Overview

The heightened public awareness of the need for biodiversity coupled with government mandates for using native plants has led to an increased demand for prairie grasses and wildflower seed. Emergence of the prairie grass and wildflower industry was triggered by the 1987 passage of the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act, which requires that all federally aided highway landscaping projects include native grasses or wildflowers. At least one quarter of one percent of all funds expended for a landscaping project must be used to establish native plants.  February 2012 ... Prairie Grasses
 

Marketing

• American Seed Trade Association -  Trade organization involved in seed production and distribution, plant breeding and related industries in North America.
• Ancient and Alternative Grains.  Brannon, Carol Ann. Today’s Dietitian.
• Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies - Global organization working to establish standards for seed purity, quality, and certification.
• Going Native. Prairie Grass Research, University of Kentucky, 2004.
• Grassland Heritage Foundation - A membership organization dedicated to prairie preservation and education.
• National Native Plant Materials Development Program: Ensuring Options for the Future. Bureau of Land Management.  Olwell, Peggy. Description of process, previous funding, and goals of program.
• North American Native Plant Society.
• Plant Conservation Alliance (PCA).  Consortium of federal government agencies and non-federal cooperators representing various disciplines within the conservation field. The group works to solve the problems of native plant extinction and native habitat restoration.
• Prairies Forever.  Dedicated to promoting prairies through education, outreach and public engagement.
• Wildflower Viewing Hotline, U.S. Forest Service. The Wildflower Hotline provides location and species information on flowering plants during the spring and summer seasons. The number is 1-800-354-4595.
• PRIMER for Selecting New Enterprises for Your Farm. Woods, Tim and Steve Isaacs, University of Kentucky. A tool outlining astep-by-step analysis to evaluate potential enterprises.
• Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes. A nonprofit organization promoting the use of native plants.
   

Production

• Ag Decision Maker, Iowa State University. Valuable resource for evaluating farm enterprises.
• AgPlan, one part of the Minnesota Center for Farm Financial Management site from the University of Minnesota, is designed to help rural businesses develop a business plan.
• Celebrating Wildflowers. U.S. Forest Service, USDA.
• Creating a Wild Backyard.  Wildflower Meadows, Wild Acres Program, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, 2004.
• Desert Wildflower Field Guide.  DesertUSA.com.
• Developing a Residential Prairie. University of Minnesota.
• Example of Government Grow-out Procedures for Native Grasses in the Pacific Northwest, J. Herbert Stone Nursery, Oregon, U.S. Forest Service, USDA.
• Federal Noxious Weeds List.   NRCS, USDA.
• Friends of the Prairie Learning Center, Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, Prairie City, Iowa. Conducts research on restoring native plants, carbon sequestration, effects of different seeding methods and early mowing management on prairies.
• “Get Rich Quick” Growing Native Grass Seed. Cash, Dennis and David Wichman, Montana State University. A basic overview of considerations to evaluate the feasibility of this enterprise.
• Grass Seed Production, Hopkins, Andy, Noble Foundation. Introduction to legal and technical considerations.
• Harvesting Grass Seed, Government of Alberta, Canada, 2002. Timing the harvest of grass seed is one of the most important decisions a seed grower will make.
• Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at Austin.
• Landscaping with Native Plants. U.S. EPA fact sheet.
• Living Roadway Trust Fund, Iowa.  Describes projects, assists producers, lists plants.
• Managing Missouri’s Hay Prairies, Missouri Department of Conservation. Missouri farmers still have some 75,000 acres of native prairie meadows that can produce low-cost, dependable forage.
• Minnesota Crop Improvement Association. Directory of yellow tag (source identified) suppliers.
• Native Kansas Prairie. Links to various prairie sites and resources.
• Native Wildflower Seed Production in Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), University of Florida.  Provides advice about producing seed of native herbaceous annual and perennial wildflowers.
• Native Wildflower Seed Production Trials. Shock, Clint, Erik Feibert, Monty Saunders, and Joey Ishida, Oregon State University Malheur Experiment Station. Evaluation of species native to the Great Basin, photos.
• Obtaining Plant Materials, Roadside Revegetation Technical Guide, Coordinated Technology Implementation Program.  This chapter of the guide pertains to collecting and propagating plant materials.
• Ornamental Grasses, University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, 2009.
• Plant Materials Program, Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), USDA. Information on seeding, planting and production of prairie areas. Source of native vegetation information and species.
• Plants Database, NRCS, USDA. Provides a searchable database on all plants, tools, fact sheets related to prairie production and development.
• PrairieSource. This site offers links to state, federal and university sites with prairie-related information.
• Prairie Wildflowers, Purdue University Consumer Horticulture.
• Quick Guide to Wildflowers, AmericanMeadows.com. Practical, easy-to-understand information on wildflower gardening.
• Regional Trends of Biological Resources: Grasslands, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey.
• Species for Wildflower Seed Production. Johnson, Anne Marie and Ted Whitwell, Clemson University. Evaluates 29 species for southeast production.
• Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, National Park Service.  Created in 1996, this park near Cottonwood Falls, Kansas, protects a nationally significant example of the once vast tallgrass ecosystem.
• Tallgrass Prairie Center.  Home of the Iowa Ecotype project; information for prospective growers of seeds                                                                                          
• What the Heck is an Invasive Plant? National Park Service. Distinguishes between native and exotic/invasive species.
• Wildflower Info.Org  - Information on growing wildflowers.
• Wildflower Production, IFAS, University of Florida.
• Wildflowers, Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
• Wildflowers in Bloom, Horticulture Program, Texas Cooperative Extension. Growing information, seed sources and indexed photos of many wildflowers.

Businesses/Case Studies

• FDC Enterprises Grasslands Services, Columbus, Ohio, 2008 - Since 2002, this company has planted 86,000 acres in 15 states, with the pasture and cattle-grazing market growing the fastest.
• Glenco Agricultural Consultant Services - Native prairie grass seed production and marketing in the northern Great Plains and Canadian prairies.
• Ion Exchange, Harpers Ferry, Iowa - Native seed and plant nursery.
• Pawnee Buttes Seed Inc, Greeley, Colorado - Provides native and introduced grass, forb, and shrub seed for reclamation, pasture, and turf.
• Prairie Frontier, Waukesha, Wisconsin - Offers planting tips, as well as sales of specific prairie plants and prairie plant mixes.
• Prairie Moon Nursery, Winona, Minnesota - Offers a large selection of native prairie and meadow wildflowers and grass seeds. Also specializes in wetland, savanna and woodland seed mixes. 
• Prairie Nursery, Westfield, Wisconsin - This operation has been growing wildflowers and grasses since 1972. In addition to sales of seeds and plants, the operation also offers landscaping services of prairie areas.
• Prairie Restorations, Inc., Princeton, Minnesota - Helps restore natural prairie areas in the Midwest. For a case study of the business, see Renewing the Countryside's article. 
• Shooting Star Native Seeds, Spring Grove, Minnesota - A major supplier of native grass and wildflower seed throughout the Upper Midwest.

Links checked February 2012.