Where the Crops Grow

Since weather and land availability vary across the country, so do the crops. This is the cropland geography of the United States.

Click the maps to embiggen.

Grass and Grain

Grains take up the most space — especially corn and wheat in the midwest. The former has found its way east, west, and south, too, although not as prominently.

Flower and Seed

Alfalfa and other hay-related flowering plants are spattered across the country. The other flower and seed crops are regional, such as cotton in the south and canola in the north.

Fruit and Vegetable

Fruits and vegetables are a lot more regional than the above. I assume a big part of that is weather.

Nut and Legume

The nuts and legumes are also highly regional. There are peanuts in the south, chickpeas and lentils in the northwest, and almonds, walnuts, and pistachios in California. Soybeans are the standout. The United States should eat more tofu.

Combination

Some areas grow more than one crop, as shown below.

No Crops

Some cropland is not in use as of 2022.

The data is from 2022 with a spatial resolution of 30 meters. It comes from the United States Department of Agriculture, and they’ve released a data layer every year since 2008.

USDA produces estimates based on satellite imagery, which isn’t foolproof, but seems to be good for a wideout view. Some crops were low density and low accuracy. I did not include them in the above set of maps.

I analyzed the data and made the maps in R.