Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
which their food was grown and the environ-
mental footprint of different food products. Yet,
the economic viability of farming and ranching
is also a crucial component of sustainability -
without farms and ranches society loses significant
benefits in the form of agricultural production,
ecosystem service provisions and jobs.
The loss of farm and ranchland to deve-
lopment is a major threat to all aspects of sustain-
able agriculture. Between 1982 and 2007 more
than 23 million acres of agricultural land were
developed - an area the size of Indiana (American
Farmland Trust, 2011). Total US pastureland
decreased by more than 9% in the same time
frame, while rangeland decreased by more than
2% (USDA, 2009a) (Fig. 13.4). Farm loss itself was
even more significant - in just the 5 years between
2002 and 2007, the total number of cattle farms/
ranches decreased by 5% (USDA, 2008a) while the
total number of dairy farms dropped by 21% in the
USA. Unfortunately, in this same period, total pro-
duction expenses increased by 35% in dairy and
30% in cattle ranching. Two states with significant
contributions to the animal agriculture sector -
Texas and California - lost the most amount of
agricultural land during this period, respectively
losing 2.9 million and 1.7 million acres (American
Farmland Trust, 2011). In 2007 Texas accounted
for the greatest total value of US sales for cattle and
calves while California accounted for the greatest
amount of dairy (USDA 2008a, b). As the cost of
farming and ranching has increased, this has had
a direct impact on the decreasing amount of farm,
pasture and rangeland.
As agricultural land continues to disappear
farmers and ranchers face increasing costs and
continue to receive a smaller proportion of the
total money consumers spend on purchasing
food. The farm share is a term used to describe
the amount of every dollar spent on food that is
actually received by farmers. Since the USDA
began measuring farm share in 1993, farmers
and ranchers have consistently seen their
farm share decrease. In 1993, farmers received
18.4 cents for every US$1 spent on food in the
USA. In 2008, this number had dropped to
only 15.8 cents for every dollar. The greater
than 80% left of the food dollar goes to the mar-
keting share, which is the amount of money
given to food supply chain industries involved in
post-farm activities like processing, transporta-
tion and marketing. While the loss of agricultural
Total change in US pastureland
1982-2007
135,000
130,000
125,000
120,000
115,000
110,000
1982 1987 1992
Year
1997 2002 2007
Total change in US rangeland
1982-2007
420,000
415,000
410,000
405,000
400,000
1982 1987 1992 1997 2002 2007
Year
Fig. 13.4.
Loss of pasture and rangeland in the
USA between 1982 and 2007. While recent years
have shown a slight increase in total pasture and
rangelands, overall there is a net loss. The loss
of agricultural land is a direct threat to the
sustainability of agriculture and food production.
Source: National Resources Inventory, USDA
NRCS and Iowa State University, 2009.
land can be attributed to many issues beyond
simply economic terms, rising costs in animal
production along with the decreasing share of
the average food dollar spent for farmers and
ranchers is certainly one important aspect (USDA
ERS, 2011b).
Combating agricultural land loss with
conservation easements
Fortunately, there has been an effort to combat
the loss of agricultural land in recent years.
