1 - E-Library

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11. The Land Resource
Soil Quality
Adams County is particularly well endowed with good farmland - the most basic resource
on which farming depends. The Important Farmlands map for Adams County, prepared by
the United States Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service (USDASCS), shows
that nearly all of the county has land good enough to be classified in one of the four
categories of important farmland. Data on prime farmland are also available based on the
Agricultural Capability Classification of soils. Both systems for classifying the quality of soils
for agriculture were developed by the Soil Conservation Senrice.
The Prime and Unique Farmland map (Figure 2.6.1) has been extracted from the
USDASCS Important Farmlands map. Important Farmlands includes four categories:
% of Relative
Acres Countv Value
Prime Farmland 97,330 29.2 80
Unique Farmland
Other Than Prime Farmland
Additional Farmland
15,100 4.5 B.a.
of Statewide Importance
Additional Farmland
125,230 37.5 59
of Local Importance 48,860 14.7 33
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Total
286,520 86.0
P r i m e d is defined as land best suited for producing food, feed, forage, fiber,
and oilseed crops, and also available for these uses. (The land could be cropland,
pastureland, rangeland, forest land, or other land but not built-up land or water). It
has the soil quality, growing season, and moisture supply needed to produce sustained
high yields of crops economically when treated and managed, including water
management, according to modem farming methods.
The 42 soil types (officially, "mapping units") that are classified as Prime Farmland
in Adam County consist primarily of soils of Agricultural Capability Classes I and
2-6-2
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