This prairie harvest is the result of a need of the DNR Wildlife Bureau to improve and expand the diversity of plant species that occur on the State Wildlife Management Areas.  Most State Areas comprise of cool season grasses that serve as nesting grounds for wildlife species.  The limited diversity of the cool season grasses and lack of any forbs restricts the number of wildlife species that will use these fields.  By harvesting native warm season grasses and forbs, diversity can be added to these State Wildlife Areas.  This mixture of diverse seed would then improve the wildlife habitat.  A number of wildlife species benefiting from the diverse seedings  include non-game song birds that have  disappeared or drastically declined in numbers from the Iowa landscape.    With the harvest of thousands of pounds of seed each year, more acres can be planted with the diverse and native mixture of grasses and forbs. 

The harvest of the native grass and forb seed is completed during the fall with a combine and 20 foot rice head.  The special head essentially strips the seed from the field without having to cut and harvest the whole plant.  This leaves most of the vegetation standing in the field to still provide valuable fall and winter habitat.  Special portable drying bins were constructed using gooseneck trailers and wooden boxes built with slotted bin flooring.  With a drying fan and generator attached to the front, the air is circulated through the seed as it is harvested.  After about three days of drying the seed is ready to be cleaned and bagged.  Using a conventional grain cleaner the seed is tumbled to remove any stems or leaves that may have gone through the combine.  The seed is then bagged in either 50 to 80 pound bags or can be stored in large bulk bags that may hold up to 400 pounds. 

This seed is distributed throughout the state of Iowa to be planted with native grass drills or spreaders that will toss the seed over the soil as nature does.  After a few years the native grasses and forbs will take hold and transform the landscape back to the tall grass prairie.  This newly established prairie will not be as complex as what was plowed up nearly one hundred years ago, but it will vastly improve the habitat conditions for a number of grassland wildlife species. 

During 1999 over 700 acres was harvested from public land using one combine.  This resulted in over 60,000 bulk pounds of native grass seed to be used for wildlife habitat.  For the year 2000 harvest a second combine has been added. Hopefully even more acres can be harvested and the diverse native grass and forb mix will continue to improve the public lands of Iowa. 
 

The success of the native seed harvest has resulted in the hiring of three personnel to form the new Seed Harvest Team.  This Team will help to expand the harvest of grasses and forbs.  They will also operate greenhouses, start up production plots, and oversee the hand harvesting of native prairie sites throughout Iowa.  Ultimately it is hoped that Iowa will be able to provide enough local ecotype seed of grasses and forbs to re-establish a diverse tall grass prairie that once was so common to Iowa’s early settlers. 

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