America’s farmland is not disappearing overnight, but it is facing growing pressure from development and changing ownership patterns.
A new analysis from the American Farm Bureau Federation says cropland, pastureland and rangeland have all declined since 1982, while developed land has grown by nearly 48 million acres — an area roughly the size of Nebraska.
But the issue for farmers and ranchers isn’t just how many acres remain. It’s who controls them, and whether those acres stay available for agriculture.
From 1982 to 2022:
- Cropland declined by 55.7 million acres, a 13% drop.
- Rangeland fell by 16.3 million acres.
- Pastureland declined by 5.7 million acres.
- Developed land increased by 47.6 million acres, or 66%.
That development includes housing, industrial sites, roads and other built uses. And it’s land that is far less likely to return to production agriculture.
However, the report says the U.S. is not facing a sudden farmland cliff. Many acres are simply shifting between agricultural uses, including cropland, pasture and conservation programs.
From 2017 to 2022, nearly all cropland stayed in production. Of the acres that changed use, the biggest movement was between cropland and pasture, not farmland disappearing into development.
The bigger concern may be land access.
In 2024, more than 2 million landowners rented out nearly 348 million acres for agricultural purposes. Nearly 80% of those acres were controlled by non-operating landlords who own farmland but do not actively farm it.
More than a third of those landlords are 75 or older, putting generational transition at the center of future land decisions.
The American Farm Bureau says fewer than 5% of owned farmland acres are expected to be sold or gifted in the next five years, but many acres will be affected by estate plans, trusts, wills and lease decisions.
For farmers, especially young and beginning producers, that means access to land may depend on decisions made by landlords, heirs and investors.
The report also highlights growing competition from housing development, energy projects and data centers, which may only affect small portions of the national land base but can dramatically reshape local farm economies.
Read the full report here.