Robert Hirschfeld
@rfhirschfeld.bsky.social
Director of Water Policy at Prairie Rivers Network in Illinois.
The rural Midwest doesn’t have to be a sacrifice zone for corn and soybeans.
The rural Midwest doesn’t have to be a sacrifice zone for corn and soybeans.
Pinned
How Herbicide Drift from Farms Is Harming Trees in Midwest
Researchers are starting to pay closer attention to the widespread damage wrought by agricultural herbicides. Drifting sprays may not kill trees, shrubs, and other nontarget plants outright, but exper...
e360.yale.edu
Proud that our research on widespread herbicide damage to trees is being covered by @yalee360.bsky.social
And our findings have been backed by @illinoisdnr.bsky.social's 2024 study, which found herbicides at 97% of forest, prairie & wetland sites tested across Illinois e360.yale.edu/features/her...
And our findings have been backed by @illinoisdnr.bsky.social's 2024 study, which found herbicides at 97% of forest, prairie & wetland sites tested across Illinois e360.yale.edu/features/her...
Reposted by Robert Hirschfeld
Meet the simulacrum of 'normal'... bsky.app/profile/erin...
New uncanny valley unlocked: inflatable corn maze for urban fall fests.
November 9, 2025 at 6:23 AM
Meet the simulacrum of 'normal'... bsky.app/profile/erin...
We’re all trying to find the guy who did this.
October 28, 2025 at 6:59 PM
We’re all trying to find the guy who did this.
Shhh don’t tell anyone
October 24, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Shhh don’t tell anyone
I’ve charted it, and there’s an inverse relationship between weed potency and concern over government shutdowns.
October 24, 2025 at 9:54 PM
I’ve charted it, and there’s an inverse relationship between weed potency and concern over government shutdowns.
Reposted by Robert Hirschfeld
More than two years after the U.S. Supreme Court rolled back wetlands protections, Illinois has yet to act—even though most of the state’s wetlands remain vulnerable.
We need @govpritzker.illinois.gov to lead on wetlands—which are vital for clean water and flood protection.
We need @govpritzker.illinois.gov to lead on wetlands—which are vital for clean water and flood protection.
Wetlands Help Remedy Agricultural Pollution. Some Illinois Farmers Are Installing New Ones. - Inside Climate News
Farmers trying to minimize nitrate running off their fields and contaminating water are partnering with the Wetlands Initiative to build “smart wetlands.”
insideclimatenews.org
October 24, 2025 at 12:10 AM
More than two years after the U.S. Supreme Court rolled back wetlands protections, Illinois has yet to act—even though most of the state’s wetlands remain vulnerable.
We need @govpritzker.illinois.gov to lead on wetlands—which are vital for clean water and flood protection.
We need @govpritzker.illinois.gov to lead on wetlands—which are vital for clean water and flood protection.
More than two years after the U.S. Supreme Court rolled back wetlands protections, Illinois has yet to act—even though most of the state’s wetlands remain vulnerable.
We need @govpritzker.illinois.gov to lead on wetlands—which are vital for clean water and flood protection.
We need @govpritzker.illinois.gov to lead on wetlands—which are vital for clean water and flood protection.
Wetlands Help Remedy Agricultural Pollution. Some Illinois Farmers Are Installing New Ones. - Inside Climate News
Farmers trying to minimize nitrate running off their fields and contaminating water are partnering with the Wetlands Initiative to build “smart wetlands.”
insideclimatenews.org
October 24, 2025 at 12:10 AM
More than two years after the U.S. Supreme Court rolled back wetlands protections, Illinois has yet to act—even though most of the state’s wetlands remain vulnerable.
We need @govpritzker.illinois.gov to lead on wetlands—which are vital for clean water and flood protection.
We need @govpritzker.illinois.gov to lead on wetlands—which are vital for clean water and flood protection.
Google is backing a new natural gas power plant with carbon capture in Decatur, Illinois, on ADM’s ethanol complex, where CO₂ from corn fermentation is already injected underground.
ADM’s CCS wells have had leak issues before — and now that model’s expanding to fossil gas.
ADM’s CCS wells have had leak issues before — and now that model’s expanding to fossil gas.
October 23, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Google is backing a new natural gas power plant with carbon capture in Decatur, Illinois, on ADM’s ethanol complex, where CO₂ from corn fermentation is already injected underground.
ADM’s CCS wells have had leak issues before — and now that model’s expanding to fossil gas.
ADM’s CCS wells have had leak issues before — and now that model’s expanding to fossil gas.
Thank you for the beef, sir!
October 22, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Thank you for the beef, sir!
Have you said thank you once, Cattle Ranchers?
October 22, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Have you said thank you once, Cattle Ranchers?
Dude loves showtunes, interior decorating, and cute branded shopping bags.
