Land used primarily for the production of row crops, close-growing crops, and fruit and nut crops. The nation’s cropland acreage declined from 420 million acres in 1982 to 368 million acres in 2002, a decrease of about 12 percent, while the net decline between 1992 and 2002 was 13 million acres, or 3 percent. Ohio ’s cropland totals about 15 million acres and accounts for approximately 55 percent of the land area.

Areas that are planted to grain or row crops, or that are plowed and left fallow. Usually these areas receive some tillage each year

Land in which crops are regularly planted and harvested. It includes land in fallow or pasture as part of a regular rotation system.

Total cropland includes five components: cropland harvested, crop failure, cultivated summer fallow, cropland used only for pasture, and idle cropland. The estimate of total cropland in 2002 includes total cropland as reported by the 2002 Census of Agriculture (NASS, 2004) plus an upward adjustment to conform to data on principal crops harvested reported by USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) for 2002.