Prairie Pastured Beef to Carry the Audubon Certified Bird-Friendly Land Seal

RUDOLPH, WISC. (September 29, 2026) — The National Audubon Society announces that Flaig Family Farm, home to the Prairie Pastured Beef business owned and operated by Carl Flaig and his family near Junction City, Wisconsin, has earned Audubon’s Bird-Friendly Land Certification. Awarded through the Audubon Conservation Ranching program, the certification recognizes producers who manage working lands to enhance biodiversity, productivity, and the longevity of grassland ecosystems for birds and the people who depend on them.  

Audubon Conservation Ranching is a science-based certification program designed to support high-quality grassland bird habitat on working lands. Over the past 50 years, grassland birds have experienced the steepest population declines of any terrestrial biome in North America, largely due to habitat loss and degradation. Because most grassland species live on private land, working with landowners and managers is the most effective way to help these birds at scale.  

Across the United States, more than 160 farms and ranches spanning 4.7 million acres have earned Audubon’s Bird-Friendly Land Certification, now including Flaig Family Farm, home to the family’s Prairie Pastured Beef business. With the Flaig farm’s certification, seven Wisconsin farms representing more than 2,000 bird-friendly acres are now certified through Audubon Conservation Ranching. 

Stewardship and respect for the land have always been central to Carl Flaig’s approach to grass-based agriculture, but since joining Audubon Conservation Ranching, he has embraced the program’s standards for habitat management, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare. 

"Carl is the consummate grazer who thinks about the entire grassland ecosystem with every move of his cattle in his managed grazing system,” said Ashly Steinke, Grassland Ecologist for the Audubon Conservation Ranching program in the Great Lakes. “Since we started working with him, Carl has tweaked his grazing and haying regime, removed tree rows, and conducted two prescribed burns to reduce woody encroachment. It is truly my pleasure to work with someone like Carl to reverse the loss of grassland nesting birds.” 

Purchased by Carl’s parents in 1952, the farm began as a dairy operation before transitioning to grass-based livestock production under Carl’s leadership in the 1980s. Celebrating more than 70 years on their original 350 acres, the Flaig family has since grown their operation to around 600 acres of connected grasslands. Today, the family’s operation includes a cow-calf business, aquaponics operation, and Prairie Pastured Beef, which sells locally raised meat at farmers’ markets.  

“I care deeply about creating safe places for grassland birds to forage and nest on my farm,” Flaig said. “Audubon has been an important leader in our area, helping landowners like me improve habitat for wildlife and set new conservation goals. Seeing those ideas starting to come to life, and watching birds thrive on my land, motivates me to keep going. I also know these grazing practices help me produce a higher-quality meat product.” 

Flaig Family Farm is located in the Central Wisconsin Grassland Conservation Area, one of the state’s most essential regions for grassland bird conservation and home to Wisconsin’s last remaining groups of Greater Prairie-Chickens and the largest population of Short-eared Owls. The farm is also in the middle of the Paul J. Olson Wildlife Area, directly purchased by the state to save the Greater Prairie-Chicken. 

Flaig’s land management strategies, including high-intensity grazing with long periods of rest, create a mosaic of habitat that supports a range of grassland species. Upland Sandpipers and Greater Prairie-Chickens prefer recently grazed areas with patches of short vegetation, while other priority species such as Bobolinks, Eastern Meadowlarks, and Savannah Sparrows rely on the rested areas with taller grass. Flaig Family Farm also practices bird-friendly haying, leaving blocks of grassland undisturbed during the nesting season.  

“While Carl is constantly observing Bobolinks and meadowlarks, his true love and dedication is to the state-threatened Greater Prairie-Chicken,” Steinke said. “Carl has been working so hard to try and bring a lek back to his farm.” 

Flaig Family Farm historically supported two Greater Prairie-Chicken leks, with one remaining active today just across the county road from the family’s pastures. To support this species, Flaig also manages cattle on Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources-owned land adjacent to his farm, strategically rotating cattle to improve and maintain habitat that Greater Prairie-Chickens depend on.  

“Our biggest fight right now is trying to save the Greater Prairie-Chicken,” Flaig said. “I’d hate to see the day when I don't get to hear them booming in April. Without grazing and this work with Audubon, we’d be much closer to losing this species.”  

Across the Great Lakes, producers like Flaig are working to support a range of grassland birds.  Since launching in Wisconsin in 2024, Audubon Conservation Ranching has helped certify seven farms across more than 2,000 acres of bird-friendly habitat. By choosing products carrying the Bird-Friendly Land Certification seal, consumers can directly support farmers and ranchers who are helping protect some of North America's fastest-declining bird species. 

For more information about Audubon Conservation Ranching in the Great Lakes, please contact Ashly Steinke at Ashly.Steinke@Audubon.org. For national program information, contact ConservationRanching@Audubon.org.  

About Audubon Conservation Ranching 

Audubon Conservation Ranching partners with ranchers to sustain healthy grasslands, abundant birdlife, and resilient rural communities. Through our bird-friendly land certification and science-based approach, we empower land stewards to enhance habitat, improve soil health and water quality, and strengthen the connection between conservation and ranching. By purchasing products from Audubon Certified Bird-Friendly Land, consumers become conservationists, helping protect America’s grasslands and the birds, wildlife, and people that depend on them. For more information, visit www.audubon.org/ranching.