Farmland and agriculture
Farmland and agriculture encompass the use of land for the cultivation of crops and livestock, a crucial component for food production and economic stability worldwide. The distribution of arable land varies significantly across regions, influenced by environmental conditions such as soil fertility, moisture availability, temperature, and sunlight. While approximately 64 percent of the Earth's land has suitable topography, only about 7 percent possesses the ideal combination of factors necessary for crop production without advanced technology. In the United States, for instance, 45 percent of land is used for agriculture, with 20 percent dedicated to cropland, while other countries like Canada and Brazil also contribute significantly to global agricultural output.
However, farmland faces numerous challenges, including urbanization, soil erosion, and climate change, which threaten its sustainability and productivity. In developed and developing nations, the degradation of farmland due to development and poor agricultural practices has become a pressing concern, potentially leading to food shortages. As such, preserving and improving the condition of farmland is critical for maintaining food security in an increasingly populated world. Understanding these dynamics is essential for anyone interested in the future of agriculture and food systems globally.
Farmland and agriculture
Agricultural soil able to produce sufficient food and fiber to feed and clothe the growing human population is one of the world’s most important natural resources.
Background
Land suitable for agriculture is not evenly distributed throughout the world; it tends to be concentrated in limited areas. In order to be considered arable, land must be located in an area with the right combination of environmental conditions. First, the land must be located at the proper elevation and slope. Because the soil supplies all the nutrients required for plant growth, it must also have the appropriate fertility, texture, and pH level. Approximately 64 percent of the world’s land has the proper topography, and about 46 percent has satisfactory soil fertility.
Plants require large amounts of water for photosynthesis and access to soil nutrients; therefore, farmland must have an adequate supply of moisture, either as rainfall or as irrigation water. About 46 percent of the world’s land has adequate and reliable rainfall. Because plant growth is dramatically affected by temperature, farmland must be located in areas with growing seasons sufficiently long to sustain the crop from planting to harvest. Approximately 83 percent of the world’s land has favorable temperatures. Plants also require sufficient sunlight and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels to support the photosynthetic process necessary for growth and development. Virtually all the world’s land has adequate sunlight and sufficient carbon dioxide to support plant growth. Crop production requires the right combination of all these factors, but only about 7 percent of the world’s land has the proper combination of these factors to make the production of crops feasible without additional technological advances.
Farmland in the United States
With its temperate climate, the United States devotes considerably more of its land area to agriculture than do many other countries. In 2022, bout 45 percent of the land in the United States is utilized for various forms of agriculture; however, not all this land is devoted to crop production. Only about 20 percent of the land is actual cropland. Approximately 4 percent is devoted to woodlands, and the other 21 percent is used for other purposes, such as pastures and grasslands. Of the farmland devoted to crop production, only 14 percent is used at any given time to produce harvestable crops. Approximately 21 percent of this harvested cropland is used to produce food grains for human consumption. Another 31 percent is used to grow feed grains for feeding livestock, and the remaining 48 percent of harvested cropland is devoted to the production of soybeans, oil, seed, fiber, and miscellaneous crops.
Seven major agricultural regions exist in the United States. The dairy region is located in the North Atlantic states and extends westward past the Great Lakes and along the Pacific coast. The wheat belt is centered in the central and northern Great Plains and in the Columbia basin of the Northwest. The general and self-sufficient regions primarily made up of small, family-owned farms are found mostly in the eastern highlands region, which includes the Appalachian Mountains—a few hundred kilometers inland from the Atlantic Coast—and the Ozark-Ouachita mountains west of the Mississippi River. The corn and livestock belt is found throughout the midwestern states. The range-livestock region of the western United States stretches in a band from 800 to 1,600 kilometers wide and extends from the Canadian border to Mexico. The western specialty-crops area is primarily composed of irrigated land in seventeen western states and produces the vast majority of the nation’s vegetable crops. The cotton belt, located in the southern states (most notably Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi), contains more counties with more farmers than any other region. While this area has been known historically for its cotton production, many other goods—including tobacco, peanuts, truck crops, livestock, and poultry—are also produced in the South. In addition to these major regions, smaller farming areas are located throughout the country. Tobacco is produced in localities throughout Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, and North and South Carolina. Apples and other fruits are grown in a variety of places, including the Middle Atlantic seaboard, around the Great Lakes, and in the Pacific Northwest. Potatoes are produced in Maine, Minnesota, Idaho, North Dakota, and California. Citrus is grown in southern Texas, Florida, and California. Sugarcane is grown in southern Louisiana and Florida.
Canada
In addition to the rich farmland of the United States, good farmland exists in neighboring Canada. Although the arable land percentage in Canada is only 4.57, that amount is sufficient to produce large yields of wheat, barley, oilseeds (including flax and sunflower), tobacco, fruits, and vegetables. Canada is also a large producer of dairy products from its many dairy farms and seafood products from both Atlantic and Pacific fisheries.
Eurasia
On the Eurasian continent, important farmland regions are found in the Ukraine, Russia, China, and India. Ukraine has one of the largest areas of arable land in the world, with 53.8 percent of its land total considered suitable for farming. However, only 1.5 percent of the country’s production is in permanent crops, a possible indication that more farming might occur in the country if economic conditions are more stable. Ukraine is a large producer of sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables, beef, and milk. In 2023, it was estimated that roughly 7.5 percent of Ukraine's total cropland was abandoned due to its war with its neighbor, Russia.
