Land Use in the US

Dana ConstantineLesleigh Dexter

Rick Howard

Major Land Uses

Grassland, pasture, and range • 31% of land use – 578 millions acres

• Decline since mid 60’s of 636 million acres

• Reasons for decline: – improved forage quality – Increased productivity– declining numbers of domestic animals

Major Land Uses

Forest land• 29% of land use in US

– 553 million acres allowed for timber production

– 65 million acres that prohibit timber production (i.e. wilderness areas, state and federal parks)

Major Land Uses

Cropland• 24% of land use – 455 million acres• Designated for crops, pasture and idled cropland• Lowest amount - 1964 with 444 million acres• 2 major peaks of

cropland:– 1949: 470 million acres– between 1978-1982

Major Land Uses

Special Uses• 11% of land use – 207 million acres• Includes:

– Urban areas– Rural transportation– Rural parks and wildlife– Defense and industrial uses– Farmstead/farm roads and lanes– Other misc. non-farm uses

• Increased 328% from 15 million acres in 1945 to 64 million acres in 1997

Major Land Uses

Miscellaneous other land uses• 6% of land use – 102 million acres

• Consists of:– marshes and swamps not included in other

land uses – bare rock areas, deserts– other uses not inventoried

• Decreased until 1964 but now increasing

Regional Changes in Land use

Cropland:• Increased in the Northern Plains, Mountain,

Corn Belt, Southern Plains and Pacific regions• Decreased in the Northeast, Appalachian,

Southeast, Delta and Lake States from:– Failing small farms– Increased urbanization – Increased taxes – Decreased profit margin

Regional Changes in Land use

Grassland:• Increased in the Southern Plains and

South East

• Decreased in all other areas

• Decreases due to:– reforestation of abandoned small farm– urbanization– concentration of the dairy industry– conversion to cropland

Regional Changes in Land use

Forest land:• Increased in the Northeast and

Appalachian regions– Due to reforestation of farmlands

• Decreased in the Pacific and Mountain regions– Due to conversion to recreation and wildlife

areas

Regional Changes in Land use

Special Uses Land:• Increased in all areas except the Northern

Plains– Due to recreational and wildlife use,

urbanization, and transportation

• National defense areas and miscellaneous farm uses decreased in all areas

Crop Land Usage• Crop land: idled crop land, crop land in pastures

and crop land in crops

Typical harvest: - 2-3% crop failure - 5-10% summer fallow

Corn, soybeans, wheat and hay account for 80% of harvested crops

Federal Programs for Idle Crop Land

• Acreage Reduction Program required participants in USDA commodity programs to idle a percentage of crop acreage– Eliminated in 1996 Farm Act

• Conservation Reserve Program:– current program has 30 million acres of idle

crop land

Federal Lands• 563 million acres of U.S. are federally owned• BLM manages 264 million acres• FS manages 192 million acres• Both BLM and FS manage land for:

– Grazing– Timber– Oil, gas, and minerals– Recreation– Conservation practices

• FWS and NPS manage the remainder for recreation and conservation

Use of Federal Lands

Conflicts can arise

when dealing with the management of federal lands

Multiple Use Sustained Yield Act -1960

- Federal land must be

managed for multiple use - Timber, grazing and mining

vs. conservation and recreation

Federal Restrictions on Public and Private Land Use

• Government Regulations: – Endangered Species Act – Clean Water Act

• Conservation Easements: – Wetlands Reserve Program – Federal Tax Codes

• Conservation Contracts: – Conservation Reserve Program

Urbanization• Land converted to urban use comes from

several different land uses• Conversion to urban use is mainly irreversible• Urbanization impacts many facets:

– food and fiber production– open spaces– rural lifestyles– local rural economies– unique farmlands– infrastructure costs– watershed protection

Urbanization• Most urban areas are surrounded by prime

farmland and expansion must occur on the surrounding land

• The main concern is that all prime farmland will be converted into urban use areas

Wetlands• Wetlands provide:

– Wildlife habitat– Storm-water storage– Groundwater recharge– Pollution control – Recreation

• 1780 – 221 million acres of wetlands• Currently - 124 million acres of wetlands

– 80% of wetlands lost were converted to agricultural lands.

