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 33. Prime Farmland, by Land Use, by Farm Production Region and Year, in Thousands of Acres, with Margins of Error
Region
Year
Cropland
Pastureland
Rangeland
Forest Land
All Other
Total
Appalachian
1982
12,685.7 ±257.3
4,253.4 ±165.3
0.0 --
7,229.8 ±248.3
490.2 ±31.9
24,659.1 ±352.3
1987
11,962.7 ±275.1
4,402.5 ±186.6
0.0 --
7,244.5 ±240.4
694.1 ±38.2
24,303.8 ±340.6
1992
11,220.7 ±275.3
4,399.4 ±168.4
0.0 --
7,175.3 ±237.6
1,084.1 ±68.5
23,879.5 ±325.8
1997
10,895.9 ±241.2
4,281.6 ±154.7
0.0 --
7,136.7 ±227.5
1,037.1 ±68.9
23,351.3 ±317.7
2002
10,670.5 ±341.3
4,191.0 ±230.0
0.0 --
7,103.6 ±276.2
929.7 ±79.4
22,894.8 ±379.9
2007
10,092.2 ±360.9
4,439.7 ±270.7
0.0 --
7,105.7 ±292.9
980.8 ±164.9
22,618.4 ±384.3
Corn Belt
1982
66,295.4 ±500.3
7,244.7 ±243.7
63.2 ±28.8
4,369.4 ±160.1
1,634.1 ±48.4
79,606.8 ±541.2
1987
65,907.6 ±494.1
6,624.0 ±231.2
36.0 ±25.1
4,449.2 ±158.4
2,233.2 ±83.8
79,250.0 ±535.1
1992
64,420.6 ±488.8
6,461.5 ±248.1
36.0 ±25.1
4,504.9 ±162.0
3,473.0 ±132.8
78,896.0 ±537.1
1997
64,364.0 ±480.5
5,899.8 ±238.1
35.5 ±25.5
4,610.1 ±157.0
3,328.7 ±119.1
78,238.1 ±534.6
2002
63,963.9 ±531.9
6,097.9 ±287.4
35.5 ±70.9
4,759.1 ±233.6
2,922.9 ±122.1
77,779.3 ±566.1
2007
63,403.9 ±634.1
6,214.3 ±365.8
40.9 ±152.4
4,811.1 ±276.2
2,912.9 ±246.3
77,383.1 ±607.3
Delta States
1982
17,500.3 ±569.0
5,557.2 ±244.5
21.1 ±21.5
12,749.6 ±364.7
356.6 ±68.1
36,184.8 ±650.0
1987
16,806.1 ±549.6
5,661.2 ±223.1
22.0 ±21.5
12,768.2 ±396.9
655.6 ±67.9
35,913.1 ±662.2
1992
15,925.7 ±537.2
5,745.5 ±232.4
23.2 ±39.6
12,918.4 ±368.1
1,062.8 ±87.4
35,675.6 ±658.5
1997
15,354.7 ±523.6
5,677.9 ±237.6
26.8 ±38.9
13,195.7 ±337.2
1,129.7 ±82.8
35,384.8 ±645.5
2002
14,814.5 ±572.3
5,401.4 ±365.5
26.6 ±66.8
13,641.0 ±479.8
1,200.9 ±88.7
35,084.4 ±640.7
2007
14,401.4 ±607.7
5,369.6 ±420.7
26.4 ±26.7
13,793.7 ±456.4
1,243.5 ±143.5
34,834.6 ±570.7
Lake States
1982
28,067.6 ±619.6
2,693.2 ±190.8
0.0 --
6,053.4 ±329.1
1,027.0 ±49.4
37,841.2 ±751.8
1987
27,647.5 ±621.6
2,514.7 ±202.1
0.0 --
6,018.7 ±334.0
1,475.8 ±74.6
37,656.7 ±749.8
1992
26,967.5 ±584.0
2,330.4 ±187.8
0.0 --
6,026.0 ±330.4
2,140.7 ±107.7
37,464.6 ±753.6
1997
26,538.7 ±603.8
2,377.1 ±194.0
0.0 --
6,129.5 ±314.3
2,125.8 ±116.9
37,171.1 ±746.1
2002
26,088.0 ±586.0
2,649.4 ±340.4
0.0 --
6,250.6 ±344.4
1,981.2 ±103.4
36,969.2 ±824.1
2007
25,595.4 ±725.9
2,960.0 ±489.3
0.0 --
6,257.1 ±420.9
1,982.4 ±243.9
36,794.9 ±837.9
Mountain
1982
8,069.7 ±416.6
634.6 ±93.4
81.5 ±30.3
27.3 ±30.2
39.5 ±9.9
8,852.6 ±409.4
1987
7,875.9 ±387.6
628.7 ±85.1
73.5 ±30.5
28.6 ±30.2
107.5 ±28.6
8,714.2 ±387.2
1992
7,628.3 ±338.8
636.3 ±93.5
76.1 ±29.6
29.8 ±30.2
162.6 ±48.8
8,533.1 ±343.7
1997
7,464.7 ±323.2
621.1 ±88.9
82.5 ±29.5
29.4 ±30.2
164.7 ±48.2
8,362.4 ±334.9
2002
7,034.2 ±426.3
616.3 ±147.8
93.2 ±18.7
28.3 ±17.3
253.8 ±58.4
8,025.8 ±384.3
2007
6,816.3 ±502.3
606.2 ±149.1
152.0 ±100.2
28.2 ±4.2
267.6 ±102.1
7,870.3 ±451.4
Northeast
1982
7,007.7 ±192.2
1,752.7 ±112.6
0.0 --
4,588.3 ±215.1
337.0 ±47.5
13,685.7 ±286.8
1987
6,918.2 ±192.8
1,541.6 ±92.2
0.0 --
4,596.8 ±206.1
399.4 ±49.4
