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Farm and Commodity Policy: Maps

Geographical Distribution of Farm Program Characteristics

• Percent of total cropland that is base acreage, 2002
• Distribution of base acres, 2003
• Distribution of CRP acres, 2007
• Distribution of commodity program payments per cropland acre, FY2005
• Per acre direct payments, 2003
• Government payments as a proportion of gross cash income from farming, 2005
• Cotton plantings relative to 2002 Farm Act cotton base acres, by county, 2003
• Percent of total payments to farms, by payment type

Maps showing base acres by commodity can be generated using ERS's Farm Program Acres Data Mapping Product. For a definition of regions, see USDA's Farm Production Regions.

Base acres account for over 60 percent of total cropland in the Corn Belt, the eastern Plains States, and along the Mississippi River. Base acreage also constitutes a large share of cropland in the piedmont region of the Southeast. The lower share of base acreage in California and the Pacific Northwest reflects the importance of fruit and vegetable production there.

The distribution of base acres in the United States reflects historical production of program crops. Base acres are concentrated along the Mississippi River, in the Corn Belt, in the Plains States, in eastern Washington and Oregon, and in central California.

Most areas of the Plains States, eastern Washington and Oregon, and the Mississippi Delta have high concentrations of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acreage, and those acres represent a significant percentage of cropland. The Corn Belt, however, shows overall low concentrations of CRP land relative to cropland with just pockets of relatively high levels of CRP acreage.

Commodity program payments are concentrated in major producing areas:

• The Corn Belt, where corn and soybeans are the leading crops;
• The Plains States and the Pacific Northwest, where wheat predominates;
• The southeastern Coastal Plain, where cotton and peanuts are produced;
• The lower Mississippi River area, where cotton and rice are produced;
• West Texas and southern Arizona, where cotton is grown; and
• California, where rice and cotton are important.

The value of direct payments to U.S. producers depends on historical acreage and yields. The legislated payment rates are commodity dependent—and result in payments averaging about $1 per acre for oats and close to $100 per acre for rice. Direct payments are concentrated in the major producing areas. They are highest in California, where rice and cotton are produced; in the southeastern Coastal Plain, where cotton and peanuts are produced; and along the lower Mississippi River, where cotton and rice are produced. Direct payments per acre are also high in the midwestern Corn Belt, where corn and soybeans are the leading crops.

A substantial proportion of government payments to farmers is based on historical production of specific commodities, such as corn, oilseeds, wheat, rice, and cotton. Thus, payments represent a higher share of cash income in areas where production of these commodities is concentrated. When commodity prices are low, these payments become even more significant as components of farm income.

Planting flexibility can be illustrated by comparing base and planted acres of upland cotton. In 2003, 13.3 million acres were planted to upland cotton, down 2.2 million acres from 2001. In 367 of the 459 counties that reported county-level cotton plantings in 2002, base acres exceed planted acreage by a total of about 5.2 million acres. In the remaining 92 cotton counties, planted acres exceed base by 0.3 million acres.

In 2005, farms in the Heartland received the largest share of both commodity-related and conservation payments. Heartland farms' 42 percent share of commodity program payments was roughly in line with the region's 50-percent share of production of program crops.