48 SaintLouis Regional Food Study | 2014 CHAPTER. 4 Land Saint Louis Regional Food Study - 2014 Saint Louis Regional Food Study | 2014 SaintLouis Regional Food Study | 2014 49 Land Acres & Type of Land The land found in the Saint Louis Regional Foodshed includes farmland, pastureland, woodland, and farmsteads. The total land area of the Saint Louis Regional Foodshed is 21,372,876.8 acres1 and approximately 64% (13,710,166 acres) of which is considered “land in farms.”2 “Land in farms,” refers to several types of land, including cropland, woodland, and pastureland. As defined by the 2007 USDA Agriculture Census, “land in farms consists primarily of agricultural land used for crops, pasture, or grazing. It also includes woodland and wasteland not actually under cultivation or used for pasture or grazing, provided it was part of the farm operator’s total operation.”3 However, if a farm contains woodland or wasteland acreage used for nonagricultural purposes, that acreage is not included in the individual reports of “land in farms.”4 Therefore, at the county level, total acreage reported for all types of land found on farm property (hereinafter “farmland) is greater than the reported “land GRAPH. 4-1 in farms” because “land in farms” excludes FARMLAND IN THE SAINT LOUIS REGIONAL farmland used for nonagricultural purposes. FOODSHED, 2007 As a result, the “land in farms” for the Saint Louis Regional Foodshed (13,710,166 acres) is significantly less than the total farmland calculated for the region in 2007. The Saint Total Cropland Louis Regional Foodshed has approximately Pastureland 14,699,865 acres in farmland; this land includes Wooland “cropland” (9,863,989 acres); “pastureland” Farmsteads, Buildings, Facilities, Roads, andWastelands (2,427,737 acres), “woodland” (1,903,607 acres); and “farmsteads, buildings, facilities, roads, and wastelands” (504,532 acres) (See Graph 4-1).5 1 U.S. Census Bureau, Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County -- Census Tract, Am. Fact Finder, http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/ index.xhtml (follow “Geographies” hyperlink, select “County” geographic type from drop down menu, select “Missouri” from state drop down menu, select Foodshed counties in Missouri, and select “Add to Your Selections” button; then select “Illinois” from state drop down menu, select Foodshed counties in Illinois, and select “Add to Your Selections” button; close the “Select Geographies” option menu; then type “land” in search bar and select “Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County -- Census Tract” from the “2010 SF1 100% Data” Dataset in the search results) (last visited Aug. 13, 2012). 2 See Nat’l Agric. Statistics Serv., U.S. Dep’t of Agric., 2007 Census of Agriculture - Missouri - State and County Data 359-73 (2009) http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publica- tions/2007/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_2_County_Level/Missouri/mov1.pdf [hereinafter 2007 Census of Agriculture - Missouri]; ; Nat’l Agric. Statistics Serv., U.S. Dep’t of Agric., 2007 Census of Agriculture - Illinois - State and County Data 347-58 (2009) http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2007/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_2_ County_Level/Illinois/ilv1.pdf [hereinafter 2007 Census of Agriculture - Illinois]. 2007 . 3 U.S. Dep’t of Agric., Appendix B. General Explanation and Census of Agriculture Report Form, in 2007 Census of Agriculture B-14 (2009) http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/ Publications/2007/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_1_US/usappxb.pdf. 4 Id. 5 2007 Census of Agriculture - Missouri, supra note 2 at 359-88; 2007 Census of Agriculture - Illinois, supra note 2, at 346-71. 50 SaintSaintLouis LouisRegional RegionalFood StudyFood| 2014 Study | 2014 The Saint Louis Regional Foodshed’s crop- Industrial farming practices remove nutrients Vegetation buffers slow rainwater and wind’s land makes up 67% of the region’s farmland, from the soil and degrade soil health and ability to reach waterbodies, subsequently 64% of the region’s land in farms, and 46% of subsequently require use of chemical or manure slowing transport of any accompanying nutrient the entire region. Corn, soybean and wheat are fertilizer to maintain desired production levels. and soil. the region’s most produced commodities and Poor soil conservation practices and over- they are grown as monocultures on fields typi- application of fertilizers coupled with inadequate Shifting away from agricultural practices that cally larger than 100 acres. “The dominance of vegetation buffers between agricultural land and prioritize low-diversity cropping systems and agricultural monocultures is especially prevalent waterbodies often result in water contamination mass production of staple commodities will in the [Upper Mississippi River (UMR)] Basin,”6 by sediment, chemicals and fertilizers. Water reduce the need to interfere with nutrients and consisting of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, from rainfall and wind detaches bare soil, vegetation in landscapes near waterbodies. Illinois, and Missouri,7 “with about 60 percent fertilizers and pesticides, and carry them to of the land in agriculture primarily growing two nearby lakes, ponds, streams, and rivers where crops, corn and soybeans, neither of which is they can degrade water quality. Farm related primarily for direct human consumption.”8 Much pollutants can cause fish kills, algae blooms, Land Capability, of the 9.86 million acres of the cropland and hypoxic zones and they can increase in the Saint Louis Regional Foodshed water treatment costs if herbicides, pesticides Soil Quality, and does not produce crops for direct human and nitrates reach high levels in drinking water consumption, as we will see in subsequent sources. Productivity chapters. Monoculture crop production requires “inputs” to sustain large production, including Industrialized agriculture encourages placing In order for agricultural land to be highly pesticides to prevent destruction of single crop every acre of farmland into production, which productive, its soil must provide crops with yields and fertilizers to ensure large yields of leads many farmers to remove vegetation near proper nutrients. Much of the land in the United commodity crops. “The goal [of monocultures] rivers and streams (also known as riparian States is considered unsuitable for farming. The is to increase yield (such as bushels per acre) buffer zones) and converting the land into Saint Louis Regional Foodshed is fortunate to and decrease costs of production, usually by cropland. The removal of riparian vegetation have high quality soils. exploiting economies of scale.”9 leaves rivers and streams vulnerable to soil erosion and fertilizer and manure runoff. Less The U.S. has numerous soil types across its Industrial farming practices on thousands of intensive agricultural practices that work with landscape, which are distinguished based on acres allow for high productivity in the short- the surrounding ecosystem and topography several properties including texture, structure, term. However, use of industrial machinery, better protects soil nutrients by leaving deep depth to bedrock, available water capacity, and over-application of pesticide and fertilizer, and rooted plants near waterways and along steep soil capability.12 While some soil types are better the conversion of perennial vegetated land slops, helping to keep soil intact and avoiding for crop production than others, the circum- near waterways to cropland have effects on erosion risks if the land was intensively cropped. stances in which they are found determine the the environment. “Although pesticides have Riparian vegetation helps reduce the amount land’s ability to sustain agriculture. many advantages, there are . shortcomings of soil that becomes susceptible to wind and in side-effects such as the emergence of water erosion. Maintaining vegetation along Land capability classes vary based on multiple pesticide-resistant strains of pest organisms, waterbodies secures nature’s barrier against factors. These include the suitability of the the disturbance of agro-ecosystems, and pollution. Vegetated buffers also boost infiltra- land for “field crops and pasture,” suitability pollution of the environment.”10 Degradation of tion of water allowing it to be absorbed into for diverse species growth, and any need for soil and water resources, the most valuable yet underground aquifers, providing additional flood conservation practices.13 undervalued resources for agriculture, is linked storage during wet years, and additional water to increased fertilizer application and machinery storage to insure against drought. use on agricultural lands.11 6 Brad Walker, Mo. Coalition for the Env’t, Our Future? A Vision for Land, Water, and Economic Ethic in the Upper Mississippi River Basin 20 (Kathleen L. Smith et al. eds., 2012) http://www.moenviron.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/MCE-Our-Future-UMR-Report-5-22-12.pdf. 7 See Upper Mississippi River Basin Association (Aug. 10, 2012), http://www.umrba.org/. 8 Walker, supra note 6. 9 Industrial Agriculture: Features and Policy, Union of Concerned Scientists (May 17, 2007), http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_agriculture/science_and_impacts/impacts_in- dustrial_agriculture/industrial-agriculture-features.html#Monoculture. 10 M. G. Wolman & F. G. A. Fournier, Chapter 1: Introduction to Land Transformation in Agriculture, in Land Transformation in Agriculture, 1, 5, (M. G. Wolman & F. G. A. Fournier eds., 1987) http://globalecology.stanford.edu/SCOPE/SCOPE_32/SCOPE_32_1.1_Chapter1_3-7.pdf.