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University of Illinois Studies Farmland Decline

The University of Illinois studied the loss of U.S. farmland, dividing the country into nine regions. Farmdoc says land in farms declined in all nine regions and was led by pastureland. The decline in pastureland was likely facilitated by a growth in livestock confinement operations.

Planted cropland declined in all regions except the Northern Plains and the Mid-South regions. Because acres differ notably between regions, Farmdoc took a look at percent changes. Between 1997 and 2022, the percent decline was smallest in the Northern Plains (-4 percent) and highest in the Pacific region (-14 percent). Double-digit declines also occurred in the Rocky Mountains, Mid-South, Mid-Atlantic, and the Northeast.

Pastureland had the largest declines in all regions except the Southern Plains, where planted cropland had a slightly bigger drop (-7 to -6 percent). The drop in pastureland was especially pronounced at 30 percent or more in states east of the Mississippi River.

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