Russia, which has long been considered one of the world’s “breadbaskets,” grows the same crops as Ukraine, but on only 7.17 percent of its area. Some of Russia’s farmland has been lost to development and as well as rendered unsafe by excess and improper uses of agricultural pesticides.
In 2023, China owed more than 15 percent of its gross domestic product to agricultural production and is a leading producer of rice, wheat, potatoes, corn, peanuts, and tea. Millet, barley, apples, cotton, and oilseeds are produced in China in smaller amounts but are nevertheless important to the country’s economy. China has only 2 percent of its land in permanent crops as of 2022. However, China is facing a very serious problem in that at least one-fifth of its agricultural land has been lost since the 1950s, primarily because of soil and economic development. China has therefore passed laws that exact severe penalties for the conversion of farmland to any type of development in an attempt to conserve remaining agricultural lands.
India, like Ukraine, has one of the highest proportions of arable land in the world, with 60 percent of usable farmland in the country as of 2022. Rice, wheat, oilseeds, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes, and livestock are produced on 2.8 percent of land devoted to permanent agricultural use. A rapidly growing population and severe water pollution are two problems detrimental to farming in India.
South America
Brazil is the third largest agricultural producer in the world behind the United States and the European Union. On approximately 26.67 percent of its total land area in 2022, Brazil is number one in the world in exports of coffee, frozen orange juice, and sugar. It is also a major producer of soybeans, tobacco, beef, and poultry. Brazil’s problems with habitat fragmentation, water pollution, and non-farm development plague this important South American nation in terms of its ability to continue to be a major agricultural producer.
Argentina is another important producer of crops in South America. It produces soybeans and cereal grains, including corn and wheat. The country has been a major producer of beef for many years. Cereal crops and cattle are produced on about 43.43 percent of the country’s land area.
Farmland Degradation
All of the developed and developing countries around the world are encountering many of the same problems involving the loss or degradation of farmland. Within developed countries the most serious problems are outright destruction of farmland by development. Urban, suburban, and residential developments destroy thousands of hectares of farmland daily, and unless governments act to preserve farmland within their countries, it is unlikely that agricultural production will be able to keep pace with the exploding world population.
In the United States, both the amount of land devoted to farming and the number of farmers began decreasing after 1965. The amount of good farmland worldwide has also decreased. Most of this decrease is attributed to a combination of urbanization and poor agricultural methods that have led to loss of topsoil through water and wind erosion. Historically, large tracts of farmland have been located near major metropolitan areas. In recent times, these urban centers have grown outward into large suburban areas, and this sprawl has consumed vast areas of farmland. Erosion destroys thousands of hectares of farmland every year, and desertification—the conversion of productive rangeland, rain-fed cropland, or irrigated cropland into desertlike land with a resulting drop in agricultural productivity—has reduced productivity on more than 80 million hectares since the 1960s. In many cases, the desertified land is no longer useful as farmland. Because most of the world’s available farmland is now in production, steps must be taken to preserve this valuable resource, or the world could suffer mass food shortages in the future.
Degradation of world farmland is occurring at a rapid pace. Desertification of formerly fertile areas is taking place on every continent that has farmland. Water pollution, from both industrialized areas and agricultural runoff, is a serious concern in most countries. In addition to water pollution, the loss of water available for irrigation is affecting many farming areas. Global change is altering rainfall patterns throughout the world, with some areas receiving too much rainfall and others too little. Throughout many parts of the United States, for instance, the has fallen drastically, as too much water has been withdrawn for both urban and agricultural uses. Governments, whether national or local, must continue to search for reasonable ways to balance water use among competing interests in order for agricultural production to continue. During the 2020s, scientists estimated that these problems would continue to worsen due to global climate change.
Bibliography
Acquaah, George. Principles of Crop Production: Theory, Techniques, and Technology. 2d ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005.
Beattie, Bruce R. “The Disappearance of Agricultural Land: Fact or Fiction?” In Agriculture and the Environment: Searching for Greener Pastures, edited by Terry L. Anderson and Bruce Yandle. Stanford, Calif.: Hoover Institution Press, 2001.
Caldwell, Wayne, Stew Hilts, and Bronwynne Wilton, eds. Farmland Preservation: Land for Future Generations. Guelph, Ont.: Ontario Farmland Trust, 2007.
Daniels, Tom, and Deborah Bowers. Holding Our Ground: Protecting America’s Farms and Farmland. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 1997.
Fish, Robert, et al. Sustainable Farmland Management: New Transdisciplinary Approaches. Cambridge, Mass.: CABI, 2008.
Ho, Peter. Institutions in Transition: Land Ownership, Property Rights, and Social Conflict in China. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Johnston, Robert J., and Stephen K. Swallow. Economics and Contemporary Land Use Policy: Development and Conservation at the Rural-Urban Fringe. Washington, D.C.: Resources for the Future, 2006.
Kipps, M. S. Production of Field Crops: A Textbook of Agronomy. 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1970.
Metcalfe, Darrel S., and Donald M. Elkins. Crop Production: Principles and Practices. 4th ed. New York: Macmillan, 1980.
Millington, Andrew, and Wendy Jepson, eds. Land Change Science in the Tropics: Changing Agricultural Landscapes. New York: Springer, 2008.
Olson, Richard K., and Thomas A. Lyson, eds. Under the Blade: The Conversion of Agricultural Landscapes. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1999.
"United States - Agricultural Land." Trading Economics, 2024, tradingeconomics.com/united-states/agricultural-land-percent-of-land-area-wb-data.html#. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.