Help Restore 70 Acres of Native Prairie in Republic County

In beautiful Republic County, near the Nebraska border, fifth-generation land steward Jim Cossaart is working to bring life back to the land his family has cared for for more than a century.

For over 30 years, like so many Kansas farmers, Jim planted corn, wheat, and soy--using herbicides and fertilizer in the conventional ways he was taught. But after his son was born in the 1990s, Jim realized he wanted to build a different legacy. He began restoring sections of cropland back to native prairie, and what happened next was nothing short of miraculous: where there had been silent monocultures, the land came alive again with bees, butterflies, birds, and wildflowers.

After almost losing the farm in the first 20 years, Jim and his wife Deb spent the next 20 pouring all their resources and income into restoring this old farm into a sustainable, rotational grazing environment.

Now, there’s one last 70-acre field waiting to be restored. This December, a local conservation technician will plant a mix of native grasses, forbs, and pollinator species across that final field. The estimated cost for this seeding is $11,000.

For decades, USDA conservation programs helped farmers like Jim undertake restoration work like this. Many of those programs are now gone or severely underfunded. But together, we can fill that gap.

Restoration work like this isn’t just about beauty, it’s about survival. Native grasslands rival the Amazon rainforest when it comes to capturing carbon.

The roots of native grasses weave into dense networks reaching 12–15 feet deep. That means long-term carbon storage, stronger soils, less erosion, and thriving ecosystems.

Your donation will directly support the final phase of this restoration, turning cropland back into living prairie and ensuring this land thrives for decades to come.

Give today to help A Piece of Kansas Soil finish what Jim started, and plant hope for generations to come.

Learn more at apieceofkansassoil.org

A Piece of Kansas Soil Prairie Project

Restoring 70 acres of former cropland to native prairie

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