Assessment of the condition of agricultural lands in six mid-Atlantic states

Indicators of the condition and sustainability of agricultural lands coveri ng 5.5 million ha in six mid-Atlantic states were measured in 1994 and 1995 . The primary objective was to collect baseline information against which f uture data from the region ran be compared. Soil samples and questionnaire data were collected from a random sample of 293 sites. Indicators addressed productivity, management at the agroecosystem scale, and management for th e landscape scale on annual crop land. Crop yields were almost 30% higher t han those of the 1980s, with a mean observed to expected yield index of 1.2 7. The mean soil quality index showed moderate quality for supporting plant growth. Non-tilled sites, which were mostly hay, had greater microbial bio mass than tilled sites. Just over half of the annual crop land was covered by rotation plans; hay fields accounted for most of the land where one crop was grown continuously. Hay showed a lower use of applied nitrogen than se ed crops. Integrated pest management was practiced on less than 20% of annu al crop land. Twenty-seven different annual crops were grown in the region, with hay (all types) the dominant crop. Less than 20% of the land where pe sticides were applied had high to moderately high potential for pesticides leaching into ground water. This information provides a baseline for long-t erm monitoring of agricultural lands in the region.