Agricultural Land

Most of the land in Canada suited to agriculture is already in production. Although the total amount of farmland is relatively constant, important changes have occurred within the agricultural land base, such as reductions in summerfallow area, shifts in cropping patterns, more intensive production in some areas, and conversion of prime farmland to non-agricultural uses.

The Future

Agricultural land is a finite resource and it must be used in ways that provide sustainable benefits. AAFC is developing the capacity to assess the current state of the land and water resources across Canada through the use of Geographic Information Systems. The National Land and Water Information Service (NLWIS) is being developed in partnership with other federal departments, provincial governments, NGOs and industry groups. This service provides on line access to information, analysis and interpretation of land and water information for making better agricultural land and water management decisions.

The Present

The Prairie Agricultural Landscapes - A Land Resource Review (PAL) report provides a summary of the state of Prairie land resources and their capacity to support present and future agricultural production and value-added processing. The PAL document examines the emerging environmental issues, geographic distribution of different farming systems, economic and resource data.

The Past 100 years

The Canadian Digital Collection web site identifies the challenges of agricultural development and farming in the Prairie provinces over the past century. This site provides information about the major agricultural projects in the areas of water supply, land conservation and irrigation which have influenced the Prairie landscape. Learn more about the past agricultural developments at http://collections.gc.ca/landandwater/