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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.

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From Dry to Thrive: Forage Fixes for Future Fortitude

Video: From Dry to Thrive: Forage Fixes for Future Fortitude

Presented by Christine O'Reilly, Forage & Grazing Specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA).

Prolonged dry weather impacted many regions of Ontario in 2025. With the growing season behind us, how can livestock farmers set their forage crops up for success next year? This session covers the short-term agronomy to bounce back quickly, as well as exploring options for building drought resilience into forage systems for the future.

The purpose of the Forage Focus conference is to bring fresh ideas and new research results to Ontario forage producers across the ruminant livestock and commercial hay sectors