This research project will measurably increase the understanding and capabilities of conservation professionals and producers involved with planting prairie on farms and provide the support they need to be successful.
To accomplish this, the project will:
1) establish two-three demonstration sites designed for teaching,
2) host two field days per year at the demonstration sites and participate in other tours to showcase the sites,
3) produce technical information that is tailored to the needs of an agricultural audience and disseminate it through print, online, events, presentations, and one-on-one,
4) improve and expand the use of the Iowa Prairie Seed Calculator, and
5) cultivate a working group involved in prairie restoration on farms.
Ashley Kittle is the Prairie on Farms program manager at the Tallgrass Prairie Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa. She joined the staff in February 2014, to lead the Prairie on Farms project. Kittle received a B.A. in political science with minors in environmental science and community sociology from Wartburg College. She completed a Professional Science Master's degree in ecosystem management at the University of Northern Iowa. Most recently she led and managed the Dry Run Creek Watershed Improvement Project for the Black Hawk County Soil and Water Conservation District.
Laura Jackson, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University of Northern Iowa