13,456.0 ±284.4
1992
6,698.0 ±197.4
1,430.3 ±84.5
0.0 --
4,617.5 ±195.9
461.1 ±62.6
13,206.9 ±284.1
1997
6,470.1 ±190.5
1,201.1 ±93.7
0.0 --
4,649.8 ±234.9
425.3 ±45.9
12,746.3 ±277.2
2002
6,113.3 ±202.1
1,300.9 ±121.6
0.0 --
4,572.5 ±271.0
459.7 ±50.6
12,446.4 ±336.1
2007
5,843.0 ±273.5
1,384.0 ±159.1
0.0 --
4,536.0 ±280.0
496.7 ±67.4
12,259.7 ±381.2
Northern Plains
1982
44,287.6 ±740.5
2,129.8 ±138.4
6,142.2 ±231.2
672.7 ±74.7
1,189.9 ±77.4
54,422.2 ±711.1
1987
44,224.5 ±692.4
1,990.8 ±126.1
5,882.1 ±213.7
672.3 ±75.3
1,625.2 ±97.2
54,394.9 ±712.8
1992
42,570.5 ±715.2
2,067.0 ±147.4
5,663.8 ±209.9
687.3 ±73.9
3,229.8 ±132.7
54,218.4 ±710.6
1997
42,625.5 ±719.3
1,999.5 ±135.9
5,619.4 ±210.3
692.1 ±75.6
3,216.4 ±148.3
54,152.9 ±714.2
2002
42,120.3 ±740.7
2,073.8 ±217.6
5,739.6 ±329.1
701.9 ±88.9
3,447.6 ±227.7
54,083.2 ±667.2
2007
41,676.9 ±999.8
2,265.6 ±340.9
5,683.8 ±443.0
697.2 ±125.4
3,648.0 ±391.3
53,971.5 ±831.6
Pacific
1982
9,466.4 ±490.1
1,221.5 ±134.6
413.8 ±126.9
779.6 ±115.9
180.1 ±21.5
12,061.4 ±553.2
1987
9,236.0 ±513.5
1,217.4 ±134.1
404.9 ±121.0
787.3 ±113.3
336.1 ±57.7
11,981.7 ±576.3
1992
8,795.2 ±529.6
1,198.1 ±96.4
406.5 ±119.8
769.1 ±115.7
440.4 ±73.7
11,609.3 ±596.9
1997
8,597.7 ±528.3
1,142.6 ±122.5
408.2 ±120.4
749.5 ±114.0
460.5 ±68.4
11,358.5 ±603.7
2002
8,337.0 ±726.2
976.8 ±103.2
469.3 ±117.0
766.4 ±165.4
574.5 ±122.4
11,124.0 ±730.2
2007
8,374.8 ±660.2
923.5 ±145.1
467.2 ±201.9
767.4 ±260.1
573.7 ±152.5
11,106.6 ±679.7
Southeast
1982
8,858.6 ±228.7
2,893.4 ±152.8
2.2 ±4.4
7,772.3 ±203.7
379.6 ±37.5
19,906.1 ±318.8
1987
8,063.9 ±201.8
2,914.1 ±156.1
2.2 ±4.4
7,961.9 ±194.1
774.7 ±82.2
19,716.8 ±312.5
1992
6,940.5 ±224.8
3,123.5 ±169.8
2.2 ±4.4
8,083.6 ±194.1
1,322.0 ±93.1
19,471.8 ±303.5
1997
6,312.1 ±203.9
3,023.7 ±152.9
2.2 ±4.4
8,399.6 ±199.9
1,304.5 ±111.6
19,042.1 ±297.0
2002
5,799.1 ±245.5
2,961.1 ±230.5
2.0 ±2.0
8,934.9 ±506.9
980.4 ±177.7
18,677.5 ±433.3
2007
5,230.5 ±358.7
3,114.3 ±298.5
2.0 ±2.0
9,109.4 ±626.8
965.4 ±205.6
18,421.6 ±502.6
Southern Plains
1982
27,138.8 ±615.3
8,633.5 ±374.2
13,310.4 ±462.8
2,629.0 ±151.1
500.6 ±30.2
52,212.3 ±810.7
1987
25,996.5 ±618.3
9,000.9 ±376.6
12,914.8 ±489.3
2,757.6 ±158.0
1,280.8 ±112.1
51,950.6 ±820.5
1992
24,159.4 ±606.0
9,240.6 ±377.4
12,736.0 ±492.9
2,842.9 ±166.0
2,726.8 ±172.2
51,705.7 ±814.0
1997
23,293.8 ±642.6
9,228.2 ±388.0
13,156.4 ±481.6
3,072.1 ±197.4
2,591.2 ±183.8
51,341.7 ±809.3
2002
22,227.4 ±659.5
9,599.0 ±500.1
13,368.0 ±644.9
3,096.8 ±298.0
2,571.1 ±322.7
50,862.3 ±916.4
2007
20,991.2 ±866.7
9,960.2 ±566.2
13,754.4 ±918.7
3,064.7 ±391.8
2,627.6 ±388.1
50,398.1 ±909.5
Notes:
• Cropland includes cultivated and non-cultivated cropland.
• All Other includes other rural land and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land. CRP was not implemented until 1985.
• When the estimate is 0.0, margins of error are not applicable and shown as a dashed line (--).
• Instances where the margin of error is greater than or equal to the estimate are displayed in italics indicating that the confidence interval includes zero and that the estimate should not be used.
