Autumn Seed Harvest Yields A Prairie Bounty

Hand-screening seeds to remove large pieces
of inert matter. © Chris Helzer/TNC

In the late 1990s, a group of conservation organizations led by The Nature Conservancy and Prairie Plains Resource Institute were actively involved with high-diversity prairie restoration work in Nebraska.

Their projects consisted of annual restoration plantings of several hundred acres, using seed mixes of between 150 and 220 species of prairie and wetland plants.

The Conservancy is continuing this tradition of promoting prairie diversity through native seed harvests.

The Nature Conservancy and many other conservation groups advocate the use of local ecotype seed for grassland restoration projects.

Using seed that is native to a particular area helps ensure that the seed will succeed where it is planted and ensures local genetic diversity.

Learn More

Native prairie seeds stored in containers

Seeds are stored in containers that allow the seeds to have air © Chris Helzer/TNC

Download A Guide to Selling Native Prairie Seed in Nebraska by Chris Helzer (PDF, 4.6 MB)

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