Loss of Farmland

American Farmland Trust research has found that from 2001-2016, 11 million acres of agricultural land were paved over, fragmented, or converted to uses that jeopardize agriculture, with an additional loss of 18.4 million acres expected by 2040 without additional policy actions.

“We are in the midst of a huge generational transfer of agricultural land,” said Cris Coffin, AFT’s Senior Policy Advisor. “With as much as forty percent of farm and ranch land changing hands by 2035, the policy steps we take now will determine whether this vital national resource remains in agriculture or is forever lost to development.”