Group claims ag land losses larger than reported

The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit group American Farmland Trust released a report on May 9 claiming that the loss of ag land—farm and ranch land—has been larger than previously reported. The report, “Farms Under Threat: The State of America’s Farmland,” found that almost 31 million acres of ag land was lost between 1992-2012, and roughly a third of those lost acres were 1.3 times more productive than the average U.S. ag land. Most of the losses came from some form of development, either by expanding urban areas or the creation of low-density residential “ranchettes” on plots of 1 to 20 acres. “Action is needed now because lost farmland is irretrievable,” said the group’s President and CEO, John Piotti, in announcing the report. “Farmers are aging, and the land they steward must be passed on to the next generation. If the trends of the last two decades continue over the next two decades, America will face a future with too few farms.” — WLJ