Author: staff

We recently had our first snow fall of the season here in Northeast Kansas. It was pretty significant, between 4 and 10 inches, depending on location. With it came all the social media posts about the love and beauty of the snow or the intense dislike of it. I don’t like snow. I keep telling Matt, my husband, my goal is to live somewhere I can leave my garden hose out year round and it never freezes. Yes, the moisture is nice since we’re in a multiple-year drought, but why can’t it come in the form of rain when the…

For decades, Damien Schiff, a senior attorney for Pacific Legal Foundation, has been a seasoned advocate, championing the rights of landowners and property advocates against overreaching environmental regulations.  American Agri-Women awarded the 2023 Veritas Award to Damien Schiff. AAW presents the award annually to the person or persons who have given public witness to “the pursuit of truth” by the principles enunciated in the AAW Call to Power. Schiff leads its environmental practice group, a unique initiative that draws broadly from PLF’s expertise and success in property rights and separation of powers litigation. Veritas recipient Damien Schiff and American Agri-Women Past…

Six major food companies, from General Mills to Danone, said at the UN climate summit that they will reduce their dairy methane emissions as part of a new alliance that includes a major U.S. environmental group. The Dairy Methane Action Alliance will require members to publicly disclose emissions within their dairy supply chains and implement a methane action plan. “Dairy farmers can be part of the fight against climate change by reducing methane pollution,” said Fred Krupp, head of the Environmental Defense Fund, who added, “It’s time for others in the dairy industry to join us.” Founding members of the alliance…

By Jared Strong A federal judge on Monday permanently barred two Iowa counties from enforcing their ordinances that restrict the placement of carbon dioxide pipelines. Shelby and Story counties adopted restrictions after two companies proposed to build pipeline systems to transport captured carbon dioxide from ethanol plants and other facilities. The ordinances set minimum distances to locate the pipelines away from cities, homes, schools and other sites. They also have some requirements that pertain to emergency response plans in case of a pipeline breach. Summit Carbon Solutions, which hopes to build a five-state pipeline system to transport the greenhouse gas…

It has been a quarter century since corn and soybeans were engineered to withstand the withering mists of the herbicide glyphosate. Initially heralded as a “silver bullet” for weed control, the modified crops and their herbicide companion were quickly and widely adopted across corn and soybean-growing regions of North America. In the years that followed, though, weeds targeted for eradication quietly fomented a rebellion.  A new PNAS Nexus study led by scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign takes a retrospective look at glyphosate efficacy after commercializing the engineered crops. Research has long indicated…

Colorado is racing to meet the year-end deadline to reintroduce gray wolves — a species eradicated from the state in the 1940s through a government-sponsored campaign.  Under the new law, wildlife officials will begin reintroduction efforts this month in northwest Colorado.  In 2020, voters passed Proposition 114 by a narrow 50.9 percent margin, which mandated that Colorado Parks and Wildlife develop a plan to start reintroducing gray wolves to the western part of the state by 2023. Only 13 of the state’s 64 counties voted in favor of the reintroduction. Colorado’s wolf reintroduction plan was finalized in May of this…

At COP28, a conference where countries aimed to strengthen their commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the impacts of climate change, six of the world’s largest food companies launched the Dairy Methane Alliance. Danone, Bel Group, General Mills, Lactalis USA, Kraft Heinz, and Nestle will begin reporting methane emissions by mid-2024. The companies will write action plans to reduce methane by the end of the year.  According to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization, livestock contributes about 30 percent of the globe’s anthropogenic methane emissions. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says methane is nearly 30 times more potent…

By Destiny Herbers, Flatwater Free Press Editor’s note: A version of this article originally appeared in Flatwater Free Press, Nebraska’s first nonprofit, independent newsroom. Early in the summer of 2018, a nonprofit few Nebraskans have heard of bought a 22,613-acre chunk of land in Garden County. The next year, the nonprofit, tied to a P.O. Box in Salt Lake City, picked up another 3,331 acres of county land, buying it from a Colorado investment company. The unknown nonprofit grabbed two more pieces of county land on the same day in March 2020, adding 10,278 acres to its mushrooming total. Then, two…

If you have some experience in agriculture, odds are you know how deeply ingrained agriculture is in our holiday traditions. Pretty much everyone knows that food comes from agriculture, but let’s explore just how important ag is in the holiday season! There’s something so peaceful and beautiful about farms and ranches, especially in winter. That must be the reason that they’re often the backdrop for beautiful Christmas cards, winter paintings and Hallmark movies. Next time you’re writing or receiving a card or watching a Christmas movie, take note of just how often farms and ranches are the setting. Photo by…

As the price of land increases, it’s more integral than ever to ensure that buyers are able to make educated decisions.  Acres is a data-driven geospatial land research platform designed to improve land management and purchasing decisions. Using public and private market data, Acres aggregates and analyzes over 150 million parcels of land to enable users to understand better and maximize their property’s value. By providing access to a larger and more accurate compilation of land data, comparable sales, and parcel-level insights, Acres is designed to support fast, informed decision-making.  The Acres+ app puts land insights and rural property…