The Midwest lost 1.06 percent of its farmland in the two decades ending in 2021; development accounted for half of the loss, said three Ohio State University analysts on Monday. “The role of large urban areas is paramount, as 81 percent of land lost to development in the eight states occurred within metropolitan statistical areas,” which are regions with a core city of at least 50,000 people and strong ties to their surrounding communities.
Based on the National Land Cover Database, there were 148.7 million acres of agricultural land in the Midwest in 2021, a decrease of 1.6 million acres since 2001, said the analysts, writing at the farmdoc daily blog. Some 55 percent of the lost agricultural land was converted into developed land, likely due to urbanization, infrastructure expansion, or other development activities. “Other agricultural land losses included conversion to forest, barren land, open water, and grassland,” said Ohio State analysts Mujahidul Islam, Ani Katchova, and Carl Zulauf.
“Conversion to development was most important in Iowa,” they said. “Development accounted for 90 percent of the loss of agricultural land in Iowa between 2001 and 2021.” But Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri had the smallest losses to development in terms of acreage. Illinois lost more land than any other Midwestern state: 155,653 acres.
“If a desire exists to reduce the loss of agricultural land to development, the expansion of large urban areas must be addressed,” said Islam, Katchova, and Zulauf.