1

Conservation

Producers Protect or Improve Millions of Acres of Agricultural Land

United States Department of Agriculture

National Agricultural Statistics Service

www.agcensus.usda.gov

(800)727-9540

ACH12-6/July 2014

Highlights

In 2012, the Census of Agriculture for the first time asked whether producers 

applied specific practices to conserve the farmland or improve the productivity 

of their cropland. Such practices protect land from water and wind erosion, 

improve water quality, provide wildlife habitat, and reduce producers’ operating 

costs by reducing the number of trips over fields. Census questions focused 

on tillage and drainage practices, as well as farmers’ use of cover crops, 

conservation easements, and other practices.

278,290 farms. . . 

. . . used no till on 96.5 million 

acres in 2012.

Top States in No till

(millions of acres)

Kansas 10.4 

Nebraska 9.4 

North Dakota 7.8 

South Dakota 7.2 

Iowa 7.0

Montana 6.9 

Tillage Practices

Farmers applied tillage practices 

on 278.8 million acres in 2012, 

including no till on 96.5 million acres, 

conservation tillage on 76.6 million 

acres, and conventional tillage on 

105.7 million acres. 

Across the country, 278,290 farms 

used no till. In no-till farming, the 

farmer plants the crop directly into the 

vegetative cover or crop residue of 

the previous crop. Farms of all sizes 

reported having acreage they did 

not till, but more than half the no-till 

acres (54.4 million) were on farms that 

applied the practice on a thousand or 

more acres (Table 1). 

In addition, 195,738 farms used 

other conservation tillage practices 

(excluding no till) on 76.6 million 

acres. Conservation tillage includes 

some tillage, but leaves a minimum 

of 30 percent of the soil surface 

covered by the previous crop’s residue 

following the planting operation. 

Over half the acreage (41.6 million 

acres) was on farms that practiced 

conservation tillage on a thousand or 

more acres. 

Table 1

Conservation Tillage Practices, 2012 

(millions of acres and number of farms)

No Till Conservation Tillagea

Practice applied to: Acres

(millions)

No. of

Farms

Acres

(millions)

No. of

Farms

Less than 500 acres 24.1 227,612 19.0 152,652 

500 to 999 acres 18.0 25,968 15.9 22,741 

1,000 to 1,999 acres 21.0 15,386 18.5 13,529 

2,000 or more acres 33.3 9,324 23.2 6,816

Total 96.5 278,290 76.6 195,738 a

Excluding “no till.”

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture.
2 USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Cover Crops. Planting a cover crop increases the soil’s 

fertility, improves soil quality, reduces erosion, controls 

pests, and protects wildlife habitat. In 2012, operators of 

133,124 farms planted cover crops on 10.3 million acres; 

this does not include land in USDA’s Conservation Reserve 

Program. The states with the most acres planted to cover 

crops were Texas (911,061 acres), Indiana (596,062), 

Wisconsin (553,005), Pennsylvania (446,295), and 

Michigan (437,200). 

In addition, farmers reported protecting nearly 30 million 

acres by enrolling land in USDA’s Conservation Reserve, 

Wetlands Reserve, Farmable Wetlands, or Conservation 

Reserve Enhancement programs.

Other Conservation Measures

Conservation Easements. Farmland owners put their land 

into conservation easements to protect it from development 

and keep it permanently in agriculture. In 2012, such 

easements protected 13.2 million acres on 76,441 farms. 

States with the most acres under a conservation easement 

were Colorado (1.4 million acres), Montana (1.3 million), 

North Dakota (0.9 million), California (0.9 million), and 

Georgia (0.7 million).

Agroforestry Practices. The 2012 Census also asked 

farmers for the first time whether they engage in alley 

cropping or silvopasture. Alley cropping involves producing 

trees and other crops on the same acreage at the same 

time; the benefits include wind protection, plant diversity, 

and improved wildlife habitat. Silvopasture combines 

livestock, forage, and tree production on the same acreage; 

environmental benefits include protecting the soil from wind 

and water erosion, improving water quality, and increasing 

wildlife diversity. In 2012, the number of farms engaged in 

one or both of these practices was 2,725. 

Rotational Grazing. Rotational or management-intensive 

grazing divides larger pastures into smaller units to rest 

the pasture and improve forage. The practice improves 

plant health and soil quality. In 2012, across the country, 

288,719 farms practiced rotational grazing. The top states 

in number of farms were Texas, Missouri, Kentucky, 

Tennessee, and Oklahoma.

To learn more about farmers’ conservation 

practices, the 2012 Census of Agriculture, and how 

to access national, state, and county data, go to:

www.agcensus.usda.gov

Oilseed and grain farming accounted for 84 percent of the 

no-till acres and 81 percent of conservation tillage acres. 

Principal operators 

whose primary 

occupation is 

farming accounted 

for 90 percent of the 

no-till acreage and 

92 percent of acres 

with conservation 

tillage. 

In contrast, 405,692 farms used conventional tillage on 

105.7 million acres of cropland. Of these, close to half 

(192,482 farms) used conventional tillage on less than fifty 

acres and 26,381 farms used conventional tillage on a 

thousand or more acres.

Land Improvement Practices

In addition to tillage, the 2012 Census of Agriculture asked 

respondents about other practices that improve land productivity or conserve farmland. (Table 2)

Table 2

Land Improvement Practices, 2012

(millions of acres and number of farms)

Acres 

(millions)

No. of 

Farms

Tile drainage 48.6 217,931

Surface drainage 42.2 216,314

Cover crops 10.3 133,124

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture.

Tile and Surface Drainage. Producers install subsurface 

tiles and open ditches to drain excess water from fields and 

make the cropland more productive. At the end of 2012, the 

number of farms with tile drainage systems was 217,931; 

these systems benefited 48.6 million acres by improving 

the productivity of 

water-saturated 

soils, sometimes 

in conjunction with 

other conservation 

practices such 

as terracing. The 

216,314 farms 

with field ditches 

provided surface 

drainage for 42.2 

million acres.

Top States in Conservation Tillage 

(millions of acres)

Iowa 8.8 

Illinois 7.7 

North Dakota 6.2 

Minnesota 6.1

Kansas 6.1

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture.

Top States in Tile Drainage

(millions of acres)

Iowa 12.6

Illinois 8.9

Minnesota 6.5

Indiana 5.7

Ohio 5.0

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture.