LAND USE IN A NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Land Economics/Use,

EVALUATION OF CURRENT SOIL CONSERVATION STRATEGIES

The paper is divided into four broad selections. The first section spells out the major reasons for public action in regard to soil conservation. The second section briefly discusses the current soil conservation investments both public and private. The third section evaluates the current strategies, ranging from cost-sharing to regulation, in terms of economic, political, and administration effectiveness. Finally, the concluding section suggest what we have learned from the evaluation and what needs to be done so that future evaluations will have a firmer analytic basis.Land Economics/Use,

Land Use Policy and Agriculture: A State and Local Perspective

Excerpts from the report Preface: The United States is not running out of farmland. We will be able to meet anticipated domestic food needs plus moderately high export demands. The most compelling reasons for worrying about the conversion of farmland to other uses come not from the national food production perspective but from the State and local perspective on agriculture's importance to them. Local land use issues abound. These issues are wrapped in conflicting and interwoven desires, ideas, and rights. They touch such sensitive areas as income and local employment, taxation, air and water quality, and just plain personal wishes to be left alone. The Federal Government encourages land use planning and recognizes an important support role by USDA involving research and information on land use. But, planning and implementation are up to States and local jurisdictions. This paper reviews land use policy issues from a State and local perspective

Land Use Policy and Agriculture: A National Perspective

More new cropland is developed each year in the United States than is lost to urban development. While 1.3 million acres are added to the Nation's cropland base each year, only about 500,000 acres are lost to urbanization, public lands (parks, reservoirs, highways), and other intensive uses. However, 2.2 million more crop acres are converted to more extensive uses such as grass and trees because of low soil fertility, terrain unsuited to modern machinery, and small uneconomic fields. This total loss of 2.7 million acres, when weighed against the new cropland developed, gives a net loss each year of 1.4 million cropland acres. This loss is not significant when compared to the national cropland base of 385 million acres and generally rising productivity levels. The United States will be able to meet its anticipated domestic food needs and moderately high export demands. Cropland losses, however, can be significant in local areas, especially where urban uses compete for the better agricultural lands. Public policy is needed to guide this competition and help assure the wise use of agricultural land. While the Federal Government, through its numerous programs and policies, indirectly has an important influence on how land is used, the authority to control private land use unmistakably rests with the States, counties, and municipalities

EVALUATION OF CURRENT SOIL CONSERVATION STRATEGIES

The paper is divided into four broad selections. The first section spells out the major reasons for public action in regard to soil conservation. The second section briefly discusses the current soil conservation investments both public and private. The third section evaluates the current strategies, ranging from cost-sharing to regulation, in terms of economic, political, and administration effectiveness. Finally, the concluding section suggest what we have learned from the evaluation and what needs to be done so that future evaluations will have a firmer analytic basis