1 - E-Library

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II. In addition, five mapping units are rated Capability Class 111.
Uniaue Farmland is land other than prime farmland that is used for the production
of specific high-value food and fiber crops. In Adams County it consists primarily of
land in orchards.
Additional Land of Statewide Importance is land, in addition to prime and unique
farmland, that is of statewide importance for agricultural production. Pennsylvania
has defined this category as consisting of soil mapping units in Capability Classes I1
and III that do not qualify as prime or unique farmland.
Additional Farmland of Local Importance is defined by Adams County as land of
Capability Classes IIIw and IVw. Much of this land has a high water table (as
indicated by the "w") and is used for pasture or for corn, wheat, or hay.
The relative values given in the table above are unweighted averages of the ratings assigned
by the Adams County Farmland Preservation Board to the soil mapping units in each
Important Farmlands classification.
The Prime and Unique Farmlands map (Figure 2.6.1) shows that prime farmland is widely
dispersed throughout much of the county. Commonly it occurs in relatively small areas
separated from other areas of prime farmland or farmland of statewide or local importance.
The major concentrations, however, are in the central plain and in the western foothills next
to unique fannland. There, both prime and unique farmland are used for orchards.
The second system for classifying soil quality for agriculture, the Agricultural Capability
rating system, has eight categories:
Class I. Soils that have few limitations restricting their use.
Class II. Soils that have some limitations, reducing the choice of plants or requiring
moderate conservation practices.
Class El. Soils that have severe limitations that reduce choice of plants or require
special conservation practices, or both.
Class N. Soils that have very severe limitations that restrict the choice of plants,
require very careful management or both.
Class V. Soils that have little or no erosion hazard but have other limitations,
impractical to remove, that limit their use to pasture, woodland, or wildlife food and
cover. (No class V soils have been mapped in Adams County).
Class VI. Soils that have severe limitations that make them generally unsuited to
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