Here’s the bad news. According to the recently released National Resource Inventory, or NRI about 7.5 million U.S. acres were developed between 2002 and 2007. More than half of the land lost is “agricultural land” (cropland, CRP land, pastureland and rangeland)—land that is readily available for agricultural production. And roughly 30 percent of the land lost contained prime farmland—land best suited to produce food and other agricultural crops with the fewest inputs and the least amount of soil erosion.
What, you may ask, is the NRI?
The NRI is a statistically based survey of land use and natural resource conditions on non-federal lands in the U.S. The survey is conducted by the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) in cooperation with the Iowa State University statistical laboratory. Data include information about land cover and use, soil erosion, prime farmland, selected conservation practices, wildlife habitat and wetlands. While the results are not absolute numbers based on a complete survey, the NRI estimates are the best source for U.S. agricultural land conversion data.
NRI Findings:
2002 to 2007
- 7,491,300 acres of land converted to developed land
- 4,080,300 acres of agricultural land lost
- 2,288,100 acre decrease in prime farmland
1982 to 2007
- 41,324,800 acres of land converted to developed land
- 23,163,500 acres of agricultural land lost
- 13,773,400 acre decrease in prime farmland
Why NRI, not Census of Agriculture?
In the absence of NRI data—there hasn’t been a major release since 1999—it was tempting to use the Census of Agriculture to get a handle on agricultural land conversion. But the census only records net changes in “land in farms.” It doesn’t track what happened to land taken out of production or where additional acres came from. This means that decreases in “land in farms” from the 2007 Census of Agriculture don’t necessarily equate to farmland conversion.
So NRCS’ renewed commitment to major releases of NRI numbers—including state-level data—at five-year intervals is a good thing. Farmland protection advocates can use this data to help make the case for farmland protection, set goals, and track progress.
Accessing the Data
Click here to access the NRI data. The 2007 summary report contains background information about the NRI and a series of tables that portray selected national data. Tables 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 show national changes in land cover/use for six different reporting periods including the 25 year span of the NRI.
Read these tables horizontally to see how a land cover/use category was distributed at the end of the reporting period. Read vertically to determine where that land came from. To calculate net changes, subtract the total acres reported at the beginning of the reporting period (last column) from the total acres reported at the end of the reporting period (last row).
You can send comments, questions, or requests for additional data summaries to the NRI Help Desk (nri@wdc.usda.gov). If you need help accessing or interpreting the data related to changes in land cover/use, please contact the Farmland Information Center at (800) 370-4879.
About the Author: Jennifer Dempsey is the Director of the Farmland Information Center, a clearinghouse for information about farmland protection and stewardship. The FIC is a public/private partnership between the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and American Farmland Trust.
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Wonder if there is any direct connection to the loss of Staffing of Soil and Water Conservation Districts – especially in North Carolina?
SE TN, around the areas of Apison TN,Collegedale TN, SE Hamilton CO.Chattanooga Tn, SW Bradley Co TN, are threatened by sprawl of different kinds. We need a quiet environment to preserve a quiet undisturbed atmosphere. We need new laws,regulations,etc., designed to keep areas as back woods and rural in all areas in TN and in the Southern part of the US, as possible. NO more formal residential/business developments of any kind,businsesses,etc., should be alllowed. We need a Christian, Naturalist,farming Democrat, who will be a great leader in areas needed in our thrd Congressional district in TN representing us in DC! We also need at least one of our Senators to be a farming Christian naturalist,Democrat also as soon as possible. We need reps that will lead more people not fewer, to engage in more equine/agri/eco/history tourism in all areas possible. Thank you.
I’m sure that a Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim or Atheist Democratic naturalist candidate could do the job just as well.
you should see what they’ve done to AZ with their MASSIVE track homes and strip malls, and Medical empire! Most of the disgusting track homes are bank owned and strip malls for lease. They also turned it into some kind of “fake southwest cowboy roadside circus FREAK show” Not to mention the prisons for profit, and slave wages under the ” right to work law”. Don’t let them do to your state what they did here.
Thank you, J Duffy, for your comment. I am a practicing Buddhist who works for an amazing Jewish family who are leaders in land stewardship here in the Northern California area. I’m so tired of hearing the Christian rhetoric during my life (a reason I abandoned the religion of my childhood) — there are wonderful people, amazing, talented, enlightened and caring, who are NOT Christians and who are great leaders. I do not and will not choose a candidate based on the religion for which they CLAIM to be a part.
[...] The most recent National Resources Inventory indicates that we have lost more than 23 million acres of active agricultural land since 1982. [...]