Petite Prairies

Do you have a perfect little spot in mind for a pollinator habitat? Do you have odds-and-ends areas such as roadside ditches or berms that can use a little TLC? Read on to see if PFI’s Petite Prairies program can help!

Eligibility requirements:

Project site must be in Iowa
Project site must be within or adjacent to a crop field
Project size must be 5 acres* or less
Project size between 2 and 5 acres will be required to utilize Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ Prairie Partners program (habitat check-off), which provides 50% cost-share of the native seeds

Native prairie seed mix requirements:

Pollinator seed mix containing at least 30 total species and 3 blooming species per season (CRP CP42 seed mix meets this requirement)
The amount of grass seeds cannot exceed 50% of the total seed mix
Seeding rates must be at least 40 seeds per square foot

There are two payment rates based on the project size:

Rate 1: Project size of 2 acres or less will receive $400 per acre.

Rate 2: Project size between 2 and 5 acres must also participate in IDNR’s Prairie Partners program (habitat check-off), which provides 50% cost-share for native seeds. PFI will then pay the difference between the Prairie Partners cost-share and $400 per acre.

For example, if a participant purchases seeds that cost $150 per acre and receives $75 per acre cost-share through IDNR’s Prairie Partners program, PFI will pay $325 per acre so that the total cost-share the participant receives from both programs adds up to $400 per acre.

Interested in applying for the Petite Prairies program?

Fill out the contact form.

Upload a map or a picture with the proposed project area drawn out in the contact form. See example photo.

Schedule a consultation. After submitting the contact form, you will automatically be redirected to a bookings page where you can schedule a call with our habitat systems manager.