Larry and Margaret Stone. PHOTO COURTESY OF PRACTICAL FARMERS OF IOWA

TRAER – Whannel Farm on the western outskirts of Traer is set to host a Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) field day next week focused on creating wildlife habitat on the farm.

The event titled ‘Pollinators, Prairie Strips and Oxbows’ will take place on Wednesday, August 23 beginning at 10 a.m. The field day is hosted by Larry and Margaret Stone.

Margaret and her two brothers own Whannel Farm (2381 180th Street, Traer) on which their tenant farmer raises about 150 acres of corn and soybeans, according to a press release from PFI. The remainder of the farm is comprised of 30 acres of established CRP-enrolled prairie and more than 20 acres of woodlands.

The public is invited to attend this free event sponsored by the Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance. The Stone family along with Iowa State University’s Tim Youngquist, a STRIPS (Science-based Trials of Rowcrops Integrated with Prairie Strips) farmer liaison, will lead attendees on a tour of the farm’s prairie strips.

The tour will also include an oxbow restored by The Nature Conservancy of Iowa as well as a variety of native grasses and forbs.

Lunch will follow the field day.

To register for the event refer to PFI’s website: https://practicalfarmers.org/events/field-days/pollinators-prairie-strips-and-oxbows/, or call PFI at 515-232-5661.