How Much Land in the United States is Used for Agriculture?
As of 2023, approximately 44% of the land in the United States is used for agriculture, encompassing both cropland and pastureland. This figure is influenced by a myriad of factors including climate, soil type, and land management practices.
Visualizing Agricultural Land Use in the USA
A crucial map that helps visualize how the land on the continental United States is used is very enlightening. For instance, a significant portion, roughly the area of Illinois and Indiana, is dedicated to feeding livestock, with land for cattle being the largest, followed closely by land for feeding livestock.
According to the World Bank data, 16.6% of the total land area of the United States was arable in 2016, equating to 152,262,500 hectares. This represents a trend observed since 1960, as documented by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) data and presented in various studies. A more detailed map of land use in America is available for purchase, such as the one found on Here’s How America Uses Its Land.
Detailed Breakdown of Agricultural Land Use
Agricultural land in the United States is segmented into several types including cropland, pastural land, and woodland. Some of the most prominent crops planted include corn, soybeans, hay, wheat, cotton, and sorghum. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service, approximately 40.8% of the U.S. land area is currently considered to be Farmland as of the 2007 census of agriculture, which includes cropland, pastural land, woodland, and other land used for agricultural purposes.
Land Usage Trends and Changes
Over the past decade, there has been a noticeable decrease in the percentage of Farmland, along with an increase in the amount of irrigation used. The reduction of Farmland is not directly linked to improvements in productivity but rather to the loss of topsoil on much of the decommissioned Farmland. It would take decades to regain the topsoil, making a significant portion of the decommissioned land unusable in the near term.
Another pertinent trend is the encroachment of residential and retail developments onto Farmland over the last 25 years. This development has not only altered the physical landscape but has also impacted the overall productivity of the land. An insightful study published on this topic notes that the historical interrelationships between farmland and population settlement patterns have long been the subject of conjecture, and such analyses can provide a useful way to describe these delicate relationships spatially and temporally.
Key Takeaways: About 44% of the total land area of the United States is used for agriculture, including cropland and pastureland. 16.6% of the land in the U.S. was arable as per World Bank data in 2016. About 40.8% of the U.S. is currently considered to be Farmland as of the 2007 USDA census. There has been a decrease in Farmland due to loss of topsoil and encroachment by residential and retail developments.
Further Reading: Here’s How America Uses Its Land (Available for purchase) Abstract of an insightful study on the interplay between farmland and population settlement patterns.