Farms.com Home   News

Land In Active Crop Production Dips In 2015

The ERS Major Land Uses (MLU) data series provides a snapshot of land use across the United States. While much of the MLU series is updated roughly every 5 years, cropland used for crops, the category representing the acres of land in active crop production, is updated on an annual basis.

Cropland used for crops has three main components: cropland harvested (including acreage double-cropped), crop failure, and cultivated summer fallow. In 2015 (the most recent estimate), the total area of cropland used for crops in the United States was 335 million acres, down 6 million acres from the 2014 estimate and about 5 percent below the 30-year average. In 2015, cropland harvested declined by 1 percent (3 million acres) over the previous year.

The area that was double-cropped—land from which two or more crops were harvested—declined by 1 million acres, a 13-percent decline from the 2014 double-cropped area of 8 million acres. Acres on which crops failed declined by 30 percent over the past year to 7 million acres, the lowest level since 2010.

Land in active crop production dips in 2015

Source:usda.gov


Trending Video

Medicator Set up and Orientation

Video: Medicator Set up and Orientation

Join Ashley Englin, field specialist with the Iowa Pork Industry Center, as she discusses the importance of water medicators, as well as the two most common water medicators: the piston and the diaphragm. She talks through each process and how to set them up.