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Nachusa Grasslands

Mechanized Seed Gathering and Planting

1/3/2017

6 Comments

 
Picture
Seeds! That essential element of prairie restoration, seeds are hand gathered and then planted by stewards, volunteers, and crew over hundreds of acres at Nachusa Grasslands each year. Gathering seeds by hand assures that only the right, ready, and wanted species are collected. But there is another method of seed harvesting and planting utilized at Nachusa: mechanized, with combine and broadcast seeders. 
Picture
Cody Considine, Restoration Ecologist, climbs into the cab of the combine.
With a combine, very large areas of seeds can be gathered in a very short time. In 2016, the Nachusa crew hand collected about 4000 lbs. of seed, while combining yielded about 20,000 lbs. Combining is not as precise a method as hand gathering and will retrieve the seeds of everything in its path, including weeds. This is minimized by carefully monitoring the path of the combine and either driving around an area of unwanted seeds or by disengaging the combine head.
Picture
From inside the cab, you can clearly see the path (left) where the combine has just passed.
The photo above shows a field which yielded a variety of seeds: Big and Little Bluestem; Indian Grass; Smooth, Sky Blue, and Silky Asters; Old Field, Missouri, and Showy Goldenrod; Rough Blazing Star; Round–headed Bush Clover; and Pale Purple Coneflower, among others. The advantage of this method, in addition to large-scale collecting, is that it frees the crew to concentrate on rare, harder to collect seeds, such as from those plants that are too low to the ground to gather by combining.
Picture
The seed stripping blades.
Combines can operate with different types of heads (front part of combine) for harvesting various grains and seeds. Nachusa's combine uses a rice-stripping head. The metal "fingers" (photo above) spin very fast, stripping seeds off each stem. This is much more efficient and collects less chaff compared to using a soybean head, which cuts and harvests the stems along with the seeds. The combine has also been further modified: the fans have been turned off and the top of the stripping head has been covered with a wire screen to minimize the loss of the fine, fluffy seeds.
Picture
Auger, churning the seeds into the storage bin.
Because the special head brings in very little chaff, the seeds can be directly planted without going through the hammermill. 
Picture
Seed from the combine is next emptied into a bin to be taken out of the field.
Picture
The seed is spread around to dry.
After drying, the seed collected by combining is mostly given to conservation partners of Nachusa Grasslands, such as Byron Forest Preserve, Natural Land Institute, and Franklin Creek State Natural Area.  Some of the seed is used to supplement the seed hand gathered by stewards and crew.  Some of the seed is used to plant areas that were recently cleared of brush. 
Picture
Last year, this 103 acre field was growing corn.
This 103-acre field is much too large an area to plant by hand. The crew fills antique broadcast seeders with a mixture of the combine-gathered seed and hand-gathered seed. The broadcast seeders, attached to the back of trucks, are then driven over the field, again and again, spreading the seed.
Picture
Kaleb Baker, Restoration Technician, and crew fill broadcast seeders for mechanized planting.
Picture
Spreading the seed over the 103 acres.
There are many factors that filter into a successful restoration. Weather, of course, is one factor. Often, after an initial planting, there are places where growth is sparse. Overseeding is done, sometimes over several years, to help increase growth and also to add more diverse plants. Diligent weeding is also done to eradicate unwanted and invasive species. New plantings are often burned on a yearly basis for a few years to help with weed control and encourage native species growth. Nachusa's staff and volunteers have gone through this process of collecting and planting prairies over 120 times within the past 30 years. After many years of  care and hard work, a beautifully restored prairie may bloom. 
Picture
Prairie diversity.
This blog was written by Charles Larry, volunteer and photographer at Nachusa. To see more of his images, see:  charleslarryphotography.zenfolio.com  
6 Comments
Paul Swanson
1/10/2017 08:58:27 am

I was working with a group of volunteers in Somme Woods in Northbrook yesterday. I brought up your blog and was getting a number of questions about mechanical harvesting of seed. The bad thing is I couldn't answer many of them. The good thing, I was able to say Charles covered that in the blog and refereed them to it. Good job on an informative and thorough investigation into mechanical seed harvesting at Nachusa. The pictures are great too!!!

Reply
Charles Larry
1/10/2017 01:03:24 pm

Thank you so much, Paul. It's always nice to hear when people take an interest in our website.

Reply
Bernie Buchholz
1/11/2017 11:05:19 am

Very nicely done, Charles. As you suggest, sharing combine seed with like-minded restoration groups is a huge boon because the cost of buying seed can sometimes be a limiting factor. That said, 20,000 pounds is quite an accomplishment and a tribute to the vision of Nachusa's leaders on the importance of building restoration capacity in north central Illinois.

