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- Info
Secondary effects on Midwestern agriculture of metropolitan development and decreases in farmland
| Author: |
Lockeretz, W. |
| Date: |
1989 |
| Periodical: |
Land Economics |
| Abstract: |
The expansion of metropolitan areas into the countryside, a trend that became particularly pronounced after World War II, has caused considerable concern because of its potentially deleterious effects on farming (Raup1975; Plaut 1980). These effects can be of two kinds. First metropolitan expansion involves the direct conversion of farmland to provide the land needed for housing, commercial development, and transportation. To slow this loss, many states and counties have instituted "farming land preservation" strategies, such as purchase of development rights, agricultural zoning, and preferential assessment for farmland (Peterson 1982; Coughlin et al. updated). Second, metropolitan expansion can affect the agriculture that remains, either because of the increase in the non-farming population or as a secondary consequence of the loss of farmland. These effects generally are depicted as adverse (Berry 1978; Berry and Plaut 1978). In fact, some observers consider them more important than the direct loss of farmland, so that the proportional decline in farming can be much greater than the decline in farmland. |
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