Land Use, Conservation Policies, and Agricultural Production in Brazil and the United States

Constanza Valdes, Eric C. Davis, Scott Callahan, Kate Binzen Fuller, Trina Weilert, Sara Scott and Jennifer Bond

No 414555, Economic Research Report from United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service

Abstract: Over the past 40 years, Brazil’s agricultural production has rapidly increased through land expansion and rising yields. This growth has transformed Brazil into the world’s second-largest agro-food exporter by value and a major competitor of the United States in global markets for soybeans, grains, cotton, and meats. Since 1985, 253 million acres (103 million hectares) of Brazil’s forestland have been converted to pastureland and cropland. To mitigate the loss, the Government of Brazil has recently enhanced conservation policies focused on forest conservation and pasture maintenance. In the United States, over a comparable time, agricultural production has grown steadily, even as the area used for agricultural cultivation has declined and grassland and forestland acreage has risen. The productivity gains in U.S. agriculture are attributable to sustainable intensification facilitated by both technological innovation and enhanced management practices. Longstanding voluntary U.S. conservation programs, including the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), support the establishment of vegetative cover and other conservation practices on highly erodible lands and other environmentally sensitive acres. This report provides an overview of the land-use changes, productivity gains, and conservation policies in both the United States and Brazil, with particular attention to the drivers and status of deforestation in Brazil.

Keywords: Agricultural and Food Policy; Crop Production/Industries; Environmental Economics and Policy; International Relations/Trade; Land Economics/Use; Livestock Production/Industries; Productivity Analysis; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies; Resource/Energy Economics and Policy; Sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 48
Date: 2026-10
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:uersrr:414555

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.414555

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