Book Description

Intended for geography professors, researchers, and undergraduate students, this publication focuses on the important issues surrounding the urbanization of agricultural land, the assessment of the relative effectiveness of policy responses, and an assessment of opportunities for change in approaches toward farmland preservation. Emphasis is on agricultural land in Canada and the United States. There are seven chapters. The focus of chapter 1 is on urban growth and the competition for agricultural land, including a discussion of government intervention. Land conversion processes are discussed in the second chapter. Chapter 3 deals with land resources for food production, discussing how valuable farmland is defined, the agroclimatic resource index, existing and potential agricultural resources, and implications for the future. The fourth chapter treats the topic of agricultural land conversion. Planning to protect farmland and studies in farmland protection are the topics of chapters 5 and 6, respectively. The concluding chapter discusses agricultural land resources for the future. An appendix of commonly used acronyms and a bibliography are provided. (RM)