The share of farmland owned by operators varies by region

Coupled with questions about the likely stability of farmland values are questions about whether active farmers benefited from the recent increases in those values. Three of the top four regions in terms of land in agriculture (Northern and Southern Plains and the Corn Belt) have non-operating owners (owners who do not themselves farm) owning more than 30 percent of the land. Non-operators owned 29 percent of all land in farms in 2007. Non-operators tend to be older, less likely to live on the farm, and less likely to participate in conservation programs. This graph is found in the ERS report, Trends in U.S. Farmland Values and Ownership, EIB-92, February 2012.

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