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Editor's Pick

New land use strategy benefits Doniphan-area brothers’ bottom line and wildlife alike

STEVE MOSELEY Rainwater Basin Joint Venture
May 10, 2024
May 10, 2024 Updated Feb 13, 2026
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DONIPHAN — There’s more than one way to turn a profit on marginal farm ground and the Happold brothers have found theirs.

Happold land — What was once anemic corn ground near Doniphan is now home to cranes during migration, multiple waterfowl species, flocks of shore birds such as this long-billed dowitcher, pheasants, raccoons, skunks and other ground-dwelling species. The tract, enjoying new life today, is a project of Nick and Ryan Happold in partnership with Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Rainwater Basin Joint Venture.
STEVE MOSELEY, RAINWATER BASIN JOINT VENTURE

Happold land — One of the first steps, and it was a big one, was tree removal and dirt work to make way for the multi-use program to come.
BRODY VONDERSTRASSE, CENTRAL PLATTE NRD

Happold land — A marginally productive crop area of 58 acres at the edge of this Happold corn field near Doniphan has been reborn as habitat teeming with birds and other wildlife this spring. The project will also pay a return-on-investment in the future as grazing land for the cattle of Nick and Ryan Happold. The many pieces of the master plan were heavily supported by Natural Resources Conservation Service and partners to the Rainwater Basin Joint Venture.
STEVE MOSELEY, RAINWATER BASIN JOINT VENTURE

Happold land — This was a typical corn “crop” on the edge of an otherwise successful Happold field had looked like for as many as eight years out of 10.
BRODY VONDERSTRASSE, CENTRAL PLATTE NRD

Happold land — This retention pit, designed to drain the adjacent corn field, proved inadequate and was filled in as one major element of this project.
BRODY VONDERSTRASSE, CENTRAL PLATTE NRD

Happold land — Red-winged blackbirds, who thrive in marsh habitat, have discovered the Happold wetland east and south of Doniphan.
STEVE MOSELEY, RAINWATER BASIN JOINT VENTURE

Happold land — Nick Happold of rural Doniphan is interviewed by Brody Vonderstrasse, Central Platte NRD communications specialist, about the 58-acre wetland he and brother Ryan created in partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the many cooperating members of the Rainwater Basin Joint Venture.
STEVE MOSELEY, RAINWATER BASIN JOINT VENTURE

A wealth of information about the many specialized programs available to help ag producers solve problems while simultaneously accomplishing great things for nature can be accessed through the resource professionals at the Natural Resources Conservation Office at 308-392-3526 or the Rainwater Basin Joint Venture office in Grand Island at 308-380-8691.