Colorado Prime Farmland

Prime farmland is land that has the best combination of physical characteristics for producing food, feed, forage, fiber and oil seed crops and is also available for these.

National Resources Inventory/NRI

Colorado had approximately 1,696,800 acres of nonfederal prime farmland recorded in 1997. This represents over 2 percent of the states total land area or 4 percent of the nonfederal land in Colorado. Nationally. 64 percent of soils classified as prime farmland are being used for cropland. In Colorado, 93 percent of the soils classified as prime farmland are being utilized as cropland.

Trends From 1982 To 1997

There has been a gradual loss overall of prime farmlands in Colorado. Approximately 53,300 acres of prime farmland were converted urban or rural development between 1982 and 1997 or an average of 3,550 acres per year.

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