Current Agricultural Land Use Conditions. In 2002, 1.17 million acres of land within the ROI were actively used for agricultural purposes including cropland, hay land, and pastureland, this was an increase of approximately 0.8 percent from the 1997 figures (1.16 million acres) (USDA 1999). Table 3.7 lists the acreage for different agricultural land uses in 2002 and 1997 and the percent change during the period. Table 3.7 - Agricultural Land Use Acreage within the ROI Land Use 2002 Acreage 1997 Acreage Percent Change Cropland1 196,336 213,428 -8.01% Hay land2 122,118 122,695 -0.47% Pastureland3 852,801 825,889 3.26% Woodland4 302,410 314,469 -3.83% House lots, ponds, roads, wasteland, etc. 17,451 19,740 -11.60% CRP & WRP5 D D D Active Agriculture6 1,171,255 1,162,012 0.80% Total Land in Farms7 1,368,698 1,373,436 -0.35% 1 Cropland excludes all harvested hayland and cropland used for pasture or grazing 2 Hay land includes all harvested cropland used for alfalfa, other tame, small grain, wild, grass silage, green chop, etc. 3 Pastureland includes all pasture, including cropland, grazed woodland, and rangeland not considered cropland or woodland 4 Woodland excludes all wooded pasture lands 5 CRP & WRP acreages are included as active agricultural lands 6 Active agricultural lands include the sum of cropland, hay land, and pastureland 7 Total land in farms include the sum of cropland, hay land, pastureland, woodland, and house lots, etc. D Not Disclosed Source: USDA 2004
Current Agricultural Land Use Conditions. In 2002, 582,958 acres of land within the region were harvested; this was a decrease of approximately 23 percent from the 1997 figures (761,334 acres) (USDA 2002). Table 3.6-4 lists the acreage for different agricultural land uses in 1997 and 2002 and the percent change during the period. Active conservation programs acreage for all program years in 2002 included 8,494 acres (active CRP), 256.6 acres (continuous non-CREP) and 126.8 acres (tree practices) within the region (USDA 2006). Table 3.6-2 Average Farm Production Expense and Return Per Dollar of Expenditure (2002) Area Average Size of Farm (acres) Average Total Farm Production Expense ($) Average Cost Per Acre ($) Average Net Cash Income/ Farm ($) Average Net Cash Income/ Acre ($) Average % Return / $ Expenditure Acadia 342 52,065 152.24 3,206 9.37 6.16% Xxxxx 286 29,075 101.66 -207 -0.72 -0.71% Calcasieu 349 22,928 65.70 -1,077 -3.09 -4.70% Xxxxxxx 608 17,668 29.06 4,425 7.28 25.05% Xxxxxxxxxx 284 44,180 155.56 5,807 20.45 13.14% Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxx 504 64,204 127.39 6,988 13.87 10.88% St. Xxxxxx 236 48,654 206.16 2,312 9.80 4.75% Total 372.71 39824.86 119.68 3,064.86 8.14 7.80% Source: USDA 2007 Table 3.6-3 Average Value per Farm of Land and Buildings and Machinery and Equipment Area Average Size of Farm (acres) Average Value of Land & Buildings ($ per farm) Average Value of Machinery & Equipment ($ per farm) Acadia 342 593,093 93,611 Xxxxx 286 398,810 60,523 Calcasieu 349 592,337 37,110 Xxxxxxx 608 825,369 40,752 Xxxxxxxxxx 284 367,702 65,466 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxx 504 586,401 69,656 St. Xxxxxx 236 325,464 60,581 Source: USDA 2002 Table 3.6-4 Agricultural Land Use Acreage within the LA CREP II Area Land Use 2002 Acreage 1997 Acreage Percent Change Acres Harvested 582,958 745,428 21.80% Cropland1 1,122,686 1,135,737 1.15% Pastureland2 135,363 127,363 -6.28% Woodland3 61,534 88,473 30.45% CRP4 31,781 25,894 22.74% Total Land in Farms5 1,709,006 1,766,127 3.23% 1Cropland excludes all harvested hayland and cropland used for pasture or grazing 2Pastureland, excluding woodlands 3Woodlands not pastured 4CRP acreages are included as active agricultural lands 5Total land in farms includes cropland, hay land, pastureland, woodlands and house lots, etc. Source: USDA 2002; *
