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• State 2006 2012 Change
• IOWA 12,600,000 14,200,000 1,600,000
• ILLINOIS 11,300,000 12,800,000 1,500,000
• NEBRASKA 8,100,000 10,000,000 1,900,000
• MINNESOTA 7,300,000 8,750,000 1,450,000
• INDIANA 5,500,000 6,250,000 750,000
• SOUTH DAKOTA 4,500,000 6,150,000 1,650,000
• KANSAS 3,350,000 4,700,000 1,350,000
• WISCONSIN 3,650,000 4,350,000 700,000
• OHIO 3,150,000 3,900,000 750,000
• NORTH DAKOTA 1,690,000 3,600,000 1,910,000
• Source: United States Department of Agriculture
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At a glance: Loss of conservation land by county
The Associated Press
• Since the federal government passed a law in 2007 requiring oil companies to add ethanol to their gasoline, demand for corn has increased, sending farmers looking to find new places to plant. Despite government predictions to the contrary, the rising price of corn encouraged farmers to plow into land that had been set aside under the Conservation Reserve Program. That program pays farmers to allow their land to return to a near-natural state, which helps fight global warming, prevent erosion and reduce fertilizer use.
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• Here are the Corn Belt counties that have lost large amounts of conservation land (greater than 4,400 acres), ranked by the percentage of land lost in each county since 2006. This table reflects those places where land conversion has most significantly transformed the counties. All data come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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