AGRICULTURAL BULLETIN 



Census Year 



c <" 



Land in Farms 





> IE 



O 00 



<U as 



O i 



« ► 

 c o 

 8 £ 



CJ Q. 



fcS 



1910 2,224,773 



1900 2,231,853 



1890 1,912,297 



18S0 I 1,624,615 



1870 J 1,194,020 



1860 i 674,913 



1850 : 192,214 



33,930,688 

 34,574,337 

 30,491,541 

 24,752,700 

 15,541,793 

 10,069,907 

 2,736,064 



—1.9 

 13.4 

 23.2 

 59.3 

 54.3 



i68.0 



86.5 

 83.4 

 80.3 

 60.0 

 37.7 

 30.1 



*A minus sign ( — ) denotes decrease. 



The land area of Iowa is approximately 35,575,040 acres. Of this 

 area 33,930,688 acres, or 95.4 per cent, are included in farms. Of the 

 farm acreage 29,491,199 acres, or 86.9 per cent, are reported as improved 

 land, representing 82.9 per cent of the total land area of the state. The 

 total acreage of farm land decreased 1.9 per cent during the last decade, 

 while that of improved land decreased only 1.4 per cent. As the reported 

 acreage of improved land showed a smaller relative decrease from 1900 to 

 1910 than did the total acreage in farms, the percentage of farm land im- 

 proved was slightly higher in 1910 than in 1900. 



The table given above also shows a very rapid increase from 1850 

 to 1880 in the total farm acreage and in the acreage of improved land. 

 The proportion of the total land area of the state which was occupied 

 by farms rose during this period from 7.7 to 69.6 per cent, while the 

 proportion which improved land formed of the total land in farms in- 

 creased from 30.1 to 80.3 per cent. From 1880 to 1900 the increase in 

 the total acreage of farm land and in the acreage of improved land was 

 much slower, while during the last decade both have decreased. The pro- 

 portion of the total area of the state in farms reached its maximum in 1900, 

 when it was 97.2 per cent. The increase in the proportion of farm land 

 improved has continued up to the present census, although there was 

 only a slight gain during the last decade. 



Values of farm property, 1850 to 1910. — The agricultural changes in 

 Iowa since 1850, as reflected in the values of the several classes of farm 

 property, are shown in the next table. 



The total wealth of the state in the form of farm property is about 

 $3,746,000,000, of which 87 per cent is represented by land and buildings, 

 2.5 per cent by implements and machinery, and 10.5 per cent by live stock. 

 The relative gain (104.2 per cent) in the total value of farm property 

 from 1900 to 1910 was greater than that during any other decade since 

 1870, while the absolute gain ($1,911,515,000) was over two and a half 

 times as great as the largest increase reported for any other decade. 

 Of the total increase during the last decade $1,759,825,000 represents the 



