Now the news about the issue is making headlines across the world.

The Guardian in the UK has an in-depth article about the issue crops and farms are having on natural wildlife habitats. The article touches on points about how farmers are finding it necessary to grow more crops than ever before including soybeans and corn.

Government programs aimed to increase the use of biofuels are part of the reason for the increase in the development of these crops.

It’s hard to blame the farmers because they have to produce crops that provide the most revenue. The government is creating a strong demand for certain crops and that’s leading to an issue for the natural habitat of wildlife including pheasants, grouse and other animals.

The subsidies are actually for a form of insurance. Over the past decade, the federal government has provided insurance to farmers to give them something to fall back on should there be an issue with drought or other poor growing conditions.

This has provided a safety net for farmers allowing them to take on more risk like turning more area into tillable acreage versus leaving it as natural wildlife habitat.

It’s not that the governments and farmers don’t want to conserve the land. They do and there are efforts in place for conservation, but right now the land is being converted and some believe it will lead to big issues for the wildlife economies throughout the Corn Belt.

It would take time to change the current culture. The solution seems easy - stop the insurance and subsidy program - but even simple change doesn’t come easy.

By the time any change is made it may be too late for the wildlife industry.