– 90% of current wetlands are on non-federal rural lands

Protection of Wetlands

• Agriculture policies are increasingly emphasizing wetland conservation

• 1990 & 1996 Farm Acts: – Swampbuster– any conversion of wetlands means loss of

eligibility for all farm program benefits

• Wetlands Reserve Program– encourages wetland restoration with

payments and cost shares to farmers

Farm Land• Farm real estate is the main source for

collateral for farm loans

• In 2000, 54% of total farm sector debt was real estate debt

• Avg. farmland values have increased from $599/acre to $1,130/acre

Cash Rents• Cash rent:

– amount of cash paid by a tenant to a landowner for the use of a parcel of farmland

• Approximately 41% of farmland is operated under some form of lease

• To tenants, cash rents represent a major expense

• High value crops tend to bring high cash rents (ex. California, Midwest)

Land Tenure

Rental Advantages:

• Access to more land without capital

• Avoid risk of asset depreciation

• Flexibility of size and types of land use

Grazing Fees• Grazing fee:

– the use of pasture or rangeland where payments are based on “grazing units” instead of acres

• Grazing unit Animal Unit Month

– One cow or cow-calf pair OR seven goats/sheep

• Avg. $12.60 per AUM in 2000

• Fees have been rising over the last decade

Agricultural Real Estate Taxes

• Property taxes are a direct cost to landowners

• But when landowners rent farmland, those taxes are passed on to the tenant cost of production for all operators

Encouraging Farming

• All 50 states have laws on preferential land-use assessment

• These laws permit farmland devoted to farming be assessed based on it’s use as farmland– Extremely beneficial to farmland owners near

urban areas– Reward farms and ranches for providing open

space, habitat for wildlife, and environmental amenities

Determining Farmland Value• Intrinsic value to farmers• Recreational purposes

– Fee-hunting/fee-recreation– Wildlife viewing

• Interest rates– Higher interest rates lower land values (mid to late

1970s)– Lower interest rates higher land values (1981-

1985)

Determining Farmland Value• Conversion of farmland to non-farm uses

– Biggest influence on farmland values – Non-farm influence – 25% of the market value of US

farmland– Happens near urban area

• Government policies– Federal commodity support programs– Farm credit programs– Habitat protection laws – Environmental regulations– Infrastructure development (roads, dams)

Non-market Public Goods of Farmland

• Farmland provides non-monetary benefits– “rural amenities” like recreation, aesthetic

enjoyment– Areas high in amenities grow much quicker

than other areas

• Amenities can’t be bought or sold– Need social actions (i.e. legislation) to offset

the market’s inability to account for these valued non-market goods

Non-market Public Goods of Farmland

• State and local land use policies – primary means of preserving “rural amenities”– Encourage the retention of private land as

undeveloped or “open space” land

• Federal role is limited but expanding– Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform Act

(FAIR) protects prime/unique farmland from non-agricultural uses

– Farmland Protection Program (FPP) matches funds from state and local farmland protection programs

U.S. Land Ownership & Farm Structure

U.S. Land Ownership

60%

29%

9% 2%

Owned Privately Owned by Fed. Gov.

Owned by State & Local Gov. Owned by Indian Reservations

Privately Owned Land

Farm Numbers:

• Maximum: 7 Million – 1935

• Major decline between 1940 – 1960

• Numbers of farms decreased but the amount of farmland did not

Farm Types:According to USDA’s

Economic Research Service (ERS)

Small Family- limited resource- retirement- residential / lifestyle- farming occupation – low sales- farming occupation – high sales

Large Family

Very Large Family

Non-Family

• Farming occupation – High sales small farms, large family farms, and very large family farms• 75% of WRP & CRP commodity payments

• Farming occupation – Low sales small farms, residential / lifestyle, and retirement farms • 25% of WRP & CRP commodity payments

Distribution of Conservation Program Payments

Retirement

Residential / lifestyle

Farm-occup. – low sales

Non-family

50% grazing land

25 – 33% cropland

Large

Very Large50 – 60% cropland

30 – 40% grazing land

Land Use

Three Keys to the Tenure / Conservation Relationship

• Tenure’s impact depends on timing & magnitude of costs/returns from the conservation practice under study

• Different lease arrangements influence renters’ conservation decisions

• Land characteristics vary between land operated by renters and owners

Concentration of Production• Concentration of Production = more livestock on

fewer farms• 1997 – 50% of farm sales came from 2% of U.S.

farms & only 15% of the land• Higher concentrations raise environmental

concerns:– Large livestock farms– Land absorption ability – 23% nitrogen and

phosphorous – Overgrazing

Are there any questions?