Monotonous Monoculture to Pollinator Paradise

In 2013, Dave Russell and his wife, Penny, purchased 160 acres of farmland in northeastern Price County just north of Brantwood, Wisconsin. Their goal was to build the first upland bird hunting facility in the United States for the needs of veterans with physical disabilities and allow those with mobility constraints who have served in the military to enjoy the outdoors. Initially, Dave converted 24 acres of corn and hay cropland on the property to plant to millet, sunflower, and soybeans annually to support the pheasant and quail he raised on site and released for hunting. Each year, Dave dedicated a lot of time and money on fuel, tillage, seed, and fertilizer to plow the cropland and replant, so he began looking for alternative ways to sustainably utilize their cropland and resources long term.

In 2017, Dave stopped into the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Service Center in Medford, Wisconsin, interested in improving his property for wildlife and pollinators. He was encouraged to apply for the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) for technical and financial assistance to convert nearly 15 acres of his property to native pollinator habitat. In 2018, NRCS Wisconsin provided Dave with the guidance and resources to install native plant species that both reseed themselves each season and are beneficial to pollinators like honeybees, bumblebees, and monarchs. The site chosen created an idyllic pollinator sanctuary, surrounded by woods and protected from herbicide and insecticide drift from neighboring farming practices.

Working with NRCS conservationists, Dave opted for dormant seeding, or seeding later in the year so the planting sits over winter and germinates early the following spring. The curated pollinator seed mix of over 24 native species was designed to bloom throughout the growing season, which he mowed every 30 days the first year to prevent weeds from flowering and allow the native plants to establish. Excessive clover growth in the second year following the planting was managed by mowing the site before the clovers bloomed and produced seed. Typically, a planting will grow into the diverse native prairie as intended by the third growing season, and with patience and maintenance, Dave noted over a dozen native flower species blooming in August of the third year. The accessibility-minded property included a barn on site, boasting a sunflower field with a center area suited for picturesque gatherings. 

After completing the initial pollinator planting project, Dave enrolled his land in the NRCS Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) for assistance with tree and shrub plantings to increase plant diversity on the property, including a young forest for Golden Winged Warbler, clover mix planting for honeybees, switchgrass strips, and rows of conifers. Jodi Chapek, the NRCS Resource Conservationist who worked with Dave on the pollinator habitat, said “it was rewarding to see the cropland go from a monoculture to native flowers. Now the property buzzes with life throughout the growing season."

Dave enjoyed working with the NRCS staff on conservation practice options and solutions for his land before applying for their voluntary assistance programs. Dave also worked with NRCS partners like the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources through the Managed Forest Law (MFL) program, an incentive program that encourages sustainable forestry on private woodland, and the Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership on Alder shearing for maintaining Early Successional Habitat beneficial to a variety of native song and  ground-nesting birds. “The NRCS programs helped me make the land more diverse and wildlife friendly. Not only do the pollinators and wildlife get to enjoy the improvements to the land, but the guests who have visited do as well," said Dave. 

The property is now under new ownership but continues to maintain the NRCS conservation practices Dave Russell implemented.

Special thanks to Jodi Chapek for assistance with this story.