Overview
Agricultural production is a major use of land, accounting
for more than 46 percent of the U.S. land base. Agricultural
land use is influenced by other land uses, including forest,
residential, commercial, industrial, recreational, and
open space. The interaction among these sometimes-incompatible
uses can lead to social conflict. Government is often
called upon to resolve these conflicts. More
overview...
Features
 Environmental
Effects of Agricultural Land-Use Change: The Role of
Economics and Policy—This report examines evidence
on the relationship between agricultural land-use changes,
soil productivity, and indicators of environmental sensitivity.
ERS examines environmental outcomes of land-use conversion
prompted by two agricultural programs that others have
identified as potentially having important influences
on land use and environmental quality: Federal crop
insurance subsidies and the Conservation Reserve Program
(CRP), the Nation's largest cropland retirement program.
See the related Amber
Waves feature article.
 Major
Uses of Land in the United States, 2002—This
series is the only consistent historical accounting of
major land uses, public and private, in all 50 States.
The latest inventory of U.S. major land uses finds
that total cropland area in 2002 was 442 million acres,
its lowest level since 1945. Several other classes and
subclasses of land are considered, including forest uses,
pasture and range, urban, and special uses such as parks
and recreation areas.
See also Major Land Uses for
State-level data since 1945 and for national-level annual
cropland data since 1910, and the related finding on Growing
More With Less Cropland.
 Agricultural
Resources and Environmental Indicators, 2006 Edition—This report describes
trends in land resources used in and affected by agricultural
production, as well as the economic conditions and policies
that influence agricultural land use and its environmental impacts. Each
chapter provides a concise overview of a specific topic with links to
sources of additional information. See more on the Land
and Farm Resources section.
 Structure
and Finances of U.S. Farms: Family Farm Report, 2007 Edition.
This report presents comprehensive information on family
and nonfamily farms and important trends in farming,
operator household income, farm performance, and contracting.
Most farms are family farms, and small family farms
account for most farms but produce a modest share of
farm output. A companion
brochure summarizes the report's findings. See also the related
Amber Waves feature on The Importance of Farm Program Payments to Farm Households
 Balancing
the Multiple Objectives of Conservation Programs—Many of the
Nation's conservation programs use an index approach to prioritize environmental
and cost objectives. The weights used in selection indices in the CRP
(and in other conservation programs) determine which lands are enrolled,
and the mixture of environmental objectives achieved. This report finds
that small changes in index weights do not markedly affect national levels
of environmental benefits, but larger changes can have a moderate impact.
See also the related Amber Waves summary
article.
Conservation-Compatible
Practices and Programs: Who Participates?—Farm
operators have an incentive to adopt farming practices
that can increase their profits, but they are less encouraged
by the prospect of undertaking costly practices that
may benefit the environment but do little to improve
their bottom lines. Operators of small farms and operators
not primarily focused on farming are less likely to adopt
management-intensive conservation practices or participate
in working-land conservation programs. Also see the related Amber
Waves finding and feature
article.
Farmland Protection:
The Role of Public Preferences for Rural Amenities—To
investigate the relative importance of preserving different
rural amenities associated with farmland, this report
examines the enabling legislation of these programs across
the 48 contiguous States, and the implementation of these
programs in 5 Northeastern States. The report also assesses
how farmland protection programs fit into the broader
array of rural land conservation programs. Also see
a Macromedia
Flash introduction to this report.
Recommended Readings
Economics of Sequestering
Carbon in the U.S. Agricultural Sector—Atmospheric
concentrations of greenhouse gases can be reduced by
withdrawing carbon from the atmosphere and sequestering
it in soils and biomass. This report analyzes the performance
of alternative incentive designs and payment levels if
farmers were paid to adopt land uses and management practices
that raise soil carbon levels. Also see the Amber
Waves summary
article.
Smart
Growth: Implications for Agriculture in Urban Fringe
Areas—Smart
growth is a catch-all phrase to describe a number of
land use policies for influencing the pattern and density
of new development. See all recommended readings...
Recommended Data Products
Major Land Uses—State,
regional, and national estimates of 15 major land uses,
1945-2002.
Data sets—related
to the Population Interaction Indexes (PII) and Population
Interaction Zones (PIZA).
Agricultural
Land Values and Cash Rents—Current and historical data.
See all recommended data products...
Related Briefing Rooms
Related Links
National Agricultural
Statistics Service (NASS)—USDA's data collection
agency.
Federal
Reserve Bank Agricultural Credit Surveys—Links
to land value surveys.
See all related links...
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