Provisional Agricultural Land Classification Grade. Agricultural land classified into five grades. Grade one is best quality and grade five is poorest quality. A number of consistent criteria used for assessment which include climate (temperature, rainfall, aspect, exposure, frost risk), site (gradient, micro-relief, flood risk) and soil (depth, structure, texture, chemicals, stoniness) for England only. Digitised from the published 1:250,000 map which was in turn compiled from the 1 inch to the mile maps.More information about the Agricultural Land Classification can be found at the following links:http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130402200910/http://archive.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/landmanage/land-use/documents/alc-guidelines-1988.pdfhttp://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/35012.Full metadata can be viewed on data.gov.uk.

Survey name: Roxton A1(M) Improvements (Map 3) Post 1988 Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) site survey data – scanned original paper maps and survey reports for individual sites surveyed in detail between 1989 and 1999 by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. Where Grade 3 is mapped this includes the subdivision of Grade 3 into subgrades 3a and 3b. Surveys use the current grading methodology as described in "Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales," a link for which is provided with the data. Individual sites have been mapped at varying scales and level of detail from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000 (typically 1:10,000). Unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions are also available for some surveys. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year]. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year].

The Crop Map of England (CROME) is a polygon vector dataset mainly containing the crop types of England. The dataset contains approximately 32 million hexagonal cells classifying England into over 20 main crop types, grassland, and non-agricultural land covers, such as Woodland, Water Bodies, Fallow Land and other non-agricultural land covers. The classification was created automatically using supervised classification (Random Forest Classification) from the combination of Sentinel-1 Radar and Sentinel-2 Optical Satellite images during the period late January 2019 – September 2019. The dataset was created to aid the classification of crop types from optical imagery, which can be affected by cloud cover. The results were checked against survey data collected by field inspectors and visually validated. The data has been split into the Ordnance Survey Ceremonial Counties and each county is given a three letter code. Please refer to the CROME specification document to see which county each CODE label represents.

The National scale land capability for agriculture spatial dataset provides information on the types of crops that may be grown in different areas dependent on environmental and soil characteristics. This map covers the entire country and it can be used to determine the areas most suited to growing crops or grazing livestock.

The digital dataset contains information on the 'class' of soil. Soil classes range from Class 1 (land capable of producing a wide range of crops) to Class 7 (land of very little agricultural value). Land within Class 3 is subdivided to provide further information on potential yields; Classes 4 and 5 are further divided to provide information on grasslands; Class 6 is divided on the quality of the natural vegetation for grazing. Classes 1 to 3.1 are known as prime agricultural land.

The Land Capability for Agriculture assessment was carried out in 1981 using data collected between 1978 and 1981. The National scale land capability for agriculture map was then created in 1983 at a scale of 1:250 000. The map should be cited as: 'Soil Survey of Scotland Staff (1981). Land Capability for Agriculture maps of Scotland at a scale of 1:250 000. Macaulay Institute for Soil Research, Aberdeen.10.5281/zenodo.6322683'.

There is an accompanying booklet that describes the classification in more detail and set out the rules and guidelines to be used. This booklet should be referenced as: Bibby, J.S., Douglas, H.A., Thomasson, A.J. and Robertson, J.S. (1991) Land capability classification for agriculture. Soil Survey of Scotland Monograph. The Macaulay Institute for Soil Research. Aberdeen. ISBN -0-7084-0508-8.

The spatial dataset is provided under the James Hutton Institute open data licence included within the zipped dataset.

The maintenance of this dataset is funded by the Rural & Environment Science & Analytical Services Division of the Scottish Government. The data can also be downloaded from or viewed at https://www.hutton.ac.uk/soil-maps/ or viewed at https://soils.environment.gov.scot.

THE CLASSES
Class 1. Land capable of producing a very wide range of crops with high yields
Class 2. Land capable of producing a wide range of crops with yields less high than Class 1.
Class 3. Land capable of producing good yields from a moderate range of crops.
Class 4. Land capable of producing a narrow range of crops.
Class 5. Land suited only to improved grassland and rough grazing.
Class 6. Land capable only of use as rough grazing.
Class 7. Land of very limited agricultural value.