GOP Senators returned from the White House today with special swag bags
October 21, 2025 at 11:50 PM
Dude loves showtunes, interior decorating, and cute branded shopping bags.
The former top soybean lobbyist who fought to keep the tree-wrecking pesticide dicamba on the market now runs EPA pesticide policy
and the agency just proposed re-approving dicamba with even fewer restrictions than before.
Gotta have dicamba to grow the soybeans we can’t sell.
Gift Article:
and the agency just proposed re-approving dicamba with even fewer restrictions than before.
Gotta have dicamba to grow the soybeans we can’t sell.
Gift Article:
From Industry to E.P.A.: Lobbyist Now Oversees Pesticide Rules
www.nytimes.com
October 21, 2025 at 6:36 PM
The former top soybean lobbyist who fought to keep the tree-wrecking pesticide dicamba on the market now runs EPA pesticide policy
and the agency just proposed re-approving dicamba with even fewer restrictions than before.
Gotta have dicamba to grow the soybeans we can’t sell.
Gift Article:
and the agency just proposed re-approving dicamba with even fewer restrictions than before.
Gotta have dicamba to grow the soybeans we can’t sell.
Gift Article:
Reposted by Robert Hirschfeld
or that government checks are converted to campaign contributions for the opposition party. Malpractice.
October 21, 2025 at 5:09 PM
or that government checks are converted to campaign contributions for the opposition party. Malpractice.
Democrats hit Trump over soybeans & Argentina bailout.
But they don't criticize the farm bailout, and his biofuel push has bipartisan backing.
"Mr. Trump’s incessant pandering to the farmer-industrial complex is one of his most conventional Beltway instincts." —
@mikegrunwald.bsky.social
But they don't criticize the farm bailout, and his biofuel push has bipartisan backing.
"Mr. Trump’s incessant pandering to the farmer-industrial complex is one of his most conventional Beltway instincts." —
@mikegrunwald.bsky.social
Opinion | They’re Small, Yellow and Round — and Show How Trump’s Tariffs Don’t Work
www.nytimes.com
October 21, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Democrats hit Trump over soybeans & Argentina bailout.
But they don't criticize the farm bailout, and his biofuel push has bipartisan backing.
"Mr. Trump’s incessant pandering to the farmer-industrial complex is one of his most conventional Beltway instincts." —
@mikegrunwald.bsky.social
But they don't criticize the farm bailout, and his biofuel push has bipartisan backing.
"Mr. Trump’s incessant pandering to the farmer-industrial complex is one of his most conventional Beltway instincts." —
@mikegrunwald.bsky.social
Spirit Airlines playset: you get to imagine your flight was delayed 8 hours and they lost your luggage.
October 15, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Spirit Airlines playset: you get to imagine your flight was delayed 8 hours and they lost your luggage.
7 year old: Why are we at the guitar store? Don’t you already have a million guitars?
Me: You just don’t understand.
Me: You just don’t understand.
October 15, 2025 at 6:47 PM
7 year old: Why are we at the guitar store? Don’t you already have a million guitars?
Me: You just don’t understand.
Me: You just don’t understand.
I don't know, I just think the brutalist Springfield Crowne Plaza is funny
October 9, 2025 at 5:36 PM
I don't know, I just think the brutalist Springfield Crowne Plaza is funny
American Agriculture would prefer to kill the Gulf of Mexico and recreate the Dust Bowl just to get jet fuel from 0.3% to 0.7% biofuel—rather than use land to grow food for Americans to eat.
And by “new markets” I don’t mean biofuels.
Though I fear we’re about to hear a chorus of voices calling for the government to manufacture yet more demand for biofuels.
Though I fear we’re about to hear a chorus of voices calling for the government to manufacture yet more demand for biofuels.
It's dumb to start wars you can't win.
China doesn't need our beans. Other countries are happy to compete in a race to the ecological bottom to supply China.
Time to build new markets—ones that don’t depend on exporting a generic crop at the expense of our land & water.
China doesn't need our beans. Other countries are happy to compete in a race to the ecological bottom to supply China.
Time to build new markets—ones that don’t depend on exporting a generic crop at the expense of our land & water.
October 8, 2025 at 7:24 PM
American Agriculture would prefer to kill the Gulf of Mexico and recreate the Dust Bowl just to get jet fuel from 0.3% to 0.7% biofuel—rather than use land to grow food for Americans to eat.
And by “new markets” I don’t mean biofuels.
Though I fear we’re about to hear a chorus of voices calling for the government to manufacture yet more demand for biofuels.
Though I fear we’re about to hear a chorus of voices calling for the government to manufacture yet more demand for biofuels.
It's dumb to start wars you can't win.
China doesn't need our beans. Other countries are happy to compete in a race to the ecological bottom to supply China.
