Disappearing ag land

Disappearing ag land

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
New Report Shows Alarming Losses of U.S. Farmland

When I arrived in Boise about 15 years ago, the downtown was pretty small and when you headed out West toward Meridian, Eagle….Nampa, you pretty much ran into farmland. Today, you pretty much run into new homes, condos and rental units.

Its authors are calling it the most comprehensive study ever undertaken of the changes in agricultural land use here in the US. John Piotti, president of the American Farmland Trust, just out with a study called Farms Under Threat to 2040. The Threat The Alarming Loss of farmland to development. It says between 2001 and 2016, over 11 million acres of farmland were converted to other uses, which equates to 2000 acres lost every day. Piotti told a special agricultural webinar that if this keeps up at this pace. Speaker2: Another 18.4 million acres will be lost by 2040. Speaker1: But ag land, conversion may actually be speeding up. And so… our findings suggest the urgent need for a more thoughtful, equitable and sustainable path forward. Speaker1: Also on the webinar, Terry Cosby, who runs the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, said this new report will help inform one of his agency's missions to conserve and preserve farmland. Speaker2: Every acre is important. Every acre. Speaker1: Counts. This is Gary Crawford for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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