Reply
Charles Larry
1/12/2017 04:27:50 pm

Well said, Bernie. Thank you!

Reply
Ron Cress
1/4/2019 10:28:28 am

Thanks Larry. This is great and I shared it with the owner of the land we're currently restoring.

Reply
Michael link
12/14/2021 08:59:54 am

Great Article! Thank you for sharing this is very informative post, and looking forward to the latest one.

Reply

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    Blog Coordinator

    Dee Hudson
    I am a nature photographer, a freelance graphic designer, and steward at Nachusa's Thelma Carpenter Prairie. I have taken photos for Nachusa since 2012.

    Editor

    James Higby
    I have been a high school French teacher, registered piano technician, and librarian. In retirement I am a volunteer historian at Lee County Historical and Genealogical Society. 

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  • Home
  • About Friends
    • Mission, Leadership, Objectives, and Financials
    • Endowments
    • Heritage Heroes Initiative
    • Friends Annual Reports
    • Newsletters >
      • PrairiE–Update (email)
      • A Prairie Calling (print and digital)
    • Friends Annual Meeting 2022
    • Commenting Policy
  • Plan Your Visit
    • Hours & Parking
    • Directions and Map
    • Visitor Center
    • Pet Policy
    • Public Bison Tours
    • Bison Viewing
    • Hiking >
      • Hiking Guidelines
      • Hiking Destinations
      • Stone Barn Savanna Tour
      • Visitor Center Trail
      • Scavenger Hunt
    • What's In Bloom?
    • Autumn on the Prairie
    • Exploring Nachusa Grasslands on Your Own
    • Things to Do
    • Places to Eat and Stay
    • Local Sites to Visit and Explore
  • Donate
  • Calendar
  • Volunteer
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Thursday and Saturday Workdays >
      • Workday Signup
      • Volunteer Workday Safety Protocols
      • Workdays – November to February
      • Leader Workday Safety Protocols
      • Steward Workday Tips
    • Stewardship Teams
    • Workday Email List
    • Steward Login
  • Stewardship
    • Nachusa Stewardship
    • Restorations
    • Planting Histories >
      • Stewardship Unit Planting Histories
      • Planting Histories in Chronological Order
      • Science Symposium Abstracts 2016
    • Stewards and Staff
    • Groups and Committees
    • Available Units
    • Controlled Burns
    • Prescribed Fire Recruitment
    • Restoration Publications
    • Stewardship Resources >
      • Weekly Top Picks
      • Seed Collection Guides
      • Invasive Plant Management
      • Invasive Identification
      • Monitoring
      • Links & Resources
  • Science
    • Science at Nachusa Grasslands
    • Science Grants >
      • Science Grants 2023
      • Science Grants 2022
      • Science Grants 2021
      • Science Grants 2020
      • Science Grants 2019
      • Science Grants 2018
      • Science Grants 2017
      • Science Grants 2016
      • Science Grants 2015
      • Science Grants 2014
      • Science Grants 2013/2012/2011
    • Science Symposium 2023
    • Science Symposium Abstracts >
      • Science Symposium Abstracts 2019
      • Science Symposium Abstracts 2018
      • Science Symposium Abstracts 2017
    • Potential Research Topics
    • Scientific Publications
    • Testimonials >
      • Dr. Holly Jones
      • Dr. Nick Barber
      • Kimberly Elsenbroek
    • Science Videos
    • Become a Community Scientist >
      • About Community Scientists
      • Butterfly Monitoring
      • Calling Frog Monitoring
      • Dragonflies & Damselflies
      • RiverWatch
  • About Nachusa
    • General Info
    • Prairie Smoke Annual Reports
    • Plant Inventory >
      • Common Names
      • Genus Species
    • Animal Inventory >
      • Amphibians
      • Birds
      • Bison Bison >
        • Bison
        • Bison Babies Broadcast Videos
      • Fish
      • Insects
      • Mammals
      • Other Arthropods
      • Reptiles
    • History
    • Jobs
    • Hunting
    • Geology >
      • Geology Part 1
      • Geology Part 2
      • Geology Part 3
    • 30th Anniversary Memories
    • Websites of Interest
  • BLOG AND MEDIA
    • Nachusa Blog
    • In The News
    • Photo Gallery >
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      • Summer Photos
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      • Winter Photos
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    • Submit Your Photos
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