science

Peak farmland

Peak farmland is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Peak farmland rather than just read about it. In short: Peak farmland is the maximum usable amount of land needed for crop cultivation (agricultural land) for a given region (country or an entire world). Supporters of the peak farmland theory argue that even with the growing world population, the need for more farmland is decreasing, as food production yields per acre of farmland are rising faster than the global demand for food.

Key takeaways

Peak farmland belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Peak farmland to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Peak farmland from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Peak farmland is the maximum usable amount of land needed for crop cultivation (agricultural land) for a given region (country or an entire world). Supporters of the peak farmland theory argue that even with the growing world population, the need for more farmland is decreasing, as food production yields per acre of farmland are rising faster than the global demand for food. This is supported by the fact that the area dedicated to farmland in some countries, both developed (e.g. Finland) and developing (e.g. India, China), has already begun to decline. Globally, while the total amount of arable land is still increasing, the area of permanent pasture has been in decline since 1998, with at least 60 million hectares no longer grazed. It is argued that other countries, such as the United States, are at their peak farmland now.

Description The concept is usually referenced to the work of Jesse Ausubel and Iddo Wernick. They predict that over the next fifty years an area of at least 146 million hectares is going to be released from farming and will probably revert to its natural state. As land conversion (from a natural state to human use) is one of the greatest threats to the natural environment in general, and biodiversity in particular, this is seen as good for the environment.

Together with Iddo Wernick [...] we believe that humanity has reached Peak Farmland, and that a large net global restoration of land to Nature is ready to begin. Happily, the cause is not exhaustion of arable land, as many have feared, but rather moderation of population and tastes and ingenuity of farmers. – Jesse H. Ausubel Geisler and Currens note, however, that "Peak Farmland, though newly named, is a long-standing issue" that has been debated by scholars for decades. The issue deals with two opposing views: one that predicts that more and more farmland will be needed to sustain the growing world population, and the other (the peak farmland view) that progress in agricultural techniques, measured in steadily increasing crop yields from a set amount of farmland, will result in a decrease in the amount of farmland needed to feed the world's population, eventually leading to a decrease in the world's acreage of farmland.

See also Food security Peak oil Sustainable agriculture Sustainable fishery

References

Further reading Ausubel, Jesse H.; Wernick, Iddo K.; Waggoner, Paul E. (1 February 2013). "Peak Farmland and the Prospect for Land Sparing". Population and Development Review. 38: 221–242. doi:10.1111/j.1728-4457.2013.00561.x. hdl:10.1111/j.1728-4457.2013.00561.x. ISSN 1728-4457.

External links A graph from Ausubel et al. (2012) summing up their argument

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Peak farmland

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Peak farmland claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Peak farmland before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Peak farmland ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Peak farmland

In research: Peak farmland appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Peak farmland in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Peak farmland is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Agricultural land, Environmental impact of agriculture, Food and the environment, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Peak farmland outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Peak farmland in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Peak farmland means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Peak farmland out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Peak farmland in simple terms?

Why does Peak farmland matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Peak farmland?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Peak farmland.