This comment got me wondering whether loss of farmland in the US is a serious issue.
It looks like there's about 800 million acres of farmland in the US and we're losing about 2 million acres per year to the land being repurposed. Despite that, crop production has more than tripled in the past 70 years due to technological advances.
That said, economic effects, loss of farmland, and climate change have contributed to slower growth and higher variability of crop yields recently.
In the past decade there's been a modest 0.8% annual increase in crop production despite losing about 2 million acres per year.
It looks like there's about 800 million acres of farmland in the US and we're losing about 2 million acres per year to the land being repurposed. Despite that, crop production has more than tripled in the past 70 years due to technological advances.
That said, economic effects, loss of farmland, and climate change have contributed to slower growth and higher variability of crop yields recently.
In the past decade there's been a modest 0.8% annual increase in crop production despite losing about 2 million acres per year.