Business / Agriculture / Prime Farmland: Land that is best suited to and available for the production of food, feed, forage, fiber, and oilseed crops. It can be cropland, pastureland, rangeland, forestland, or other land. It has the soil quality, growing season, and moisture needed to produce high yields of crops each year economically, if managed according to acceptable farm practices. Prime farmland produces the highest yields with minimal expenditure of energy and economic resources and does so with the least damage to the environment. Of the 334 million acres of prime farmland, 216 million are in cropland use, according to the 1992 national resources inventory. See unique farmland.
Business / Agriculture / Unique Farmland: Land, other than prime farmland, that has combined conditions to produce sustained high quality and high yields of specialty crops, such as citrus, nuts, fruits, and vegetables when properly managed. MORE
Business / Agriculture / Farmland: Land used for agricultural purposes. The federal government recognizes prime farmland and unique farmland as the most important categories. According to USDA, the United States has had roughly 1 billi MORE