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Farmland Gone

Farmland Gone

High-Grade Cropland Gives Way To Urban Growth In Iowa – At Least Where There’s Growth

By Molly Hunter | November 14, 2018

Urban expansion, at least in the few areas where Iowa cities are growing, is eating up some of the state’s best farmland. The urban growth is part of a national trend in which good farmland is lost to new residential neighborhoods.

farmland

Disappearing Farmland: Despite Value, Little Protection Exists For Midwest Farmland

By Christopher Walljasper/Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting | November 14, 2018

America has lost millions of acres of farmland over the nearly three decades to urban and rural development. Despite conservation efforts by state and local governments and increased financial incentives for farmers, urban development and the expansion of rural residential real estate over the last 25 years has eliminated farmland across the country at levels not seen since the early 1970s.

urban sprawl

Disappearing Farmland: Small Towns Trade Farmland For Residential Development

By Christopher Walljasper/Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting | November 14, 2018

Driving along Route 47 in Kane County, Illinois, corn and soybean fields are dotted with signs advertising the amenities of burgeoning communities. For more than 20 years, Kane County has been a poster child for urban sprawl, the spreading of development of land on the edge of a metropolitan area.

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Investigative Reporting in Iowa

Census takers in Iowa sound the alarm about technology, training deficiencies

Iowa's census workers say they fear their count won't be accurate because of poor training, technology problems and other concerns during a troublesome 2020.

Source: The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, IA)

Worst dicamba damage in decades

Damage the herbicide dicamba has done to soybeans and trees is the worst seen since the controversial weed killer hit the market in the 1960s.

Source: The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, IA)

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