The aim of this essay is to examine the motives behind the exploitation of the highly rated arable land in Hyllie, Malmö, seen from the perspectives of the County Administrative Board of Skåne (länsstyrelsen) and the municipality of Malmö. The essay also examines what measures have been taken or considered by the municipality to compensate the loss of arable land. This is a highly relevant topic considering the urban sprawl that takes place in Skåne today and how agricultural land tends to disappear as a result of this exploitation. This exploitation of agricultural land cannot be seen as sustainable development since the agricultural land in Sweden is limited and of great interest to preserve for the national production of food and energy. The study's geographical focus will be in Malmö and Skåne with the exploitation of Hyllie as a case study. The essay will focus on what motives and values are behind such exploitation. Considering the Skåne region's desire to keep the town centres dense and counteract the current urban sprawl, I believe a discussion of the motives is necessary. The discussion will also consider how arable land is perceived not only through laws and restrictions but also how it is treated by different stakeholders in practice. The analysis of the essay will result in a discussion of the possibilities of sustainably compensate for the loss of food- and energy production. Since compensation can be considered as a method to reduce the exploitation of agricultural land, my theoretical angle of this essay will consist of theories related to the strategy, such as the principles of balance. The strategy of compensation is an up-to-date topic that gives an interesting perspective on today’s development. The method is still on the investigation state and new to practice in Sweden but as a theoretical point a view it provides a deeper discussion to my topic. This essay is also based on interviews and literature that primarily point out the need of a new perspective of how to save what is left of Swedish agricultural land from being exploited. The essay’s result shows how different motives can be brought to an acceptance of taking highly rated arable land for exploitation in Hyllie, this if other public interests are justified to be of greater value than the preservation of agricultural land. The essay advocates that the issues of preserving agricultural land should either be elevated from municipal to parliamentary interest or that the laws and restrictions connected to them should be more solid and clear in practice. Arable land should be preserved at any cost. To compensate for lost land is never a complete solution. However, continued urban development is inevitable and if land must be exploited it should be compensated, since it is a better to compensate than not to do.