A new study recently released by The American Farmland Trust provides
a staggering look at the loss of the nation's farmland.
At an increasing rate of about 1.2 million acres per year, every
state in the nation is losing some of its prime farmland. In five
years, the U.S. lost 6 million acres of farmland. Sprawling development
and wasteful land use, not growth, is cited as the cause.
"From 1982-1997, the U.S. population grew by 17 percent, while
urbanized land grew by 47 percent," the study concluded.
Detailed maps of the nation and each state show areas of high-quality
farmland with a threat of development. The top 20 states with the
most farmland lost to development are ranked with about half of
the top 20 in the South. Two states bordering Florida are ranked
in the top 20. Georgia is ranked number three and Alabama is ranked
number ten.
The map depicts the areas with high-quality farmland coupled with
high development pressure in red and the areas with low development
pressure and high quality farmland are depicted in green. Much of
the state of Florida is red.
South and Central Florida, the panhandle, and the Jacksonville
area are experiencing the majority of the loss of farmland due to
development pressure. The North Central Florida region has managed
to maintain its agricultural land base, but growth is on its way.
According to the US Census Bureau, the rate of growth within one
year in Marion County outpaced the nation by two times and the state
as a whole.
To help curb this trend, the Conservation Trust for Florida is
working on a state level to protect working rural lands and natural
areas. CTF is currently helping protect the Orange Lake Overlook
in Marion County located just south of McIntosh. It is also collaborating
with a number of other organizations on the so-called O2O Corridor
-- Ocala National Forest, located in Marion County, to the Osceola
National Forest -- which will protect thousands of acres of working
rural lands as well as natural areas for wildlife.
In Alachua County, CTF submitted several parcels of land to the
Alachua County Forever Program. Over 11,000 acres of rural land
are being considered for acquisition as a result.
CTF works with landowners and state agencies to protect land with
voluntary or purchased conservation easements, planned gifts of
land, land purchases, and public acquisition. For more information
about the Conservation Trust for Florida: www.conserveflorida.org,
, 352-466-4581, P.O. Box 134, Micanopy,
FL 32667.
The American Farmland Trust is a nationwide organization that protects
agricultural land by purchasing easements and has helped to permanently
protect over a million acres of farmland. More information about
the AFT Farming on the Edge study is available on their website:
http://www.farmland.org/farmingontheedge/downloads.htm
PDF
and JPG
images are available to download as well.
