Multiple, often contradictory things can happen to land cover over two decades, as you can see with this map.

 

Suburban sprawl in the area around the city reduced the amount of grasslands over the 18 year period, while in more outlaying areas the decline of dairy meant less silage and corn was planted but more grass was grown/grazed for beef.

Here is the R code: https://github.com/AndyArthur/r_maps_and_graphs/blob/main/Albany County NLCD Decline in Grasslands.R