Brian Donahue, Associate Professor of American Environmental Studies at Brandeis University, addresses changes in New England agriculture over the past century, focusing on the extent to which the region could produce its own food. See talk that accompanies these slides: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2M9s0t_MsA

7. Chart 1: Farmland in NE
*Total farmland, 1850‐1920 = total acres improved land
** Total farmland 1969 = total cropland and other pasture for farms making more than $2,500
All other years, total farmland = total cropland + pastureland (excluding woodland pastured and cropland pastured)
Date for NH for 1920 not available; 890 is an estimate based on data from other years

8. Wildlands
and
Woodlands
A Vision for the New England Landscape

9. Social & Environmental Benefits of Forest
• Biodiversity
• Water Supply
• Recreation & Scenery
• Sustainable Wood Products
• Carbon Sequestration
Wildlands & Woodlands Vision:
70% of New England in Protected Forest

10. A New England
Food Vision
Healthy Food for All
Sustainable Farming and Fishing
Thriving Communities

11. New England Food Vision 2060
Core Values
Healthy food is a fundamental human right.
Healthier dietary patterns following USDA “My Plate” and Harvard School of
Public Health. Less meat, fewer calories, same dairy, more fruits and veggies.
Sustainable production from forests, farms and fisheries that minimizes
environmental impact. Commitment to reduce carbon footprint, to retain carbon and
nitrogen in soil, and protect waterways. Commitment to protect forest.
Thriving communities and rural economy.

15. On 6 million acres, for 17 million healthy New Englanders,
we could grow:
• All of our vegetables: 500,000 acres
• Half of our fruit: 500,000 acres
• All of our dairy and beef (and lamb) mostly on grass: 4,500,000
acres (3,000,000 pasture)
• All of our pastured pork, poultry, and eggs—but mostly on imported
feed grain
• That would leave about 500,000 acres for some portion of our grain
(for people and animals), beans, and vegetable oil
• We also need a strong sustainable yield from our fisheries

16. We would need to import: 5.3 M acres
• About half of our fruit: 300,000 acres
• Grain and vegetable oil: 4,000,000 acres
• Peanuts, coffee, tea, chocolate, and sugar: 1,000,000
acres

26. New England States Ag Land -- US Ag Census (1,000 Acres)
Total ac Cropland Pastureland Farm land % Farm land % Forest % Dev
CT 1910 3,101 535 453 988 32%
ME 19,746 1,588 773 2,361 12%
MA 4,993 655 510 1,165 23%
NH 5,729 593 336 929 16%
RI 662 84 94 178 27%
VT 5,899 1,204 430 1,634 28%
New Eng 40,130 4,659 2,596 7,255 18%
CT 1945 3,101 530 270 800 26%
ME 19,746 1,490 439 1,929 10%
MA 4,993 703 247 950 19%
NH 5,729 509 231 740 13%
RI 662 81 41 122 18%
VT 5,899 1,281 1,023 2,304 39%
New Eng 40,130 4,594 2,251 6,845 17%
CT 2007 3,101 164 33 197 6% 60% 34%
ME 19,746 529 62 591 3% 94% 3%
MA 4,993 187 48 235 5% 65% 30%
NH 5,729 129 34 163 3% 89% 8%
RI 662 24 6 30 5% 55% 40%
VT 5,899 517 137 654 11% 85% 4%
New Eng 40,130 1,550 320 1,870 5%
CT 2060 3,101 320 90 410 13% 50% 37%
ME 19,746 1,000 1,250 2,250 11% 84% 5%
MA 4,993 500 300 800 16% 50% 34%
NH 5,729 500 450 950 17% 74% 9%
RI 662 30 10 40 6% 50% 44%
VT 5,899 650 900 1,550 26% 69% 5%
New Eng 40,130 3,000 3,000 6,000 15% 73% 12%

27. Ag Acreage to Population Ratios
Region Pop (M) Ag (M ac) Ag (ac/cap) % Ag % Forest
New Eng 2060 17 6.0 0.35 15 73
NY ~2003-2009 20 8.0 0.40 27 62
PA + NJ 22 7.8 0.35 23 58
MD + DE 7 2.5 0.36 33 44
VA + WV 10 8.1 0.81 20 70
NC 9 7.4 0.83 24 61
SC 5 3.6 0.73 19 68
GA 10 7.2 0.72 20 68
AL 5 6.4 1.27 20 71
MS 3 9.0 3.00 30 64
TN 6 9.7 1.62 37 53
KY 4 10.9 2.72 43 49
MI 10 10.5 1.05 29 60
WI 6 14.0 2.33 41 53
Switz ~2008-2010 8 3.9 0.51 39 31
Italy 61 34.0 0.56 47 35
France 65 73.0 1.12 54 29
UK 61 43.6 0.71 73 12
Sweden 9 7.7 0.86 8 67
Sources: State ac 2003 NRCS NRI; state pops 2009 US Census;
European data from World Bank and FAO, pop 2010, ag land 2008