Current Research: Critical Mass Study of Maryland Agricultural Land and Infrastructure

By 1997 land in farms had decreased by nearly half, while the number of farms decreased by two-thirds. Cropland acreage decreased to 1.6 million. The value of the land and buildings increased on both a per farm and per acre basis. An average farm's value climbed to $505,000, with the per acre value increasing to $2,846. The market value of the products increased to nearly $1.2 billion.

Study Objectives:

Analyze whether there is a critical mass of farmland needed to sustain an agricultural economy in a county.
Analyze whether individual farmer's behavior changes as farmland acres decrease in the county.

Findings to date include:

The rate of farmland loss is affected by the number of remaining harvested cropland acres in the county;
Farmland is lost in areas where the population has declined possibly because farmers have lost the ability to supplement income with off-farm employment. Thus, focusing on overall regional economic health will benefit the agricultural sector.

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For more information, contact Dr Nick Place

Last updated: 11/13/2009