Demographia

Comparison of Agricultural Land Change:
Agricultural Census & NRI

Note on National Resources Inventory Data
This page uses National Resources Inventory (NRI) data as corrected after notification of discrepancies by Demographia and others. Even so, substantial discrepancies continue to exist between data reported in the NRI and the more comprehensive USDA Census of Agriculture at the state level. As a result, the NRI is not considered reliable for analysis at the state level or any more local level.

The National Resources Inventory has historically tracked very closely to the Agricultural Census with respect to farm land. Since 1982, the NRI categories of cropland, CRP land, pasture land and range land have been within two percent of the Census of Agriculture's land in farms. In fact, for the past three NRI's there has been only a 0.5 percent variation. However, significant variations occur at the state level, with the variance being -52.7 percent. The differences in the change in agricultural land between the last two NRI's is substantial, as the table below shows. Overall, there is a 36,000 acre total differential (aboslute value) between the two indices, more than double the total change recorded in agricultural acreage.

Data in Thousands of Acres

State 1992 Agricultural Census 1997 Agricultural Census Change 1992 National Resource Inventory 1997 National Resource Inventory Change NRI Change Minus Agricultural Census Change (Absolute Value) NRI Variance from Agricultural Census: Change NRI Variance from Agricultural Census: 1992 Acreage NRI Variance from Agricultural Census: 1997 Acreage
Alabama 8,451 8,704 254 7,508 7,078 (430) 684 -269.8% -11.2% -18.7%
Arizona 35,038 26,867 (8,171) 33,864 33,607 (257) 7,914 -96.9% -3.3% 25.1%
Arkansas 14,128 14,365 237 13,568 13,244 (324) 561 -236.6% -4.0% -7.8%
California 28,979 27,699 (1,280) 29,472 29,125 (346) 934 -72.9% 1.7% 5.2%
Colorado 33,983 32,634 (1,349) 36,518 36,445 (74) 1,275 -94.5% 7.5% 11.7%
Connecticut 359 359 1 346 316 (30) 30 -5033.3% -3.6% -12.0%
Delaware 589 580 (10) 527 509 (18) 8 85.4% -10.6% -12.2%
Florida 10,766 10,454 (312) 11,150 10,331 (819) 507 162.6% 3.6% -1.2%
Georgia 10,026 10,671 646 8,794 8,216 (578) 1,224 -189.5% -12.3% -23.0%
Hawaii 1,589 1,439 (150) 1,322 1,291 (31) 118 -79.1% -16.8% -10.3%
Idaho 13,469 11,830 (1,639) 14,240 14,117 (123) 1,516 -92.5% 5.7% 19.3%
Illinois 27,250 27,205 (46) 27,596 27,239 (357) 312 685.1% 1.3% 0.1%
Indiana 15,619 15,111 (508) 15,763 15,615 (148) 360 -70.8% 0.9% 3.3%
Iowa 31,347 31,167 (180) 30,837 30,622 (215) 35 19.5% -1.6% -1.7%
Kansas 46,672 46,089 (583) 47,548 47,423 (125) 458 -78.6% 1.9% 2.9%
Kentucky 13,666 13,334 (332) 11,417 11,196 (221) 111 -33.5% -16.5% -16.0%
Louisiana 7,838 7,877 39 8,690 8,462 (228) 267 -684.1% 10.9% 7.4%
Maine 1,258 1,212 (47) 629 566 (64) 17 36.2% -50.0% -53.3%
Maryland 2,224 2,155 (69) 2,254 2,114 (141) 72 104.8% 1.4% -1.9%
Massachusetts 526 518 (8) 430 396 (34) 26 323.5% -18.3% -23.6%
Michigan 10,088 9,873 (215) 11,618 10,893 (725) 509 236.4% 15.2% 10.3%
Minnesota 25,667 25,995 328 26,580 26,392 (188) 516 -157.3% 3.6% 1.5%
Mississippi 10,188 10,125 (64) 10,436 9,831 (606) 542 852.7% 2.4% -2.9%
Missouri 28,547 28,826 279 26,885 26,294 (591) 871 -311.7% -5.8% -8.8%
Montana 59,643 58,608 (1,035) 58,205 58,085 (120) 914 -88.4% -2.4% -0.9%
Nebraska 44,393 45,525 1,132 45,679 45,604 (76) 1,208 -106.7% 2.9% 0.2%
Nevada 9,264 6,409 (2,854) 9,331 9,355 24 2,878 -100.8% 0.7% 46.0%
New Hampshire 386 415 29 240 228 (12) 41 -139.5% -37.9% -45.0%
New Jersey 848 833 (15) 797 700 (96) 81 542.7% -6.0% -15.9%
New Mexico 46,849 45,787 (1,062) 43,150 42,563 (587) 475 -44.7% -7.9% -7.0%
New York 7,458 7,255 (204) 8,778 8,193 (586) 382 187.7% 17.7% 12.9%
North Carolina 8,936 9,122 186 8,095 7,809 (286) 472 -253.3% -9.4% -14.4%
North Dakota 39,438 39,359 (79) 39,756 39,624 (131) 52 66.4% 0.8% 0.7%
Ohio 14,248 14,103 (145) 14,570 13,957 (613) 468 323.1% 2.3% -1.0%
Oklahoma 32,143 33,219 1,076 33,202 32,870 (332) 1,408 -130.9% 3.3% -1.1%
Oregon 17,610 17,449 (160) 15,769 15,491 (278) 118 73.6% -10.4% -11.2%
Pennsylvania 7,190 7,168 (22) 7,978 7,406 (571) 550 2544.9% 11.0% 3.3%
Rhode Island 50 55 6 49 47 (3) 8 -145.6% -0.6% -15.6%
South Carolina 4,473 4,594 121 4,438 4,033 (405) 526 -435.2% -0.8% -12.2%
South Dakota 44,828 44,355 (473) 42,472 42,409 (63) 410 -86.6% -5.3% -4.4%
Tennessee 11,169 11,122 (47) 10,451 10,008 (444) 397 850.5% -6.4% -10.0%
Texas 130,887 131,308 422 144,120 142,503 (1,618) 2,039 -483.8% 10.1% 8.5%
Utah 9,625 12,025 2,400 13,568 13,324 (244) 2,645 -110.2% 41.0% 10.8%
Vermont 1,279 1,262 (16) 975 945 (31) 14 86.0% -23.7% -25.1%
Virginia 8,297 8,228 (69) 6,182 5,984 (199) 130 189.1% -25.5% -27.3%
Washington 15,726 15,180 (546) 14,923 14,723 (200) 346 -63.3% -5.1% -3.0%
West Virginia 3,267 3,456 188 2,536 2,391 (145) 333 -176.8% -22.4% -30.8%
Wisconsin 15,464 14,900 (563) 14,562 14,268 (294) 270 -47.9% -5.8% -4.2%
Wyoming 32,876 34,089 1,213 30,771 30,869 98 1,115 -92.0% -6.4% -9.4%
United States 944,609 930,914 (13,694) 949,785 935,663 (14,122) 427 3.1% 0.5% 0.5%
Maximum               2544.9% 41.0% 46.0%
Minimum               -5033.3% -50.0% -53.3%
Average               -52.7%    
Total Difference in Absolute Value (Sum of Variances) 36,148      
Data in Thousands of Acres
Source: Calculated from US Department of Agriculture Data

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