A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows pictures derived from satellite data proving the changing U.S. landscape. Between 2006 and 2011 1.3 million acres of grassland have been converted to the production of corn and soy encroaching on the Prairie region of the Dakotas and Minnesota. Corn and soybean prices are high and funding has been declining for the government’s Conservation Reserve Program which pays farmers to keep land in grass to protect water quality and wildlife. Another reason for the change is crop insurance encouraging risky behavior in farmers growing crops where rainfall in unreliable, or on hillsides, or where drainage is poor.