The Soils of Elgin County - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

SOIL INTERPRETATIONS FOR AGRICULTUREA .Agricultural Capability Classification for Common Field Crops(1) Capability Classification for MineralSoilsThe agricultural land capability ratingsprovided in Table 4 are based on the Canada LandInventory (CLI) soil capability classification system(17) . It groups mineral soils into seven classesaccording to their potential and limitation foragricultural use for common field crops. Commonfield crops include corn, oats, wheat, barley, andperennial forage crops such as alfalfa, grasses, andbird's foot trefoil.The best soils, with no significant limitationsfor growing common field crops, are designatedClass 1 . Soils designated Classes 2 to 6 havedecreasing capability for growing common fieldcrops, and Class 7 soils have no agriculturalpotential to grow common field crops .Soil Capability ClassesDescriptions of the classes in the classificationsystem are as follows :Class 1 - Soils in this class have no significantlimitations in use for crops . These soils are levelto very gently sloping, deep, well to imperfectlydrained, and hold moisture and plant nutrientswell . They can be managed and cropped withoutdifficulty . Under good management they aremoderately high to high in productivity forcommon field crops .Class 2 - Soils in this class have moderatelimitations that restrict the range of crops, orrequire moderate conservation practices . Thesesoils are deep and may not hold moisture andnutrients as well as Class 1 soils . The limitationsare moderate and the soils can be managed andcropped with little difficulty. Under goodmanagement they are moderately high to high inproductivity for a wide range of common fieldcrops .Class 3 - Soils in this class have moderately severelimitations that restrict the range of crops, orrequire special conservation practices . Thelimitations are more severe than for Class 2 soils .They affect one or more of the following practices :timing and ease of tillage; planting and harvesting;choice of crops; and methods of conservation .Under good management they are fair tomoderately high in productivity for a fairly widerange of common field crops.Class 4 - Soils in this class have severe limitationsthat restrict the range of crops, or require specialconservation practices, or both. The limitationsseriously affect one or more of the followingpractices : timing and ease of tillage, planting andharvesting; choice of crops; and methods ofconservation . The soils are low to fair inproductivity for a narrow range of common fieldcrops, but may have higher productivity for aspecially adapted crop.Class 5 - Soils in this class have very severelimitations that restrict their capability to theproduction of perennial forage crops, andimprovement practices are feasible. Thelimitations are so severe that the soils are notcapable of use for sustained production of annualfield crops . The soils are capable of producingnative or tame species of perennial forage plants,and may be improved by the use of farmmachinery . The improvement practices mayinclude clearing of bush, cultivation, seeding,_fertilizing or water control.Class 6 - Soils in this class are only capable ofproducing perennial forage crops, andimprovement practices are not feasible . Thesesoils provide some sustained grazing for farmanimals, but the limitations are so severe thatimprovement by the use of farm machinery isimpractical . The terrain maybe unsuitable for theuse of farm machinery, or the soils may notrespond to improvement, or the grazing seasonmay be very short .Class 7 - Soils in this class have no capability forarable culture or permanent pasture. This classincludes marsh, rockland and soil on very steepslopes.Soil Capability SubclassesSubclasses are divisions within classes thathave the same kind of limitations for agriculturaluse. Thirteen different kinds of limitations havebeen recognized at the subclass level and aredescribed in the classification system. Eight of thethirteen subclasses were applied when classifyingthe soils in the County, and they have beendescribed. Guidelines for determining mostsubclasses were obtained from the previously cited55