Has development occurred at the expense of Indiana's prime farmland?

• Author: Hall, Tanya J.

From 1950 to 2007, the proportion of Indiana acreage devoted to farmland has decreased 24 percent (from 84.8 percent to 64.4 percent); meanwhile the population grew by 2.4 million, or 61 percent (see Figure l). (1) As a large percentage of the loss of farmland tends to occur at the periphery of urban areas, intense debates have occurred about the effects of urban sprawl on Indiana's natural resources. For clarification, urban sprawl is the inefficient land use pattern associated with urban growth and development, (2) and is often characterized by low density development occurring outside of urban areas. Developers argue that they build what people want according to market demands. Indeed, development is spurred by positive economic growth, which is desired in Indiana, but is this development occurring at the expense of Indiana's prime farmland? Additionally, what farmland preservation policies does the state have in place to protect our best farmland? This article will look at the state's agricultural trends, the distribution of prime farmland in Indiana, and projected urban growth patterns to address these important issues.

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Importance of Agriculture to Indiana

The Indiana agriculture industry is a large contributor to our state's economy at an estimated $25 billion a year. (3) Not only is Indiana ranked in the top ten in sales volume for corn, soybeans, poultry, hogs, as well as milk and other dairy products, the agriculture industry comprised roughly 17.6 percent of the state's exports with a value of $5.3 trillion in 2008. For an industry that only employs 4.5 percent of Hoosiers, the output is quite impressive. (4)

To give perspective on which counties are the leading producers of various commodities, Figure 2 shows the top ten counties for producing field corn, soybeans, wheat, hay, popcorn, vegetables, fruits, cut Christmas trees, cattle (beef and dairy), hogs, sheep, poultry (chickens and turkeys), and goats. As expected, some counties are "super-producers" and are ranked in the top ten for numerous commodities. These include Elkhart County (a top ten producer for seven commodities), Washington County (seven commodities), LaGrange County (six commodities), and Adams County (five commodities).

Prime Farmland in Indiana

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines prime farmland (Capability Class I and II) as land best suited to food, feed, forage, fiber, and oilseed crops. This land has the soil qualities, growing season, and moisture supply needed to economically produce a sustained high yield of crops. Therefore, prime farmland produces the highest yields with minimal inputs of energy and economic resources, resulting in the least damage to the environment. The loss of prime farmland to other uses (i.e., urban development) forces the producer to use marginal lands, which typically are more erodible, more prone to drought, less productive, and not as easily cultivated for field use. (5) In order to make marginal lands more productive, operators would need to apply more inputs such as water, chemicals and fertilizers, tile (for drainage), and other technologies, which affects the operator's bottom line and could impact the environment. (6)

In 1997, the United States had a total of 331.9 million acres in prime farmland, a decline of 13.6 percent from 1977. (7) In Indiana, 56.4 percent of our farmland, or 12.9 million acres, was defined as prime farmland, making Indiana one of the three states to have over 50 percent of its farmland area classified as prime farmland, behind Iowa (66.3 percent) and Illinois (58.7 percent). (8) Figure 3 shows that the counties with...