Cultivated and Non-Cultivated Cropland, by Region and Year
Estimates presented here are based upon the latest information from the National Resources Inventory (NRI). The NRI is a longitudinal sample survey based upon scientific statistical principles and procedures. It is conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), in cooperation with Iowa State University’s Center for Survey Statistics and Methodology. These results are based upon the 2007 NRI, which provides nationally consistent data for the 25-year period 1982–2007. Estimates here cover the contiguous 48 states. Separate estimates include Hawaii, Alaska, and the Caribbean.
Margins of error are reported for each NRI estimate and must be considered at all scales of analysis. The margin of error is used to construct the 95 percent confidence interval for the estimate. The lower bound of the interval is obtained by subtracting the margin of error from the estimate; the upper bound is obtained by adding the margin of error to the estimate. A 95 percent confidence interval means that in repeated samples from the same population, 95 percent of the time the true underlying population parameter will be contained within the lower and upper bounds of the interval.
Table 26. Cultivated and Non-Cultivated Cropland, by Farm Production Region and Year, in Thousands of Acres, with Margins of Error
