Farms Under Threat: The State of the States
All estimates represent figures for the Conterminous U.S.
Total and Agricultural Land Cover/Use
Data Item | Acres |
Total land area in 2016 | 1,926,832,400 |
Agricultural land in 2016 | 941,206,400 |
Cropland in 2016 | 365,406,300 |
Pastureland in 2016 | 116,945,100 |
Rangeland in 2016 | 398,645,300 |
Woodland in 2016 | 60,209,600 |
Agricultural land in 2001 | 942,820,300 |
High-quality Agricultural Land
Data Item | Acres |
Nationally Significant agricultural land in 2016 | 357,549,600 |
Nationally Significant agricultural land in 2001 | 358,388,500 |
States’ best agricultural land in 2016 | 474,401,200 |
States’ best agricultural land in 2001 | 476,206,300 |
Nationally Significant agricultural land is the land best-suited to long-term, intensive crop production within the Conterminous United States; and each state’s “best land” is approximately the better half of all agricultural land in each state. These two categories overlap and the same land may be included in both. For more information about high-quality agricultural land and how they were identified, see the interactive website for Farms Under Threat: The State of the States, and the fact sheet about AFT’s Productivity, Versatility, and Resiliency (PVR) Analysis.
Agricultural Land Converted from 2001 – 2016
Data Item | Acres |
Agricultural land developed or compromised | 10,932,500 |
Agricultural land converted to urban and highly-developed land use (UHD) | 4,139,600 |
Agricultural land converted to low-density residential land use (LDR) | 6,792,800 |
Nationally Significant agricultural land developed or compromised | 4,400,000 |
Nationally Significant agricultural land converted to UHD | 1,575,600 |
Nationally Significant agricultural land converted to LDR | 2,824,400 |
States’ best agricultural land developed or compromised | 5,392,600 |
States’ best agricultural land converted to UHD | 2,113,700 |
States’ best agricultural land converted to LDR | 3,278,900 |
Learn More
- Read the full report Farms Under Threat: The State of the States
- Explore our maps, policy scorecard, and background data from Farms Under Threat: The State of the States on our interactive website, www.farmland.org/farmsunderthreat.