March 2026
The March 2026 update extended summary table 3 to 2025 using data obtained from the USDA, National Agricultural Statistic Service crop production annual summary. This update also revised the data for 2024.
February 2025
The February 2025 update extended summary table 3 to 2024 using data obtained from the USDA, National Agricultural Statistic Service crop production annual summary. This update also revised data for 2023.
September 2024
The September 2024 update coincided with the publication of the report Major Uses of Land in the United States, 2017. All tables in the major land uses data product, with the exception of summary table 3, were updated to 2017. See Documentation for 5 Year Update for details on update procedures.
Methodological Changes
We switched from collecting data on State wildlife areas by hand for each U.S. State to using the amount of State fish and wildlife acreage reported in the U.S. Geological Survey’s Protected Areas Database (PAD-US). We also used PAD-US to estimate acreage managed by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Corrections
In updating the 2017 MLU, some calculation errors in summing grazed and ungrazed forest acres were discovered in the total forest land data for earlier years in the northeast region. The errors in general increased total forest land for certain northeastern States, the region, and the national level but did not affect total land at the State, region, or national level. The following corrections were made:
For 1987, we added approximately 250,000 acres of forest-use land to Massachusetts (resulting in a 9-percent increase), 100,000 acres of forest-use land to New Jersey (a 6-percent increase), and 25,000 acres of forest-use land to Connecticut (a 1-percent increase). Cumulatively, these changes added about 375,000 acres to the Northeast (a 1-percent increase) but resulted in less than 1-percent change at the 48-State and national levels. For 1992, we added around 100,000 acres (3.7 percent) to Massachusetts, 5,000 acres (1.3 percent) to Rhode Island, and 25,000 acres (1.5 percent) to Connecticut. These increases caused a net addition of about 130,000 acres of forest-use land in the northeastern region (0.2 percent) and 48-State, and national totals (both less than 0.1 percent). We also adjusted forest-use ungrazed land by adding approximately 133,000 acres (3.2 percent) to Vermont and subtracting 100,000 acres (5.4 percent) to New Jersey. These changes caused a net addition of about 33,000 acres of forest-use ungrazed land to the northeastern region, 48-State, and national totals (all less than 0.1 percent).
Additional changes to 1992 data include an increase in New Jersey special use land by around 10,000 acres (1.4 percent) with no implications for regional aggregates, and updated urban use land acres by decreasing Massachusetts urban use land by 37,000 acres (2.6 percent), decreasing Connecticut urban land by approximately 37,000 acres (4.4 percent), and decreasing New Jersey urban use land by 40,000 acres (3.1 percent), for a total decrease of urban land by 114,000 acres for the Northeast region (1.2 percent), and the 48-State total and the national total (both less than 0.1 percent change).
We made similar adjustments for 1997, adding around 200,000 acres of forest-use land to the previous level in Massachusetts (an 8-percent change), adding 125,000 acres of forest-use land to Connecticut (an 8-percent change) and adding 20,000 acres to Rhode Island (a 6-percent change). The aggregate of around 345,000 acres of forest-use land were added to the Northeast (a 1-percent change) but resulted in less than 1-percent change at the 48-State and national levels.
We also corrected another error we discovered at that time in which the listed total acres for rural transportation in the northeast region for 2007 was not the correct sum of the individual Northeast States values. To correct this error we updated the 2007, northeast, regional transportation value to be the correct sum of all the northeast States. The corrected value is approximately 1,729,000 acres, a change of 123,000 acres or 7.7 percent.
February 2024
The February 2024 update extended summary table 3 to 2023 using data obtained from the USDA, National Agricultural Statistic Service crop production annual summary. Since the 2022 Census of Agriculture was published in February of 2024, all previous acreage estimates were subject to revision between the prior and current census years. We revised summary table 3 going back to 2018.
August 2022
The August 2022 update extended summary table 3 to 2022 using data obtained from the USDA, National Agricultural Statistic Service crop production annual summary. This update also revised data for 2021.
August 2021
The August 2021 update extended summary table 3 to 2020 using data obtained from the USDA, National Agricultural Statistic Service crop production annual summary.
April 2020
The April 2020 update extended summary table 3 to 2019 using data obtained from the USDA, National Agricultural Statistic Service crop production annual summary.
May 2019
The May 2019 update extended summary table 3 to 2018 using data obtained from the USDA, National Agricultural Statistic Service crop production annual summary.
January 2018
The January 2018 update extended summary table 3 to 2017 using data obtained from the USDA, National Agricultural Statistic Service crop production annual summary.
August 2017
The August 2017 update coincided with the publication of the report Major Uses of Land in the United States, 2012. All tables in the major land uses data product, with the exception of summary table 3, were updated to 2012. See Documentation for 5 Year Update for details on update procedures.
