Agricultural Resources and Environmental Indicators: Land Use
Marlow Vesterby
No. (AH722) ,
March 2001
The three predominant uses of land in the contiguous 48 States are grassland pasture and range, forest-use land, and cropland, in that order. Total cropland (used for crops, used for pasture, and idled) has trended down slightly since the late 1960s. Greater variation has occurred in cropland used for crops. Changes in 1996 farm policy reduced the impact of farm programs on cropland used for crops. Weather, such as drought or heavy rains, can strongly influence the acreage of cropland used for crops from year to year. Programs aimed at farmland preservation have received increasing attention in recent years.
Keywords: land, land use, cropland, forestland, pasture, range, other uses, urbanization, ERS, USDA
In this series ... Reports are
in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.
Chapter 1.1: Land Use, 469 kb.
Contents
- Major Land Uses in the Contiguous States
- Regional Changes in Land Use
- Cropland Use and Programs
- Cropland Used for Crops
- Cropland Idled Under Federal Programs
- Agricultural Land Use Issues
- Federal Restrictions on the Use of Public and Private Land
- Non-Federal Programs to Preserve Land
- Urbanization of Agricultural and Other Rural Land
- Conflicts Among Uses of Federal Lands
- Wetlands
- References
See other chapters in the Agricultural Resources and Environmental Indicators series.
Updated date: March 29, 2001
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