This puts greater demands on existing roads and increases the demand for more and better roads. The greater traffic also results in the burning of more fossil fuels, producing more air pollution. Rural residents also have added to the national trend of Americans consuming more land per person for a residence. Moreover, as land prices rise, farmers and foresters are more likely to sell their land for house lots. This in turn causes a greater fragmenting of the land base, making it more difficult for remaining farmers and foresters to assemble land to rent.
Rented land is especially important for commercial farming.
Nationwide, about 40 percent of farmland is rented. Newcomers to the countryside often have little understanding of the business of farming or forestry. Neighbors typically complain about farm odors, noise, dust, crop sprays, and slow moving farm machinery on local roads. Farmers point to crop theft, vandalism, trash dumping, and dogs and children trespassing and harassing livestock. In forested areas, the increase in residents bring a greater likelihood of fire.