Rep. Tracey Mann (R-KS) has helped introduce legislation to remove the lesser prairie chicken from the Endangered Species List and prohibit its future relisting.
He explains how the listing has impacted his state’s cattle producers.
“I had a farmer in Morton County, which is about as far south and west in Kansas that you can get, who told me that after these regulations went through, somebody spotted a lesser prairie chicken in his pasture,” Rep. Mann said. “He had to immediately remove all of the cattle in that pasture and each of the adjoining measures as well to protect this bird. It just makes no sense at all.”
Mann says that burdensome regulations are unnecessary when rural Americans are already committed to the cause.
“These programs need to be, these efforts need to be bottom-up, producer-driven,” Mann explained. “I’ve never met a farmer, rancher, or ag producer that doesn’t care about the land, doesn’t care deeply about the environment, doesn’t care deeply about their soil. When you really look at the population of the birds, they go up and down based really on rainfall. In years that we drought, which we’ve had some severe droughts the last three or four years, the population goes down, and when the rainfalls up, the population goes up. But these heavy-handed, top-down, burdensome regulations make no sense.”
It is believed that lesser prairie chicken populations today exceed 30,000 animals in five states.
The U.S.-Japan tech pact signals long-term investment in bio-innovation, connectivity, and secure supply chains — all of which can strengthen rural manufacturing, ag exports, and digital infrastructure critical to the next generation of farm productivity.
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Stay alert for trade announcements—especially border reopening timelines, tariff threats, and developments in Brazil’s export flows.
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Sen. Roger Marshall explains which types of beef are imported into the United States, how there’s room for new imports, and logical reasons for current high prices.
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U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) discusses the USDA’s new cattle plan, ethanol policy, and the broader challenges ahead for rural America.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing now to make markets less volatile for ranchers over the long term and more affordable for consumers, according to a press release.
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Elizabeth Strom with the American Society of Farm Managers & Rural Appraisers (ASFMRA) joined us to share the latest on harvest progress and market activity in her area.
October 22, 2025 03:12 PM
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NCBA CEO Colin Woodall says more conversations need to occur with stakeholders present surrounding President Trump’s proposal to lower consumer beef prices with Argentinian imports.
October 22, 2025 11:53 AM
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University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) representative Dr. Dirac Twidwell joins us with the latest on woody encroachment conservation efforts in the Great Plains.
October 21, 2025 01:42 PM
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API said it stands ready to work with Congress to develop a balanced approach to E15 legislation that promotes fuel choice, supports investment certainty, and contributes to a stable and fair marketplace for American consumers.
October 21, 2025 12:39 PM
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