The Prairie Farm Podcast

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)