Villa residents plant prairie on their farm for soil conservation

An interest in Iowa’s native prairie grasses prompted villa residents Jerry and JoAnn Kramer to attend the open house when UNI’s Tallgrass Prairie Center first opened nine years ago.  Soon after, the Kramers got a call asking if they’d want to be one of several farm families using prairie strips as a way to combat soil erosion. 

Jerry and JoAnn’s families had always practiced soil conservation on their childhood farms. “We were blessed with ancestors that had some conservation practices that we could pick up on and expand upon. They were good examples for us,” says JoAnn. In the 1940s, Jerry and his dad would walk to the prairie at the northeast corner of their farm in the spring looking for shooting stars, a native wildflower. The patch of prairie was about the size of a football field and had never been plowed under. 

Even still, the prairie strips – planted and maintained by UNI students and AmeriCorps volunteers – have been a learning process.  They’re about two acres each and parallel to each other.  

The Kramers appreciate the expertise and resources offered by the Tallgrass Prairie Center.  

Jerry and JoAnn rent their farmland but still maintain an active interest in the land, the prairies and the students who are involved. “It’s fun to meet and visit with them and see what they’re doing and what they say about the whole thing,” Jerry says.  

One noticeable benefit of the prairie project?  Before, Jerry said they hadn’t seen pheasants on the farm for about ten years. Now the birds have gradually returned; he has spotted them every once in a while. The Kremers also enjoy how the color of the prairie changes every year; this year it was mostly yellows. 

“I hope future generations continue the efforts,” Jerry muses.  “It’s helpful to the land and also beautiful.”

Prairie strips on the Kramer’s farm in Black Hawk County.