Agricultural Land Use

Agricultural land is land fit for producing crops and livestock. Land used for (a) cultivation of food products; fibers such as cotton, wool, and silk; and tobacco and medicinal plants and (b) livestock production, such as aquaculture, cattle and beef, dairy products, hogs and pork, and sheep, lamb, and mutton can be called agricultural land. Agriculture is the largest economic sector in the world, and it employs more than 30% of the world's population and is the economic backbone of many countries.

Cropland and pasture, vineyards, nurseries, orchards, horticultural areas, and groves are the general categories used in agricultural land use classifications. Land that is confined to feeding operations; breeding facilities in farms; and ditches, canals, and small farm ponds are also categorized under agricultural land use. Cropland and pasture, the most basic category of agricultural land use, include harvested lands, fallow lands, annual or seasonal croplands, and croplands used for improving soils and legumes. Land used for permanent crops such as fruit plantations and nuts and land used for cultivation of vines are classified as orchards, groves, and vineyards. Specialized livestock production facilities and large enterprises with confined feeding, poultry [Page 37]farms, and built-up or open facilities with a large animal population can be categorized under agricultural land with confined feeding operations. Horse farms and storage facilities cannot be included in this category. Breeding facilities, farm lanes, canals, small farm ponds, and horse farms cannot be classified under any of the above-specified categories and are termed as other agricultural lands. Arable land, land under permanent crops, and permanent pastures are the basic classifications used by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Distinguishing boundaries for agricultural land use is difficult in places where there is a mixture of land uses, such as wetlands. Cropland, grassland, pasture and range land, and forests account for 76% of land in the world, and land classified as agriculture constitutes more than 46% of land in the United States (Figure 1).

Agricultural land use often gets converted to other incompatible, nonagricultural land uses, such as residential, commercial, recreational, and industrial land uses, which can be broadly classified as urban land use. Understanding the factors driving agricultural land use conversions is critically important because policy initiatives need to be formulated to confront this dangerous trajectory.

Agricultural land value frequently determines agricultural land use and is often considered in calculating farm sector economic indicators. Because of its economic value as a source of crop production, as a habitat for wildlife, and as a source of open space, agricultural land plays a vital role in the agrarian economy. Socio-economic factors, policy reforms, demographic changes, technological developments, and urban growth are some of the major factors leading to agricultural land use conversion. Over the past few years, the majority of agricultural land has been converted to forest land, urban land, or built-up land. Conversion of agricultural land to forest land is attributed to reclassification and policy reforms. Net shifts between cropland and forest land are illustrated in Figure 2. Conversion of agricultural land to urban or built-up land is mostly due to urban sprawl and the higher values placed on land that is developed within suburban and peri-urban areas.

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