The Prairie Farm Podcast

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, 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)

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

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 pasture mixes, and more) iowacovercrop.com (for all your cover crop mixes, waterway mixes, forage mixes, small grains, and more)

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 financial planning and insurance needs) BirdHunterSupply.com (for all your bird hunting supplies and dog hunting supplies)

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 pasture mixes, and more) BirdHunterSupply.com (for all your bird hunting supplies and dog hunting supplies) Analysis: EPA only requires cancer warnings on 1.4% of pesticides with probable and likely carcinogens -- Center for Biological Diversity The Chemical Industry Has Infiltrated the EPA — Friends of the Earth Tracing Bayer's ties to power and Tracking the Trump administration's favors to the pesticide industry — U.S. Right to Know What Happens if Bayer Pulls Roundup? — Farm Action Organic for All Study: Just two weeks on an organic diet can reduce pesticides in your body up to 95% -- Friends of the Earth

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 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)

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

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, 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)

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 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)

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 pasture mixes, and more) BirdHunterSupply.com (for all your bird hunting supplies and dog hunting supplies)

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 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)

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, CRP mixes, native pasture mixes, and more) BirdHunterSupply.com (for all your bird hunting supplies and dog hunting supplies)

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, 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)

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, 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)

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 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)

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 mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture mixes, and more) iowacovercrop.com (for all your cover crop mixes, waterway mixes, forage mixes, small grains, and more)

Join Nicolas and Riley as they sit down with Ruth McCabe, Conservation Manager at Heartland Cooperative. They dive into the realities of agricultural conservation, why certain practices work in other countries but struggle in Iowa, the balance of economics and environment, and why there’s no single scapegoat for water quality. 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)

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 explore the massive surge in native plant popularity and why people are choosing prairies over lawns. 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)