How I quit mowing and got paid to do it

Ok, so I’m not getting rich, but I DID get a check from the NRCS

3 years ago I had the opportunity to buy the acreage I was living on. It was just over 10 acres with 2 more across the road. All in all, I was mowing about 6 acres. It was stupid, boring, and expensive. Three years ago I decided to stop spraying my lawn and that summer I noticed that the clover in my lawn exploded. We saw rabbits and deer wandering into our yard to nibble it. My whole family loved it.

A short time later, I stumbled into this subreddit and found out there were a lot more weirdos who also thought this was a good idea and I thought, I can run with this. I reached out to my local Natural Resources Conservation Service office and it turned out they had a bunch of leftover money from a prairie reclamation project that they were hoping someone like me would take.

I called a friend from college who runs a sod company (I’m not sure if I can plug her here but she’s a redditor so I hope she sees this – Hi Sarah, you’re great!) She came up with a prairie grass and wildflower package that I took to the NCRS to see if it met their standards and I could claim some money. They sent a guy out to stomp around and tell me what they wanted to see and how I had to care for the prairie. About a month later, they wrote me a check which covered all the seed and about half of what it cost to hire a seed drill (there are cheaper ways to do this but I’m on a hill and I was worried about birds and erosion). The fall before plant, I cut the area as short as my mower would go and sprayed the entire thing with Roundup. In the spring I sprayed everything again about 2 weeks before the guy came to plant (glyphosate loses its potency after about 10 days and you’re safe to plant).

I will tell you, the first year looked like absolute crap. I had flowers come up but a TON of native weeds and about an acre of marijuana I got permission to remove mechanically (they used to grow hemp in my area decades ago and apparently these seeds stay dormant for a LONG time). I was told not to touch anything for three years. The grasses will eventually outcompete the weeds and I should end up with a beautiful prairie.

I am currently halfway through year two and I couldn’t be happier. Not only am I mowing about 3 acres less in total (saving time and money), it is striking how much happier and healthier my personal ecosystem is. My family loves to see what critters wander out of the prairie. We have seen rabbits, mink, possums, raccoons, turkeys, pheasants, quail, and we have a family of deer that live right out in the timber behind. We see bees and butterflies and dragonflies. And the FIREFLIES! You wouldn’t believe the number of fireflies we see.

All of it started because I noticed a little bit of clover three years ago. If you have any questions, I’ll try to answer them. And if you want to do something similar, feel free to message me, I would love to connect you with my friend if you would like her help.

I also included the seed mix I got from my friend in case you’re curious what I planted (Central Midwest 5a).