Time to build new markets—ones that don’t depend on exporting a generic crop at the expense of our land & water.
China doesn't need our beans. Other countries are happy to compete in a race to the ecological bottom to supply China.
Time to build new markets—ones that don’t depend on exporting a generic crop at the expense of our land & water.
Illinois soybean farmer: We can't help but feel very anxious, wondering why it's taking so long to get this resolved. The farther we go into the season, the more we're going to lose. China should have been buying our beans already, and they're not. It's like crickets
October 8, 2025 at 7:23 PM
And by “new markets” I don’t mean biofuels.
Though I fear we’re about to hear a chorus of voices calling for the government to manufacture yet more demand for biofuels.
Though I fear we’re about to hear a chorus of voices calling for the government to manufacture yet more demand for biofuels.
It's dumb to start wars you can't win.
China doesn't need our beans. Other countries are happy to compete in a race to the ecological bottom to supply China.
Time to build new markets—ones that don’t depend on exporting a generic crop at the expense of our land & water.
China doesn't need our beans. Other countries are happy to compete in a race to the ecological bottom to supply China.
Time to build new markets—ones that don’t depend on exporting a generic crop at the expense of our land & water.
Illinois soybean farmer: We can't help but feel very anxious, wondering why it's taking so long to get this resolved. The farther we go into the season, the more we're going to lose. China should have been buying our beans already, and they're not. It's like crickets
October 8, 2025 at 7:22 PM
It's dumb to start wars you can't win.
China doesn't need our beans. Other countries are happy to compete in a race to the ecological bottom to supply China.
Time to build new markets—ones that don’t depend on exporting a generic crop at the expense of our land & water.
China doesn't need our beans. Other countries are happy to compete in a race to the ecological bottom to supply China.
Time to build new markets—ones that don’t depend on exporting a generic crop at the expense of our land & water.
I’m quoted here on data centers and water use.
My 2 cents: Data centers are just one among many large water users.
Illinois law is totally unprepared to properly regulate water use, ensure water goes to its highest & best use, or enable serious challenges to wasteful, extractive uses.
My 2 cents: Data centers are just one among many large water users.
Illinois law is totally unprepared to properly regulate water use, ensure water goes to its highest & best use, or enable serious challenges to wasteful, extractive uses.
Virtual water: Inside Illinois’ data centers, water flows quietly — and unchecked - IPM Newsroom
The steady hum inside the National Petascale Computing Facility (NPCF) is so loud that it’s hard to hear anything else inside. But beneath this noise is a hidden current of water.
ipmnewsroom.org
October 8, 2025 at 5:27 PM
I’m quoted here on data centers and water use.
My 2 cents: Data centers are just one among many large water users.
Illinois law is totally unprepared to properly regulate water use, ensure water goes to its highest & best use, or enable serious challenges to wasteful, extractive uses.
My 2 cents: Data centers are just one among many large water users.
Illinois law is totally unprepared to properly regulate water use, ensure water goes to its highest & best use, or enable serious challenges to wasteful, extractive uses.
This farmer bailout is great news for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who owns thousands of acres of soybean farmland in North Dakota and has been leading negotiations with China. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/u...
Trump to Unveil Farmer Aid as China Shuns U.S. Crops
www.nytimes.com
October 7, 2025 at 9:15 PM
This farmer bailout is great news for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who owns thousands of acres of soybean farmland in North Dakota and has been leading negotiations with China. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/u...
Watching democrats say we just have to remove the tariffs so our poor, beleaguered commodity crop growers can get back to overproducing corn and soybeans and selling them to China at the cost of our own land and water will make me pull out the little hair I have remaining.
October 3, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Watching democrats say we just have to remove the tariffs so our poor, beleaguered commodity crop growers can get back to overproducing corn and soybeans and selling them to China at the cost of our own land and water will make me pull out the little hair I have remaining.
This “soybean farmer” is Caleb Ragland, President of the American Soybean Association.
He is a proud three-time Trump voter.
He’s received over half a million in subsidies over the last ten years on one of his operations alone.
He will now get more bailout money.
He is a proud three-time Trump voter.
He’s received over half a million in subsidies over the last ten years on one of his operations alone.
He will now get more bailout money.
Soybean farmer: What we need more than anything is access to markets on a level playing field. With the trade war and the tariffs, we're at about a 20% price disadvantage when it comes to what the Chinese have to pay for our soybeans versus the Brazilian soybeans.
October 3, 2025 at 12:35 PM
This “soybean farmer” is Caleb Ragland, President of the American Soybean Association.
He is a proud three-time Trump voter.
He’s received over half a million in subsidies over the last ten years on one of his operations alone.
He will now get more bailout money.
He is a proud three-time Trump voter.
He’s received over half a million in subsidies over the last ten years on one of his operations alone.
He will now get more bailout money.
