Capital Times, 05.13.09
Every Wisconsin citizen has a vested interest in conserving and preserving our most valuable natural resources, the land and water.
The Wisconsin landscape is fertile but fragile. It is the diversity of the land that provides for multifaceted agriculture and an intrinsic beauty that appeals to both visitors and those who reside here. While the image of Wisconsin is rural, only eight states, all with much higher populations, rank above Wisconsin in the number of designated urban areas (populations over 50,000). Once a road is paved or a parcel of land platted into lots for residential and commercial occupancy, the working land is lost in perpetuity.
In recent years, Wisconsin has experienced a loss of up to 30,000 acres of farmland annually. With a yield of 150 bushels of corn per acre and at current prices, 30,000 acres of farmland provides cash receipts of more than $13 million annually. Like they say, a few million here and a few million there, and pretty soon you are counting serious money. In 1970, 20.1 million acres were being used for production agriculture. By 2004 farmland was down 22.9 percent to 15.5 million acres. Today's estimate
is a little over 15 million acres.
Every Wisconsin citizen has a vested interest in conserving and preserving our most valuable natural resources, the land and water.
The Wisconsin landscape is fertile but fragile. It is the diversity of the land that provides for multifaceted agriculture and an intrinsic beauty that appeals to both visitors and those who reside here. While the image of Wisconsin is rural, only eight states, all with much higher populations, rank above Wisconsin in the number of designated urban areas (populations over 50,000). Once a road is paved or a parcel of land platted into lots for residential and commercial occupancy, the working land is lost in perpetuity.
In recent years, Wisconsin has experienced a loss of up to 30,000 acres of farmland annually. With a yield of 150 bushels of corn per acre and at current prices, 30,000 acres of farmland provides cash receipts of more than $13 million annually. Like they say, a few million here and a few million there, and pretty soon you are counting serious money. In 1970, 20.1 million acres were being used for production agriculture. By 2004 farmland was down 22.9 percent to 15.5 million acres. Today's estimate
is a little over 15 million acres.