic and now Democratic candidate for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture) joins Kent and Nicolas to talk nitrate, tile, and crop dusting. His pitch for Iowa transition a million corn acres to pasture, oats, prairie, and pollinator habitat, and finally treat clean water as a right.   hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard pr...

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, Nick, and Riley dig into fire suppression, invasive fuel loads, lost grazers, and why some landscapes are becoming unlivable. Also... broccoli for breakfast.   hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes...

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, and practical incentives for regenerative agriculture. Zach shares his vision for keeping young Iowans home and revitalizing our public schools.   hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, n...

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 deer stand. Plus, the guys discuss late-summer prairie blooms and announce an extremely limited release of hand-harvested wild strawberry seeds.   hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, nat...

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 regenerative practices build soil health, boost farm profitability, bring back wildlife, and why huge corporations are funding independent science to secure resilient food supply chains. hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard pra...

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 River drought. They explore the delicate balance between human infrastructure and nature’s limits, questioning how society adapts to extreme environmental challenges. hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting...