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FAQ: Can I graze cattle on my prairie strips?

Can I graze cattle on my prairie strips?


This is an open question for the STRIPS team, which we hope to answer soon. At least two of our farmer cooperators are planning to graze their prairie strips: one is developing a method to rotationally graze the prairie strips and another releases cattle onto his whole field after fall corn harvest. Stay tuned for research results; in the meantime, you might try it, being careful not to allow livestock to congregate in any area long enough to create bare ground.


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FAQ: Will prairie strips plug tile lines?

Will prairie strips plug tile lines?

Perforated tile are buried under cropland to remove excess water detrimental to crop production. Farmers and landowners considering installing strips of prairie plants in their fields have asked about the possibility of roots growing into tile lines. To address this potential, Tim Younquist and Matt Helmers used video cameras to evaluate root penetration into the tile lines under prairie and continuous corn.  Read more about FAQ: Will prairie strips plug tile lines?

FAQ: How are prairie strips different from contour buffers and grass strips?

Contour buffers are typically planted with fixed widths. In contrast, we vary the width of the prairie strips based on the amount of water they intercept, with the goal of treating all of the runoff leaving the crop field. Where more water is flowing down-slope, prairie strips should be wider, and where less water is flowing down-slope, the strips can be narrower. Read more about FAQ: How are prairie strips different from contour buffers and grass strips?

FAQ: What kind of plants are actually in the prairie strips?

Prairie strips are planted with native, perennial prairie species. Species include grassesforbs (i.e., wildflowers), legumes, and sedges. Typically, plantings include stiff-stemmed warm season grasses (e.g., Indiangrass, big bluestem, little bluestem) and a wide range of erect forbs, including species of aster, beebalm, blazing star, bush clover, coneflower, goldenrod, and native sunflower. Read more about FAQ: What kind of plants are actually in the prairie strips?

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