Southwest Colorado seed farm helps restore the land
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PLEASANT VIEW, Colo. — More than 20 native wildflowers and grasses are growing on a 700-acre farm in Southwest Colorado, including Blue Grama, the Colorado state grass.
Video: Ziyi Xu, Rocky Mountain PBS
Southwest Seed Inc., a family-owned business located between Dolores and Cortez, specializes in producing native grass and wildflower seeds. Founded in 1978, it operates a seed processing facility and a farm. It is also the only company focused on native plants within a five-hour radius.
“Seeds are absolutely beautiful. They're fascinatingly different. And when you look at them underneath a microscope, they all take on a huge new personality of their own,” said Robby Henes, co-owner of Southwest Seed Inc.
A large part of the company’s business is reclamation — restoring land damaged by wildfire, construction, mining or oil and gas development. Southwest Seed supplies native seed mixes to government agencies like the Bureau of Land Management and Department of Transportation, as well as to local farmers and homeowners.
Native plants are beneficial to the land. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, they conserve water, prevent erosion, and support birds, pollinators and other wildlife. They're also low-maintenance and add natural beauty to the landscape.
“There’s a large demand for native seeds in the area because there’s a lot of oil and gas development in the area,” Henes said. “There’s also lots of regulation about what needs to be put back on the soil when they finish working on an area.”
The region is also vulnerable to wildfires and invasive species. One of the most problematic invasive species is cheatgrass, which outcompetes native plants for water and nutrients, alters soil chemistry and increases fire risk as it dries out in late spring or early summer.
When land is damaged above ground, the soil below is also affected.
“Healthy soil can store water better. It has a lot of all of the natural fungi and small critters that are living in the soil that are good for it and keep it healthy and able to produce for us,” Henes said.
“In the ideal world, our seed mixes are going towards helping rebuild the soil structure and the soil health, as well as the plant species above ground, which then feeds animals and pollinators and our sense of beauty and our sense of everything being right in our world.”
Type of story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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