1. About 55% of all harvested cropland is devoted to crops specifically used for animal feed – 174 million acres.
2. Including grazing, ~83% of all agricultural land is devoted to animal agriculture.
3. More than half of the total land area of the lower 48 states is used by animal ag for grazing and feed crops.
4. Crops going to animal feed are almost 10% of total land area (48 states) and grazing is more than 40%.
5. Land used for growing vegetables, fruits, and nuts – about 10 million acres – is about 6% of the size of cropland specifically used for animal feed.
The U.S. has the some of the most fertile land on earth, along with ideal climate conditions for growing crops. Yet we use much of our cropland to grow the cheapest “food” ever produced, unsuitable for humans and unnatural for animals.
On that land, we generate massive environmental externalities. We kill wildlife, deplete aquifers, pollute waterways, fuel climate change, degrade soil, and disperse pesticides and excess nutrients throughout the land. The environmental costs are likely ten times larger than the paltry returns.
Grazing is by far the largest land use in the nation. The economic value generated is a rounding error in our GDP, while the damage to vulnerable landscapes is well documented. Together, feed crops and grazing use half the nation’s acreage to support the factory farming system.
The bounty of America’s land was millions of years in the making. It is threatened by our brutal system of raising and feeding confined animals. The use of land is a central part of that system. We take a closer look at land use here.
In 2017, ~55% of total crop acres harvested were used specifically for animal feed.[1-6]
Of 314 million total harvested acres, ~174 million acres were used for animal feed production.
This is a conservative estimate as it does not include several harvested crops (e.g., cotton, oats, rye, sunflower seeds, peanuts), some portion of which are used for farmed animal feed but for which there is little data. And it does not include some animal feed usages of primary feed crops, such as corn and soy oil used as feed additives. Nor does it include acres that were planted but failed, some of which were likely used for forage but are still considered unharvested.[7,8]
For analysis, see https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RArm9YBdvRm3i_pv5oyv7Oh4hE-Rr73VaZsT7h3EzpU/edit?gid=0#gid=0
The share of crops used for animal feed (i.e., 64% of total corn acreage; 58% of soybeans acreage; etc.) is calculated over several pages in the category: Feed Crop Figures and Conversion. We include exports that go to animal feed along with the share of by-products used for feed (on a value basis). These figures were calculated for 2023 and 2022 and were relatively constant for those 2 years. We apply those figures to 2017 with an understanding that they are conservative estimates. Because there are a multitude of uncounted animal feed uses, the actual figure is likely higher. See, Total Feed Crops Share [question: Why are these percentages underestimated?]
We use 2017 figures here to be consistent with other questions on this and other Land Use pages, based on Winters-Michaud, C. et al., (2024) Major Uses of Land in the United States, 2017, which refers to 2017 as the baseline year. However, more recent figures are available for this question. In 2023, at least 54% of crops harvested were used specifically for animal feed. See, Total Feed Crops Share [question: What share of all crops harvested in the U.S. are used for animal feed?]
Total Cropland Harvested: USDA Major Land Uses, Summary Tables, Summary Table 3, Col. D – Total crops harvested = 314M acres. [Note: This category is the acreage of total crops harvested and includes double-cropped acres. However, animal feed shares are not inflated due to double cropping because, a) double cropping occurs only on ~2% of harvested cropland (6M acres) and, b) the primary feed crops (corn, soybeans, and hay) are not double cropped to follow each other. See: USDA (2018) Claassen, R., et al., Tillage intensity and conservation cropping in the United States. Economic Information Bulletin Number 19. p. 10. [“Double cropping is highest in Southern States with longer growing seasons. Corn and soybeans are the most common spring-planted crops in these rotations, while winter wheat and rye are the most common fall-planted crops.”]
Acres Harvested by Crop: USDA (2024) 2022 Census of Agriculture, AC-22-A-51, Table 35. [Includes crop acreage for 2017, as used in the Major Uses of Land report.]
Note: For this question, it is not necessary to distinguish between “48 states” and “50 states” since total harvested cropland in Alaska and Hawaii is less than .1% of total U.S. harvested cropland.