Methodological Changes
From 2007 to 2012, there was a 39-million acre decrease in forest-use land. However, it is impossible to tell how much of this 39-million-acre decrease was the result of true land changes and how much was the result of the underlying data (i.e., the Resources Planning Act (RPA) Assessment) that changed the in situ height requirement of what constitutes a tree from 13.1 to 16.4 feet in 2012 to be consistent with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) internationally agreed-upon definition.
Cropland pasture estimates declined by nearly 79 percent (49,65,000 acres) in the 10 years between 2002 and 2012 after exhibiting relative stability for more than 50 years. This decline is largely attributable to methodological changes in the collection of cropland pasture data in USDA, NASS' Census of Agriculture, the data source for the cropland pasture category. In USDA, NASS’ 2002 Census of Agriculture, respondents were asked to report the acreage of "Cropland used only for pasture or grazing (include rotation pasture and grazing land that could have been used for crops without additional improvements)." This was the second item in the land-use section of the census questionnaire, falling under the broad heading of "Cropland" and immediately following the question about harvested cropland. In 2007, the wording of the cropland-pasture question in the Census was identical to that used in 2002, but the question was moved from the second (of five) items in the Cropland section to the last (of three) items in the Pasture section. In USDA, NASS’ 2012 Census of Agriculture, additional changes were made. While the cropland pasture question remained in the same place as in 2007, the wording was changed to: "Other pasture and grazing land (including rotational pasture) that could have been used for crops without additional improvements." There is no way to definitively determine the extent of the effects of changes in the placement and wording of the cropland-pasture question on estimates of cropland pasture used here. However, it seems likely (given the relatively stable cropland pasture acreage trend from 1949 to 2002) that these changes contributed to the large decrease in recorded pastureland acreage between 2002 and 2012. However, the wording and placement of this question in 2017 were identical to that of 2012, allowing us to directly compare recent trends in cropland pasture once more.
January 2017
The January 2017 update extended summary table 3 to 2016, using data obtained from the USDA, National Agricultural Statistic Service crop production annual summary.
March 2016
The March 2016 update extended summary table 3 to 2015, using data obtained from the USDA, National Agricultural Statistic Service crop production annual summary.
August 2015
The August 2015 update extended summary table 3 to 2014, using data obtained from the USDA, National Agricultural Statistic Service crop production annual summary.
March 2014
The March 2014 update extended summary table 3 to 2013, using data obtained from the USDA, National Agricultural Statistic Service crop production annual summary.
March 2013
The March 2013 update extended summary table 3 to 2012, using data obtained from the USDA, National Agricultural Statistic Service crop production annual summary.
May 2012
The May 2012 update extended summary table 3 to 2011, using data obtained from the USDA, National Agricultural Statistic Service crop production annual summary.
December 2011
The December 2011 update coincided with the publication of Major Uses of Land in the United States, 2007. All tables in the major land uses data product, with the exception of summary table 3, were updated to 2007. See Documentation for 5 Year Update for details on update procedures.
Methodological Changes
Cropland pasture estimates declined by nearly 42 percent (25,845 acres) in the 10 years between 2002 and 2012. after exhibiting relative stability for more than 50 years. This decline is largely attributable to methodological changes in the collection of cropland pasture data in USDA, NASS' Census of Agriculture, the data source for the cropland pasture category. In USDA, NASS’ 2002 Census of Agriculture, respondents were asked to report the acreage of "Cropland used only for pasture or grazing (include rotation pasture and grazing land that could have been used for crops without additional improvements)." This was the second item in the land-use section of the census questionnaire, falling under the broad heading of "Cropland" and immediately following the question about harvested cropland. In 2007, the wording of the cropland-pasture question in the Census was identical to that used in 2002, but the question was moved from the second (of five) items in the Cropland section to the last (of three) items in the Pasture section. There is no way to definitively determine the extent of the effects of changes in the placement and wording of the cropland-pasture question on estimates of cropland pasture used here. However, it seems likely (given the relatively stable cropland pasture-acreage trend from 1949 to 2002) that these changes contributed to the large decrease between 2002 and 2007.
May 2006
The May 2006 update coincided with the publication of the report Major Uses of Land in the United States, 2002. All tables in the major land-uses data product, with the exception of summary table 3, were updated to 2002. See Documentation for 5 Year Update for details on update procedures.
Methodological Changes
Urban estimates before and after 2000 are not directly comparable, due to a change in the definition of urban areas in the 2000 Census of Population and Housing. The decrease in MLU "urban" acreage estimates between 1997 and 2002 should be viewed as a consequence of this definitional change, rather than reflecting a decline in acreage.