grassland birds

Land Line: Riverview, Lobe Rangers, Fertilizer & War, Climate’s Double Indemnity, Colin Cureton’s Ag Legacy, Grazing & Birds, Roundup’s SCOTUS Support, Farm Bill

By Brian DeVore (editor)

June 28, 2026

Sign Up for E-mail Delivery of The Land Line Morris-Based Mega-Dairy Coming Closer to Reality with Key Regulatory Ruling (6/7/26) The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) will not require an environmental impact statement for an expansion that would create the largest dairy CAFO in Minnesota, reports the Minnesota Reformer. Highlights: Riverview wants to expand a… Read More →

Category: Blog

Land Line: Minnesota Nitrates, Glyphosate, Cancer in Corn Country, The Missing Farm Bill, Birds, Big Beef, Riverview Dairy

By Brian DeVore (editor)

February 28, 2026

After Nitrate Lawsuit, Minnesota Opens Farm Fertilizer Rule for Public Comment (2/18/26) The Star Tribune reports that the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is seeking public comment on its 2019 groundwater protection rule, a standard that governs how and when fertilizer is applied. Highlights: It’s the first step in the MDA’s review of the standard… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: ag consolidation • agrichemicals • birds • CAFO • cancer • clean water • drinking water • Farm Bill • federal farm policy • glyphosate • grassland birds • groundwater • meatpackers • monopolies • nitrate pollution • pesticides • Riverview Dairy • Roundup • wildlife habitat

Land Line: Food Monopolies, Soil Sisters, Bird Benefits, Soil Research Cuts, Farm Divorce, Agro-Environmentalist, China’s Soybean Supplier, Nebraska Nitrates

By Brian DeVore (editor)

December 31, 2025

Unsealed Antitrust Complaint Reveals Key Factor in High Food Prices: Corporate Behemoths (12/18/25) Writing in the Minnesota Reformer, the Minnesota Farmers Union’s Justin Stofferahn describes how monopolization of the food industry and failure to enforce antitrust laws has harmed consumers. Highlights: A newly unsealed antitrust complaint provides a unique look at price discrimination in practice,… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: antitrust • birds • clean water • corporate consolidation • crop diversity • farm crisis • farm stress • Fields of Sinsinawa • grassland birds • international trade • monopolies • nitrate pollution • public research • Rick Bieber • soil health • soil science • tariffs • trade war

Ear to the Ground 391: Grounded in Grazing

Ashly Steinke remembers well the first time he saw a bobolink on pastured land that formerly grew corn and soybeans — it was a sign that he was successfully blending beef, birds, and biology. More Information • LSP’s Grazing & Soil Health Web Page • Audubon Conservation Ranching Program • The Monitoring Project’s “Tool Box”… Read More →

Ear to the Ground 390: Sounds of Success

Bovines, bugs, and birds are all making noise in Kevin Mahalko’s dairy grazing paddocks, and that’s music to his ears. More Information • LSP’s Grazing & Soil Health Web Page • NODPA Article on Kevin Mahalko • Ear to the Ground 391: Grounded in Grazing • Ear to the Ground 371: Avian Award • Ear… Read More →

Environmental Sustainability: Birds, Biology & Balance

4th in a Series on LSP's Soil Health Hubs

By Brian DeVore

October 14, 2025

Some sins against the land can be masked over with deep tillage, chemical inputs, and, when all else fails, moving dirt around with heavy equipment. But you can’t fool a good soil probe. For Mike and Jennifer Rupprecht, that revelation came when a retired soil scientist sunk his equipment deep into a couple spots on… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: adaptive rotational grazing • grassland birds • livestock farming • LSP Soil Health Hubs • pastured beef • peer-to-peer learning • soil erosion • soil health • The Monitoring Project

Ear to the Ground 372: Dancing with Diversity

The Wild Farm Alliance is out to prove that thriving wildlife habitat and working farmland are not mutually exclusive — in fact, they can make great partners. More Information • Wild Farm Alliance • The Farm as Natural Habitat • LSP’s Ear to the Ground 371: Avian Award • LSP’s Ear to the Ground 370:… Read More →

Ear to the Ground 371: Avian Award

The owners of Keewaydin Farms see birds as not only a source of natural pest control but as a sign they are doing something right. More Information • Keewaydin Farms • Wild Farm Alliance • LSP’s Ear to the Ground 370: Bending the Bird Curve • LSP’s Ear to the Ground 275: Blurring the Bobolink… Read More →

Ear to the Ground 370: Bending the Bird Curve

The feathered residents of America’s grasslands are in big trouble, but Audubon ecologist Krysten Zummo sees regenerative grazing as a way for bovines to benefit birds. More Information • Audubon Conservation Ranching Program • Krysten Zummo Contact Information • LSP Grazing & Soil Health Page • The Monitoring Tool Box • Wild Farm Alliance… Read More →

Ear to the Ground 275: Blurring the Bobolink Boundaries

How the Specht family is using rotational grazing, citizen science, and community collaboration to tear down the fence between the agricultural and avian worlds. More Information: • The Spechts have been featured in two books: Wildly Successful Farming and The Farm as Natural Habitat • LSP’s Soil Health & Grazing Web Page • Iowa Natural Heritage… Read More →