| PROPOSED
MEASURES: EXTENT & LOCATION |
Acreage of land
devoted to farming, because the acreage harvested, set aside in
government programs, fallow, or with failed crops describes the use
of land, the most basic resource in farming. (Figs. 1,
2)
Acreage, location,
and use of prime farmland, as a measure of the use of the Nation's
best cropland.
(Figs. 3, 4)
Total cropland
(not including pasture) in the United States has remained fairly stable
since the 1950s. Cropland occupies about 400 million acres, or 17 percent,
of the Nation's land. The majority of this land is cropped and harvested,
and the amounts of failed crop and summer fallow are both lower than
they were in the 1950s. Acres set aside under government programs ranged
from zero in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and again in the early
1980s, to a high of 78 million acres in 1998 See also pages 9-10, Government
Programs.
Since 1945, the
Corn Belt, Northern Plains, and Rocky Mountain regions have experienced
the greatest increase in cropland, with the Northeast, Appalachian,
Southeast, and Southern Plains regions losing the most.
The acreage of
prime farmland that was cropped decreased from 1982 through 1992, but
a majority of this decrease is represented by acres enrolled in the
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). The percentage of all U.S. cropland
that is prime farmland is lower than it was in 1987, but higher than
in 1982.
|
|
 |
Prime
farmland is land with the growing season, moisture supply, and
soil quality needed to sustain high yields. The map shows the
location of prime farmland that was cropped in 1992, and the table
below shows changes in the use of prime farmland from 1982 to
1992. Prime farmland can be lost through conversion to developed
uses and, less frequently, can be created by improvements to soil
or drainage. Although the definition of prime farmland excludes
excessively erodible soils, prime farmland may also be enrolled
in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) by inclusion within
larger CRP-eligible areas.
|
|
SOURCE:
USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service
|
|
|
|
| |
Prime Farmland
that is Cropped |
Prime Farmland
in Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) |
Other Prime
Farmland (Not developed) |
Total Prime
Farmland |
Percent Of
Prime Farmland that is Cropped |
Prime Farmland
as a Percent of All Cropped Land |
| 1982 |
230 |
na |
113 |
343 |
67% |
65% |
| 1987 |
225 |
3 |
109 |
337 |
67% |
75% |
| 1992 |
216 |
10 |
108 |
334 |
65% |
69% |
|
SOURCE:
USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service
|
Patterns
of Agricultural Production, 1987 (5)
|
 |
American
farmers grow a wide variety of crops, with the choice of crops
largely dependent on soils and climate. Eastern and southern states
generally have smaller farms and a greater variety of outputs
than do states in the Corn Belt and Great Plains, where major
grain crops predominate.
|
|
SOURCE:
USDA, Economic Research Service
|
| STATUS
OF DATA & OTHER NOTES |
Data
on cropland and prime farmland acreage came from continuing monitoring
programs involving USDA Economics Research Service, Farm Services
Agency, and National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Data
on the locations of agricultural production (map) are available
for more recent periods, but the analysis needed to generate the
map has not been conducted with data for years after 1987.
Please
see the Technical
Notes for additional information.
|
|
