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Basic Information about Agriculture
Of the 76.5 million acres of land located within the Mid-Atlantic Region, 22 million acres or 28.7% of the land is primarily used for agricultural purposes. The average farm size ranges between 122 acres and 234 acres. Agricultural land use varies by state.
Data was gathered from the US Department of Agriculture for the year 2007
- Delaware encompasses 1.3 million acres, with 0.6 million acres or 40% used for agriculture.
- Maryland covers a total area of 6.2 million acres, with 2.0 million or 32.3% used for agriculture.
- Pennsylvania covers a total area of 28.7 million acres, with 7.7 million acres or 26.8% used for agriculture.
- The Commonwealth of Virginia encompasses 24.9 million acres, with 8.5 million acres or 34% used for agriculture.
- West Virginia covers a total area of 15.4 million acres, with 3.6 million acres or 23.4% used for agriculture.
The top five agricultural commodities in the United States in 2007 were cattle and calves, dairy products, broilers, corn, and soybeans. Of these five commodities, Pennsylvania ranked in the top 5 with over 10.7 million poundsin dairy production. All Region 3 states, except for West Virginia, ranked in the top 15 with over 9.9 million broilers total or 11% of the national total.
Courtesy of USDA
Across EPA Region 3, the agricultural industry varies. Delaware and Maryland are known for their broiler populations, Pennsylvania is known for its dairy production, Virginia has a diverse agricultural industry, and poultry operations are increasing in West Virginia.
