The loss of the American farmland is only increasing in speed
American farmland represents 10% of the worlds arable land; land that can be used for production of crops to feed the world. The United States has the most amount of productive farmland then any other nation. American Agriculture is a 1 Trillion dollar Industry in the US and will continue to grow as global cities grow and crop prices increase. In one of the most detailed articles written by American Farmland Trust, titled "Farms Under Threat: The State of the States" it details the loss of farmland and what can be done to correct the path. From 1992 - 2012 the US has lost 31 million acres of farmland. 11 million acres could be classified as some of the best farmland available. That's more acreage then 17 states and equivalent to the size of New York State. Its around 1.5 million acres a year.
Most of the farmland lost is sold to developers to help continue to grow cities and urban areas. A few situations are in which the Federal Government purchases or uses eminent domain to seize the land. In many small towns throughout the Midwest, there was large areas of land affect by the keystone pipeline. Farmers are forced to accept what onlookers would say are a few acres, but in reality represent their livelihood and their family legacy.
I have provided links to the Phenomenal publication about the loss of farmland, loss of land to the keystone pipeline, and loss of farmland to airport expansion.
Comments