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Report: Fifty million acres of grassland lost since 2009

A new report shows further losses of grasslands in the Plains states.

The report from the World Wildlife Fund says more than 50 million acres of grasslands in the Great Plains have been converted to farmland since 2009. Greg Fogel, Policy Director for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, says such losses of grasslands can have a far reaching impact.

“It’s not good for the ranching industry, it’s not good for the hunting industry, it’s not good for wildlife, water quality mitigating and adapting to extreme weather. It makes it harder for communities to respond to flooding and prevent erosion,” says Fogel.

Much of the conversion last year happened in northern Texas at the southern edge of the Great Plains. Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana also saw high conversion rates. Fogel tells Brownfield programs from agencies like USDA work to reduce grassland losses in the Great Plains.

“They help producers implement conservation practices on their land. In other words, they’re making it easier for producers to raise livestock on grasslands in an sustainable way,” says Fogel.

The report says between 2014 and 2015, more than three-and-a-half million acres of grassland in the Great Plains had been converted to farmland.

Audio: Greg Fogel, Policy Director, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition