The first column shows the top ten in terms of average annual loss of prime farmland acreage to development between 1992 and 1997. The second column shows the top ten in terms of the percentage of total developed land in 1997 that was prime farmland in 1992.
Developed land includes urban and built-up areas and rural transporation land.
NRI maps reflect national patterns rather than site- specific information. Land that has the best combination of physical and chemical characteristics for producing food, feed, forage, fiber, and oilseed crops and is also available for these uses. It has the soil quality, growing season, and moisture supply needed to produce economically sustained high yields of crops when treated and managed according to acceptable farming methods, including water management. In general, prime farmlands have an adequate and dependable water supply from precipitation or irrigation, a favorable temperature and growing season, acceptable acidity or alkalinity, acceptable salt and sodium content, and few or no rocks. They are permeable to water and air.