Farmland Protection

Agriculture's Importance

While the United States has less than 7 percent of the world's land, it produces 13 percent of the world's farm commodities. Almost 17 percent of raw U.S. agricultural products are exported annually. More than 15 percent of the U.S. population is employed in farm or farm-related jobs, including production agriculture, farm inputs, processing and marketing and wholesale and retail sales.*

Consumers spend $511 billion for food originating on U.S. farms. Of each dollar spent on food, the farmer's share is 21 cents. The rest goes toward wages and materials for production, processing, marketing, transportation and distribution.**

Farmland, in addition to its impact on the state's economy and workforce, affects the lives of Illinois citizens in the following ways:

• Farmland facilitates water filtration and recharge to underground aquifers.
• Farmland reduces flooding by storing and absorbing storm water runoff.
• Farmland provides a source of plant material for renewable energy sources.
• Farmland provides wildlife cover and food for many upland wildlife species.
• Farmland provides open space, which contributes to the quality of life in developing areas.
• Farmland is an effective buffer between incompatible land uses and helps isolate and protect biologically sensitive natural areas.

* Agriculture Council of America, 1993.
** National Farm-City Council, Inc., Farm-City Facts,1996.