National Resource Inventory (NRI)

Prime farmland is land that has the best combination of physical characteristics for producing food, feed, forage, and oilseed crops and is available for these uses. Illinois had 20,894,000 acres of soils classified as prime farmland in 1997. About 18,679,800 (89.4%) of these acres were used as cropland. The remaining amount was used for pastureland, forestland, CRP land, and other rural land.

Prime farmland in Illinois is decreasing. Approximately 405,900 acres of prime farmland have been lost since 1982. Over 40% of this acreage have been lost in the past five years alone. The state is currently losing approximately 33,000 acres of prime farmland every year.

Illinois ranks 10th in the "Top Ten" states with developed land issues. Only four other states in the nation-Texas, Ohio, Georgia, and North Carolina- are losing prime farmland at a faster rate than Illinois.