Farms.com Home   News

Planning could lessen impact of urban sprawl

Pick any state and you are likely to find examples of urban sprawl, where farmland is being converted into subdivisions and industry.

And those examples are not just found around large metropolitan areas such as Kansas City, Chicago, St. Louis and Des Moines. Ag land is disappearing around other growing cities throughout the Midwest.

A report written in 2022 from the American Farmland Trust suggests this trend is likely to continue. In the report, the organization said from 2001 to 2016, the U.S. lost or compromised 2,000 acres of farmland every day. If the trend continues, another 18.4 million acres will be converted between 2016 and 2040. That is roughly the size of the state of South Carolina.

Click here to see more...

Trending Video

Supplemental Nitrogen on Soybeans: Can Early Nitrogen Increase Yield?

Video: Supplemental Nitrogen on Soybeans: Can Early Nitrogen Increase Yield?

Can supplemental nitrogen help soybeans reach higher yield potential? Technical Agronomist Tim Sickman walks through an ongoing trial at the Nutrien Innovation Farm in Owensboro, Kentucky, exploring whether a modest amount of nitrogen applied at planting can support higher-yielding soybean environments.

The trial compares 30 pounds of supplemental nitrogen across both 15- and 30-inch rows, along with treatments that include sulfur and micronutrients. Similar trials conducted in 2024 and 2025 delivered a six- to seven-bushel yield response, prompting the team to expand the research this season.

Early observations show that treated soybeans are slightly taller and averaging about two additional nodes on the main stem. These added nodes could create more opportunities for blooms and pods, but the true results will come at harvest when the team evaluates pod development, seed fill and final yield.

In This Video:

Why high-yield soybeans may need supplemental nitrogen

Results from the 2024 and 2025 trials

Nitrogen treatments in 15- and 30-inch rows

Fertilizer placement and application methods

Differences in plant height and node counts

Potential effects on pod development and yield