A Century Farm’s Legacy of Monarch Habitat: The Bumann Family Story

*These videos were produced in collaboration with the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium.

On a farm in Ida County, Iowa, a family of sisters is carrying on a century-long tradition of caring for the land, wildlife, and the pollinators that depend on it. The Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium recently visited with Roberta Bumann, Rhonda Bumann Stingley, and Irene Bumann Lyon to talk about their family farm and their pollinator habitat plantings.

A Sixth-Year Success Story

The sisters’ primary pollinator Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) planting was installed in 2020 and is now in its sixth year. Seeded with a diverse mix of native plants, grasses, and sedges, the planting has exceeded their expectations, drawing a wide variety of pollinators and wildlife.

The idea didn’t start with this generation, though. Their father had enrolled land in CRP long before them, motivated by a desire to support wildlife, birds, and pollinators. That legacy continued through the family.

The rolling, hilly terrain of this particular parcel made the decision easier. Land that’s more prone to erosion isn’t always ideal for row crops, but it’s well suited to grass and pollinator habitat — a practical match between conservation goals and good land stewardship.

The Prairie Patch: Where It All Began

Years earlier, around 2013 or 2014, the family planted a smaller “prairie patch.” It was their first attempt at native plantings. Working from a modest seed mix of native forbs and grasses, they didn’t have a lot of experience going in, but they knew they wanted to create a place for monarchs.

That patch has evolved in ways they didn’t fully anticipate. Anise hyssop has taken over one section, spiderwort blooms early in the season, and coneflowers now dominate much of the planting. There is also plenty of milkweed, which is critical for monarchs. The sisters recently found caterpillars on their milkweed plants, exactly the kind of result they’d hoped for.

A Monarch Sanctuary

The Bumann farm has long served as a stopover for migrating monarchs, especially in the fall. Rhonda told the story of her sister, Mary, recalling monarchs coating the trees in their backyard when she was in high school. Irene shared her own memory when the backyard trees were so covered in monarchs that the sight was described as simply overwhelming. Afterward, the family would even find monarch caterpillars in the same spot.

That pattern has continued over the decades. While fewer in numbers, the monarchs still pass through and the family has come to see their farm’s role in that migration as something worth protecting.

Lessons for Other Landowners

The Bumann sisters offered some practical advice for anyone considering a similar pollinator planting:

• Start with cropland, not pasture. Transitioning from corn or soybean ground is much easier than converting pasture, since weeds have already been kept in check.
• Consider fall seeding. The family’s second pollinator planting was seeded in spring and has struggled more with thistles, while their fall-seeded planting has thrived.
• Be patient. Establishing this kind of habitat doesn’t happen in a year or two, it takes several years to really come into its own.
• Budget for seed costs, but take advantage of cost-share. High-quality native seed adds up quickly across more than 30 acres of CRP ground. Public and private organizations offer cost-share and other support to help offset those costs. The NRCS office also helped guide the family seed mix prescription and pointed them toward a list of recommended vendors.

Today, the family often finds monarchs lingering in their plantings, drawn in by the milkweed and blooming flowers. For the Bumann sisters, it’s a simple but rewarding sign: what they started years ago is working.