Prairie Prophets

07/03/2025

Last week, Roeslein’s Steve Mowry, Director of Prairie Establishment, and Ben Kruger, Senior Vice President of Renewables, presented at a Missouri Prairie Foundation (MPF) webinar on opportunities for our Horizon II project to provide an economic and ecologically viable pathway for farmers and landowners in Iowa and Missouri.

The Horizon II project, which is supported by a USDA Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Grant, started in 2023 and spans five years. The project aims to combine ecosystem services, renewable natural gas production, and enhanced grassland wildlife habitat in a financially practical manner. This significant initiative is carried out by a partnership of 13 organizations led by Roeslein Alternative Energy.

Watch the MPF webinar recording: https://hubs.la/Q039-ybM0

25/02/2025

Join Missouri Prairie Foundation's Webinar featuring Roeslein's Steve Mowry and Ben Kruger on 2/26/25.

Learn about the USDA’s Climate-Smart Commodities Grant project Horizon II, a program provided by a partnership of 13 organizations led by Roeslein Alternative Energy. Speakers include Steve Mowry, Director of Prairie Establishment at Roeslein Alternative Energy, and Ben Kruger, Senior Vice President of the Renewables Division at Roeslein & Associates. The Horizon II project, which started in 2023 and spans five years, aims to combine ecosystem services, renewable energy, and enhanced grassland wildlife habitat in a financially viable manner. Its mission is to verify on a large scale that prairie grasses and cover crops are economically feasible, low-CO2e commodities that provide a stable income stream to farmers.

https://moprairie.org/event/mpf-webinar-horizon-ii-one-part-wildlife-one-part-ecosystem-services-and-one-part-renewable-energy/

21/11/2024

Roeslein Alternative Energy’s (RAE) Director of Government Relations and Horizon II Grant Director, Bryan Sievers, regularly hosts educational tours at his roughly 2,500-acre farm in Stockton, IA. One group, the US Sustainability Alliance (USSA) visited Sievers Family Farms to learn about regenerative agriculture practices, including anaerobic co-digestion of manure, food waste, corn stover, cereal rye straw, and, most recently, biomass from cover crops. Sievers Family Farms is a highly integral partner in achieving the efforts of RAE’s Horizon II project.

Learn more about the Horizon II Climate-Smart Commodities Grant project and read the article from USSA about the economic and environmental benefits of a circular farming approach implemented on Sievers Family Farms!

https://hubs.la/Q02Z6-wj0

https://hubs.la/Q02Z6SVJ0

Sievers Family Farms in Iowa is one of a growing number of farms using manure-based anaerobic digesters. These digesters convert farm waste into valuable byproducts, such as renewable electricity and fertilizer, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

15/10/2024

A recent article in Iowa Farmer Today examines nutrient loss reduction strategies in the U.S. Midwestern states of Iowa and Missouri. Notably, 2024 marks a decade since Missouri, the "Show-Me State," implemented its nutrient loss reduction plan. In Iowa, the state's approach focuses on maintaining soil fertility by monitoring critical metrics, including cover crops, tillage practices, and the application of synthetic fertilizers. Nutrient loss, namely nitrogen and phosphorous, from non-point sources like agricultural run-off, negatively impacts farmers' profitability, diminishes soil productivity, and contributes to hypoxia zones in the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River.

Roeslein Alternative Energy's Horizon II project, part of the USDA's Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities Grant program, seeks to reduce the nutrient loss on farms by promoting a cyclical model that enhances on-farm energy production, ecological services, and wildlife restoration for small and mid-sized farmers in Iowa and Missouri. Over the next five years, we aim to plant over 40,000 acres of winter-hardy cereal rye cover crop material and restore an additional 40,000 acres of prairie harvested for Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) production in Northern Missouri and Southern Iowa.

Nutrient loss from Midwestern fields has caused problems for farmers and in the faraway waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

23/07/2024

Have you watched Season 1 of Prairie Prophets yet? Filming for season 2 is underway - and it's going to be a great continuation of telling the stories that are inspiring our journey! Now streaming on https://hubs.la/Q02HFM3f0 and https://hubs.la/Q02HFxSm0

11/07/2024

The ability to store natural gas in salt caves acts as a natural battery, which can decrease the carbon intensity of America’s energy system. This natural battery is available, viable, and already in use. https://hubs.la/Q02GbK_b0

09/07/2024

The full Season One of Prairie Prophets is now live on our YouTube channel!

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWNDUmEYZB9uvUiBdySMcBKhIb64hG4TL&si=eL692pTL6OFwVQUR

28/06/2024

The Conservation Federation of Missouri won the coveted “Affiliate of the Year” award last night in Washington DC at the National Wildlife Federation’s Annual Awards Dinner. Tyler Schwarze, Executive Director of the Federation, accepted the award and was joined on stage by his Board of Directors. Congratulations to all of your hard work and continued support of our Horizon II Initiatives!

25/06/2024

Get to know the vibrant and multi-purposed prairie plant - Blue Wild Indigo with Frank Oberle.

21/06/2024

The Prairie is speaking to us - calling us all to action. We need the prairie as much as the prairie needs us right now.

17/06/2024

Filming for Season 2 of Prairie Prophets has officially started with Prairie Power Author, Kathy Love as our first guest! Kathy understands how prairies can truly heal the planet. Looking forward to compelling season!

05/06/2024

Frank is back with another Prairie Minute with Frank Oberle - this time with Golden Alexander, a flowering herbaceous perennial of the carrot family.