Number of Acres in Farms Declines, Number of Farms Increases

According to the 2007 USDA Ag Census, the amount of land in farms declined from 938,279,056 to 922,095,840 acres, a decrease of more than 16 million acres. It bears noting that this decline occurred despite a 4% increase in the number of U.S. farms, according to the 2007 Ag Census. The American Farmland Trust issued a press release addressing the decline in farms (full report available here), a portion of which is excerpted below:

“Once again we see a nationwide decline in land in farms,” says Jon Scholl, President of American Farmland Trust (AFT). “While this does not automatically mean the land has been converted to developed uses, it does mean the agricultural land is no longer in production. This comes at a time when there is much discussion about the importance of agriculture and agricultural land in meeting some of the biggest food, fiber, energy, and ecosystem challenges our nation faces.”

"A decline of land in farms serves as a warning sign,” adds Bob Wagner, AFT’s senior director of farmland protection programs. “A decrease can urge communities and states to consider policies and programs that support the viability of agriculture. When farming is not economically sustainable, we know that farmers leave agriculture and are much more likely to sell their land.”

But the census numbers do not measure farmland conversion. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service formerly provided reliable farmland conversion data through the National Resources Inventory (NRI) at the national and state levels, but the agency has not had adequate resources to support this effort for several years. “AFT would like to see the NRI revived, and the development of state level tracking systems so communities can understand what’s happening to agricultural land, set farmland protection goals and measure their progress. The National Resources Inventory has withered on the vine,” says Wagner.