Study of grassland conversion

0fer2

New member
From Sioux Falls Journal Feb 17 2013:



SIOUX FALLS | A new study documents a loss of 1.3 million acres of grassland over a five-year period in the Western Corn Belt — a rate not seen since the 1920s and 1930s.

The research by Christopher Wright and Michael Wimberly of the Geographic Information Science Center of Excellence at South Dakota State University said a recent doubling in commodity prices has created incentives for landowners in South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota and Iowa to convert grassland to corn and soybean cropping.

"Historically, comparable grassland conversion rates have not been seen in the Corn Belt since the 1920s and 1930s, the era of rapid mechanization of US agriculture," the authors wrote.

The study is published in Tuesday's edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

It found that corn and soy production has expanded onto marginal lands with high potential for erosion and drought. The authors compared the land use change rate in the Western Corn Belt to the deforestation of Brazil, Malaysia, and Indonesia, but Wright said it's over a much smaller area.

"And we're not talking about a pristine landscape like a Brazilian rainforest," Wright said.

The researchers say that high corn and soybean prices, prompted largely by demand for biofuel feedstocks, are driving the change. Growers groups say the increased demand for their crops is also spurred by the rising international need for protein sources, and American farmers are doing all they can to keep up with the skyrocketing demand.

The analysis identifies areas with elevated rates of grass-to-corn and grass-to-soy conversion, ranging from 1 percent to 5.4 percent annually. Grassland conversion between 2006 and 2011 was mostly concentrated in North Dakota and South Dakota, east of the Missouri River.

In Minnesota and the Dakotas, this expansion was concentrated near wetlands, posing a threat to waterfowl breeding habitats.

The percentages don't appear large during a single year, but when they accumulate over a longer period, it could mean the loss of hundreds of thousands of acres, said Eric Lindstrom, a Bismarck, N.D.-based government affairs representative for Ducks Unlimited.

"We've been very concerned about the accelerated loss of native prairie," Lindstrom said.

The conservation organization is supporting the Protect Our Prairies Act, a U.S. House bill introduced last week by Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., and Tim Walz, D-Minn.

The bill would conserve native grasslands by reducing crop insurance for the first four years on newly broken native sod or grasslands.

Ducks Unlimited also would like federal crop insurance subsidies based on the productivity of the land versus incentivizing wetland drainage and habitat destruction.

In their study, the South Dakota State researchers found some differing trends when looking at state-level data.

In the Dakotas and Minnesota, grassland conversion was concentrated on relatively high-quality land, suggesting that land owners are seeking higher rates of return by moving from livestock ranching to growing corn and soybean.

In Minnesota, the researchers found a high proportion of grassland conversion on land characterized by excess wetness, pointing to a likely increase in anthropogenic drainage.

Grassland conversion in Iowa was concentrated on less suitable land, likely reflecting a relative lack of higher quality land available for growing more corn and soybeans. The change in Nebraska focused on lands highly unsuited to crop production, suggesting an increase in irrigation in southwest Nebraska.

The authors say that their findings may have implications for the region's land productivity, carbon sequestration, biodiversity, flood risk and vulnerability to drought.

I know Chris from UGuide posted a graph showing trends from the soil bank days through today.

A LOT of differences GMO crops, different herbicides, ethanol, worldwide demand for western food. No way will it come full circle again. Iowa and MN here we go.

Dan
 
think some people just have to read other members post b4 they post a thread that has already been covered quit well thus far...

ive never even looked at the habitat thread so this is a good spot to post NEW TOPICS no matter what it is more folks look at the SD pheasant hunting thread then any other so...
 
think some people just have to read other members post b4 they post a thread that has already been covered quit well thus far...

ive never even looked at the habitat thread so this is a good spot to post NEW TOPICS no matter what it is more folks look at the SD pheasant hunting thread then any other so...

Hey try to look into all sections of the fourm--lots of really good info every where here --explore--enjoy--take a chance--might learn something new--LOL:D
 
Ok ok

I'm fine with it being moved wherever. Still a newbie here with no bad intentions at all

As I said at the bottom of the story, this is nothing at all like the peaks and valleys around the Soil Bank and CRP days. Agriculture, agribusiness, global demands, cash infusion, speculation will make it difficult, if not impossible to change the continuation of crops. Again, look no further than MN and Iowa. And look at consolidation and corporate farms, thats the trend.

The ONLY thing that will make a difference is changing farm policy including subsidies and crop insurance within the Farm Bill

Dan
 
think some people just have to read other members post b4 they post a thread that has already been covered quit well thus far...

ive never even looked at the habitat thread so this is a good spot to post NEW TOPICS no matter what it is more folks look at the SD pheasant hunting thread then any other so...

SMO, Kansas gets way more action that SD. All new post should go there:confused:

Post threads where they belong otherwise it makes work for mods as they have to move them to correct forum and clean up duplicate threads. Otherwise it degrades the content value of the forum. Not good.
 
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thats pretty lame im fine lets all post on the KS thread???

ive been on plenty of other forums & its not a big thing to post a non pheasant or none SD thread on another states or topics forum...

some are more particular then others i guess??? why not just leave the post up wear they were posted & the forum members can just read the threads for them selfs & comment??? it would save much work 4 the mods???

im sure most them KS boys look at the SD thread alot also its only the pheasant capital of the country
 
thats pretty lame im fine lets all post on the KS thread???

ive been on plenty of other forums & its not a big thing to post a non pheasant or none SD thread on another states or topics forum...

some are more particular then others i guess??? why not just leave the post up wear they were posted & the forum members can just read the threads for them selfs & comment??? it would save much work 4 the mods???

im sure most them KS boys look at the SD thread alot also its only the pheasant capital of the country

At this point I have a higher opinion of the Kansas forum than the SD forum. If it is indeed the pheasant capital you would think it would be the leader in traffic and volume. So far the Kansas boys set the bar. Way to go KANSAS!

:10sign::cheers:
 
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