Economic New York State County Map

 The Average Value of Land and Buildings Per Acre from the NAICS in 2007

 The interactive map that created on Google Fusion shows the average value of land and buildings per acre, from the NAICS in 2007. This geo-referenced economically focused state wide data displays in a dollar amount the value of the land and buildings per acre, concerning agricultural production.  The purple shaded gradient scale I used displays the relationship between areas of higher value and areas of lower value. The darker the shade of purple is, the higher the value is per acre. New York, NY for example has a zero value per acre because of its lack of farm land.  The reason for this is most likely because they don’t count personal gardens, whether it be inside, on a rooftop or backyard.  The counties north of and including Orange and Dutchess, are valued under $ 6,000 per acre.  Putnam County is below Dutchess and jumps up in value to $13,964 per acre.  Rockland County to the west of Putnam County is valued at $56,515. The reason for this may be because of higher demands for food in the county and the areas surrounding the good farmland.  Since New York, NY has very poor representation of value per acre of farm land and buildings, it may depend more upon other counties that are close in proximity.  Suffolk County has a value of $ 18,115 per acre, which is the lowest price downstate past Dutchess and Orange Counties. Nassau has the second highest value per acre at $98,997. The largest value per acre is Richmond County at $120,776. This is a rather small county and is located directly west of New York, NY.  

                In class we learned about rural gentrification bringing about change in certain areas in which people of higher incomes move into. I believe this is the reason why Dutchess, Ulster, Sullivan and Orange Counties have a higher per acre value than say an area further away from the city. The reason these places are strategic is because they are in commuting distance from the city and a lot of people travel or have lived in the city. When there are new people moving in with ideas for sustainability and farming, but do not have the land in cities including Albany, there is a greater chance that it will start up in rural areas.  A lot of these rural areas including Warren, Hamilton, Saratoga counties are already focused on farming activities, the movement of gentrification expands that market. When people start to become interested in local food and start to value its existence the demand increases, therefore so does the land and building price.  In suburbs like Nassau County, it is even more important to preserve some of the landscape for feeding the people in the area. The fact that land there is more expensive than upstate will drive the price of farmland high as well. The overall high price of farm land in certain areas correlates to high prices on land for any type of land use including building homes and businesses. The types of markets here are designed for people who enjoy and have a taste for it. Such farming and agricultural activities may include wineries and fresh greens.  Each county that has a higher per acre value tends to have an area of expertise as well as a sense of place for certain foods to be marketed. Some areas are known for their wine, others for their apples and some for their cattle. These all contribute to the land prices as it is shown distributed throughout the state.

                The data that I found is from NAICS in 2007 and opens in an excel spreadsheet. The figures focus on Agricultural land and building value in different NYS counties. The data shows the average value of land and buildings per acre. The data ranges from $0 to over $ 120,000 and is published by the U.S Department of Agriculture-National Agriculture Statistics Services.