Bloomberg News authors Dave Merrill and Lauren Leatherby created a unique illustration of how America uses its land. The map was developed using surveys, satellite images and categorizations from various government agencies in 2018. Cropland accounts for about one fifth of land (392 million acres) of which over 127 million acres produce livestock feed and 38 million acres produce ethanol. The authors estimate the food we consume in our diets is produced on only 77 million acres. More than one third of land (654 million acres) is rangeland or pastures used for grazing. The authors calculate over 40% of land is used in some manner for livestock when combing rangeland or pasture with cropland used to produce livestock feed. Interestingly, urban areas account for 3.6% of land (69 million acres).

Tom Peters

Extension Sugarbeet Agronomist

NDSU & U of MN