New Jersey Leads in Farmland Loss

February 21st, 2011 by Chris Sturm

New Jersey lost a greater share of its agricultural land to development than any state – more than 25 percent in the 25 years between 1982 and 2007–according to an analysis by the American Farmland Trust of the National Resources Inventory conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.  Topping the list at 26.8 percent, New Jersey was followed by Rhode Island (22.5 percent), Massachusetts (18.1 percent), Delaware (14.3 percent) and New Hampshire (13.2 percent).

Another startling finding of the study is that more than one out of every three acres of developed land in the United States was developed from 1982 – 2007.

The National Resources Inventory is the only comprehensive source of data on land development that allows state-to-state comparisons.  It documents natural resource conditions and trends based on samples of individual land segments.  Research conducted by John Hasse, Rowan University and Rick Lathrop, Rutgers University, describes more detailed land use trends in New Jersey based on aerial photography, which New Jersey Future reported on last July.

Posted in Demographics and Trends, Environment and Agriculture, Farming, Land Preservation, Smart Growth, Sprawl

Tags: Farmland, Open Space, Smart Growth

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One Response to “New Jersey Leads in Farmland Loss”

1. Tweets that mention New Jersey Leads in Farmland Loss « Garden State Smart Growth -- Topsy.com says:

   February 22, 2011 at 11:48 am

   […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Isaac Gilman and James Ribaudo, Streetsblog Network. Streetsblog Network said: NJ tops country in farmland loss–27% in 25 yrs http://bit.ly/h8GuqR via @NewJerseyFuture […]