See, Total Feed Crops Share [question: Why are these percentages underestimated?]
Note: A commonly quoted figure for acreage devoted to feed crops comes from: Merrill, D., & Leatherby, L. (2018). Here’s how America uses its land. Bloomberg, July, 31, 2018. This article includes a visual representation and is mostly based on an earlier Major Uses of Land report (Bigelow, D., & Borchers, A. (2017). Major uses of land in the United States, 2012) and refers to many other sources as well. There is, however, no further explanation of the sources or calculations behind the feed crop figure of 127.4 million acres. Exports are not included in the figure.
About 83% of total agricultural land in the contiguous 48 states is used for animal agriculture – either for crops going specifically to animal feed or for grazing.[1]
Of 1,186 million acres of agricultural land, ~981 million acres were used for animal ag production.[2,3]
Agricultural land is made up of:
Land used for grazing, the largest share. Crop acreage used specifically for animal feed. Farmsteads and roads used for animal ag production. Other harvested crops (not for feed). Unharvested cropland, e.g. crops that failed, were fallow or idle, including land in conservation programs, (and including a small share of non-animal ag farmsteads).[4]
See, https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RArm9YBdvRm3i_pv5oyv7Oh4hE-Rr73VaZsT7h3EzpU/edit?gid=0#gid=0 [For estimates of the share of individual crops used for animal feed see, Total Feed Crops Share]
Winters-Michaud, C. et al., (2024) Major Uses of Land in the United States, 2017. USDA ERS Bulletin No. 275, Table 1, p. 5. [Showing agricultural land (48 states) at 1,186M acres. This report counts 13M acres of “cropland pasture” as both grazing land as well as cropland. In the primary listing (Table 1, p. 5) it is included in grazing land, which is where we place those acres, since that is the use of the land in 2017, the baseline year.]
These figures are almost identical for 48 states and 50 states, since agricultural land in Alaska and Hawaii is ~.1% of all agricultural land. Total agricultural land for 50 states is 1,187M acres.
There are 5.97M acres of land in “farmsteads and farm roads.” We assign 4.5M acres to animal ag with calculations as follows: of all farms, .99M farms raise livestock, while 1.25M raise crops (based on USDA Census of Ag 2022). Of the farms that raise crops, we assign 55% to feed crops (per the previous question). Therefore .44 * 5.97 (livestock) + .55 * .56 * 5.97 (feed crops) == 2.63 +1.84 = 4.47M acres of farmsteads for animal ag versus 1.5M acres associated with crops other than feed crops.
Of the total land area of the contiguous 48 states, ~52% is used for animal ag. This includes land for grazing livestock, crops going specifically to animal feed, and animal ag farmsteads.[1-3]
Out of a total land area of 1,891 million acres, 981 million acres were used for animal ag production.
See, https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RArm9YBdvRm3i_pv5oyv7Oh4hE-Rr73VaZsT7h3EzpU/edit?gid=0#gid=0 [For estimates of the share of particular crops used for animal feed see, Total Feed Crops Share]
Winters-Michaud, C. et al., (2024) Major Uses of Land in the United States, 2017. USDA ERS Bulletin No. 275, Table 1, p. 5. [Total land area contiguous U.S. = 1,891.1M acres; Grazing land = 802.9M acres. [Note: in the final figure of 981M acres, we include 4.5M acres used for farmsteads and roads used for animal ag production out of a total 6M acres, as calculated in the previous question.]
For share of harvested crop acreage going to animal feed, see question 2.
Total land use for all vegetables, fruits, and nuts equals ~10 million acres. This is:
About 1% the size of land devoted to animal agriculture. About 6% the size of land used for crops going to animal feed. About 3% of total harvested cropland. About .5% of total land in the 48 states.
USDA (2024) 2022 Census of Agriculture, AC-22-A-51, Tables 35-37 [Vegetables, potatoes and melons = 4.365M acres; Non-citrus fruit = 2.161M. Citrus fruit = .757M + .068M. Berries = .302M. Nuts = 2.179 + .501. Total = 10.333M acres.]