Indiana ranks as the nation’s 8th-largest farm producer but a new study found it’s losing farmland.
Last year Indiana lawmakers directed the state Department of Agriculture to determine how much farmland was lost in the state from 2010 to 2022. The study found a 1.9% loss, or about 345,000 acres.
If those acres were all assembled in one place, they’d take up just more than the size of St. Joe County.
Most of the loss came to residential development around the fringes of urban areas. In Michiana recently, proposals to develop data centers and solar farms have focused attention on the issue.
Gene Matzat is a retired ag and natural resources educator with Purdue Cooperative Extension. He recently briefed the St. Joe County Council on the report, as farmland preservation is a priority of the county’s ongoing comprehensive plan work.
"I guess we have to decide what point in time is a critical amount of farmland loss," Matzat said. "My message to the county council was we are still losing farmland at a pretty good clip and I think we need to balance economic development with farmland preservation."
