At a glance: Change in corn acreage and loss of conservation land by county
Published 10:13 am Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Change in corn acreage by county
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 for new places to plant.
Here are Corn Belt counties that have seen large increases in corn planting (greater than 21,000 acres), ranked by the percentage increase since 2006. This table reflects those places where farmers have planted significantly more corn, both in terms of raw acres and as a percentage.
All data come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
| STATE | COUNTY | CHANGE | PERCENT |
| NORTH DAKOTA | BOTTINEAU | 25,300 | 843% |
| MINNESOTA | MARSHALL | 27,500 | 519% |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | HAAKON | 24,000 | 436% |
| MINNESOTA | POLK | 86,500 | 326% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | MCLEAN | 48,800 | 321% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | WALSH | 44,300 | 286% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | MERCER | 21,800 | 279% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | GRAND FORKS | 101,500 | 251% |
| KANSAS | SUMNER | 29,200 | 247% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | EMMONS | 102,000 | 224% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | LOGAN | 44,900 | 219% |
| MINNESOTA | CLAY | 96,700 | 204% |
| KANSAS | JEWELL | 25,400 | 194% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | WELLS | 64,700 | 185% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | MCHENRY | 40,500 | 184% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | STUTSMAN | 138,000 | 184% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | PIERCE | 22,900 | 176% |
| NEBRASKA | CHEYENNE | 37,800 | 172% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | MCINTOSH | 38,100 | 169% |
| MINNESOTA | NORMAN | 67,800 | 165% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | CASS | 221,500 | 158% |
| KANSAS | SMITH | 29,400 | 146% |
| MINNESOTA | BECKER | 37,300 | 143% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | FOSTER | 36,200 | 139% |
| NEBRASKA | DEUEL | 22,100 | 138% |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | HYDE | 41,300 | 131% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | MORTON | 44,200 | 126% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | BURLEIGH | 35,300 | 122% |
| KANSAS | RAWLINS | 55,200 | 121% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | BENSON | 40,800 | 120% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | BARNES | 106,500 | 118% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | GRIGGS | 23,000 | 115% |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | LYMAN | 32,700 | 113% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | KIDDER | 22,900 | 109% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | STEELE | 57,500 | 106% |
| KANSAS | MARION | 22,000 | 102% |
| KANSAS | CHEYENNE | 37,800 | 102% |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | FAULK | 71,000 | 100% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | RANSOM | 56,000 | 93% |
| KANSAS | GOVE | 40,900 | 91% |
| KANSAS | SHERMAN | 78,700 | 89% |
| MINNESOTA | WILKIN | 49,800 | 89% |
| INDIANA | VERMILLION | 23,200 | 87% |
| NEBRASKA | SHERIDAN | 24,000 | 86% |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | SULLY | 56,500 | 85% |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | MCPHERSON | 40,100 | 84% |
| KANSAS | MARSHALL | 49,500 | 80% |
| KANSAS | WALLACE | 35,000 | 80% |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | DAY | 55,000 | 79% |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | MARSHALL | 51,500 | 79% |
The AP focused on counties that increased corn planting by more than 21,000 acres because they represent the top 25 percent of counties based on increased corn acreage.
Loss of conservation land by county
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.
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.
| STATE | COUNTY | CHANGE | PERCENT |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | DEWEY | -21,596 | -81% |
| NEBRASKA | WAYNE | -8,678 | -72% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | MERCER | -11,944 | -72% |
| NEBRASKA | CHERRY | -5,323 | -72% |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | ZIEBACH | -15,254 | -71% |
| NEBRASKA | BROWN | -5,223 | -71% |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | CORSON | -16,837 | -69% |
| NEBRASKA | DAKOTA | -8,265 | -69% |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | HARDING | -9,976 | -68% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | SIOUX | -7,188 | -67% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | BILLINGS | -11,631 | -67% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | MORTON | -21,188 | -67% |
| WISCONSIN | OUTAGAMIE | -5,501 | -64% |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | MCPHERSON | -30,467 | -64% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | MCINTOSH | -36,698 | -61% |
| NEBRASKA | ROCK | -10,863 | -59% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | STARK | -52,102 | -57% |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | PENNINGTON | -6,263 | -57% |
| WISCONSIN | VERNON | -6,897 | -57% |
| NEBRASKA | DIXON | -20,135 | -57% |
| WISCONSIN | ST CROIX | -16,624 | -56% |
| WISCONSIN | PIERCE | -11,685 | -56% |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | GRANT | -17,036 | -56% |
| WISCONSIN | JEFFERSON | -4,802 | -55% |
| WISCONSIN | DUNN | -12,683 | -55% |
| IOWA | WOODBURY | -14,988 | -54% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | DUNN | -11,095 | -54% |
| KANSAS | COMANCHE | -22,842 | -53% |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | EDMUNDS | -14,458 | -52% |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | JACKSON | -8,051 | -52% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | LOGAN | -32,426 | -52% |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | JONES | -8,497 | -51% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | EMMONS | -37,833 | -51% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | MCKENZIE | -10,845 | -51% |
| WISCONSIN | CRAWFORD | -9,179 | -50% |
| NEBRASKA | WHEELER | -8,156 | -50% |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | HAND | -17,822 | -50% |
| KANSAS | GREELEY | -39,818 | -49% |
| WISCONSIN | POLK | -6,186 | -48% |
| NEBRASKA | CEDAR | -7,898 | -48% |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | DAY | -43,790 | -48% |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | FAULK | -5,732 | -48% |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | BUTTE | -13,183 | -47% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | GRANT | -26,396 | -47% |
| KANSAS | BARBER | -9,766 | -47% |
| NEBRASKA | BOONE | -8,438 | -47% |
| KANSAS | WICHITA | -21,908 | -46% |
| WISCONSIN | TREMPEALEAU | -15,415 | -46% |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | CODINGTON | -13,639 | -46% |
| NEBRASKA | STANTON | -12,527 | -45% |
The AP focused on counties that lost more than 4,400 acres of because they represent the top 25 percent of counties based on loss of conservation land.
