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.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week said an announcement would be made on Tuesday. However, that self-imposed deadline has now passed.
October 08, 2025 11:19 AM
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RFD-TV Farm Legal and Tax Expert Roger McEowen with the Washburn School of Law dives into a “potpourri” of ag tax and law-related issues in his latest
Firm to Farm blog post.
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Lewis Williamson, from HTS Commodities, joined us to share insights on the farm economy from producers in the field.
October 07, 2025 12:47 PM
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Congress has just over a month of working days left for the year. Plan for uneven USDA service until funding is restored, and closely monitor Farm Bill talks, as avoiding Permanent Law before January 1 is the single biggest risk to markets and milk prices.
October 07, 2025 11:09 AM
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Focus on home radon testing—not changing your diet—because background sources vastly outweigh any exposure from naturally radioactive foods.
October 06, 2025 01:29 PM
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“A government shutdown impacts all Americans and has serious consequences, including for farmers. It just adds additional uncertainty, disrupts critical services.”
October 06, 2025 11:23 AM
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On Champions of Rural America, Rep. Dusty Johnson underscores the Western Caucus’ ongoing commitment to advocating for farmers and rural communities.
October 03, 2025 03:21 PM
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Consumer demand for regional food systems is strong, but the challenge lies in scaling production and infrastructure to meet that growing need.
October 03, 2025 02:57 PM
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American Coalition for Ethanol’s Ron Lamberty shares the significance of California’s approval, opening up the country’s largest gasoline market to a cleaner-burning, often lower-cost fuel option.
October 03, 2025 01:12 PM
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