Protection of Cultivated Land in the United States: Planning, Conservation, and Agricultural Property Transactions

1. Introduction

Agricultural land in the United States is rich and abundant, providing food and fiber for the United States and for other nations. This Article focuses on legal protection for that agricultural land, which is governed by federal and state law. Federal agricultural statutes (Farm Bills), supplemented by other statutes and implemented by regulations, establish policy for agriculture and related areas. The Agricultural Improvement Act of 20182 includes, among many other provisions, conservation requirements and voluntary programs to protect cultivated land. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) plays an important role in implementing the 2018 Farm Bill and other laws that govern agriculture. State laws, too, help to protect important agricultural land.

This Article provides background about US agricultural land and its uses, based in part on information from the 2017 Census of Agriculture, published in April 2019.3 The Article focuses o...

Verder in dit artikel:

1. Introduction

1.1. Land in the United States

1.2. Census of Agriculture

2. Planning Instruments to Protect Agricultural Land Resources

2.1. Federal Law

2.2. State and Local Law

3. Protection of Agricultural Land from Degradation

3.1. Conservation Compliance

3.2. Conservation Reserve

3.3. Environmental Quality Incentives and Conservation Stewardship

3.4. Conservation Impacts

4. Regulation of Agricultural Property Transactions

4.1. Land Transfers

4.2. Facilitating Acquisition of Agricultural Land

5. Acquisition of Agricultural Property by Foreigners

5.1. Federal Law

5.2. State Law

6. Land Grabbing and Corporate Ownership

6.1. Land Grabbing

6.2. Corporate Ownership

7. Conclusion