Survey name: Hurstpierpoint, Muddleswood (West Sussex Mins MLP62) Post 1988 Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) site survey data – scanned original paper maps and survey reports for individual sites surveyed in detail between 1989 and 1999 by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. Where Grade 3 is mapped this includes the subdivision of Grade 3 into subgrades 3a and 3b. Surveys use the current grading methodology as described in "Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales," a link for which is provided with the data. Individual sites have been mapped at varying scales and level of detail from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000 (typically 1:10,000). Unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions are also available for some surveys. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year].

The Crop Map of England (CROME) is a polygon vector dataset mainly containing the crop types of England. The dataset contains approximately 32 million hexagonal cells classifying England into over 50 main crop types, grassland, and non-agricultural land covers, such as Trees, Water Bodies, Fallow Land and other non-agricultural land covers. The classification was created automatically using supervised classification (Random Forest Classification) from the combination of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 images during the period late January 2017 – August 2017. The dataset was created to aid the classification of crop types from optical imagery, which can be affected by cloud cover. The results were checked against survey data collected by field inspectors and visually validated. Refer to the CROME specification document.

Survey name: Mogerhanger A1(M) Improvements (Map 4) Post 1988 Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) site survey data – scanned original paper maps and survey reports for individual sites surveyed in detail between 1989 and 1999 by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. Where Grade 3 is mapped this includes the subdivision of Grade 3 into subgrades 3a and 3b. Surveys use the current grading methodology as described in "Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales," a link for which is provided with the data. Individual sites have been mapped at varying scales and level of detail from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000 (typically 1:10,000). Unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions are also available for some surveys. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year]. Attribution statement: Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year].

The dataset should be cited as: Soil Survey of Scotland Staff (1981). Land Capability for Agriculture maps of Scotland at a scale of 1:250 000. Macaulay Institute for Soil Research, Aberdeen. 10.5281/zenodo.6322683Sourced from the James Hutton Institute : linkThematic Maps and Capability maps: Thematic maps show the distribution of a specific soil property or theme, such as topsoil organic carbon content or soil texture.Capability maps use soil data along with information on other properties, such as climate or landscape, to classify the land for a specific purpose such as the Land Capability for Agriculture Classification (LCA) – an assessment of the capacity of land to produce food. We strongly recommend that the 1:50,000 Land Capability for Agriculture is used in preference to 1:250,000. Where it exists (predominantly in the agricultural lowlands of the south and east of the country) the 1:50,000 scale map information is seen as the definitive mapped assessment. For a more site-specific query or to resolve a planning issue, we recommend that a further and very detailed site inspection is carried out. A scan of the printed handbook “Land Capability Classification for Agriculture” (Bibby, J. S., Douglas, H. A., Thomasson, A. J., Robertson, J. S. (1991). Land Capability for Agriculture, Aberdeen: Macaulay Land Use Research Institute) may be downloaded by clicking here.Land Capability for Agriculture national cover (1:250,000)

Survey name: Astwick A1(M) Improvements (Map 6) Post 1988 Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) site survey data – scanned original paper maps and survey reports for individual sites surveyed in detail between 1989 and 1999 by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. Where Grade 3 is mapped this includes the subdivision of Grade 3 into subgrades 3a and 3b. Surveys use the current grading methodology as described in "Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales," a link for which is provided with the data. Individual sites have been mapped at varying scales and level of detail from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000 (typically 1:10,000). Unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions are also available for some surveys. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year]. Attribution statement: Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year].

The Land capability for agriculture (partial cover) spatial dataset provides information on the types of crops that may be grown in different areas dependent on environmental and soil characteristics. This map covers much of the productive agricultural land in Scotland and it can be used to determine the areas most suited to growing crops or grazing livestock.

The Land capability for agriculture map (partial cover) was originally mapped at 1:50 000 scale by field survey and was subsequently digitised. It shows the distribution of the different land classes across virtually all of Scotland’s cultivated agricultural land and adjacent uplands. The map should be cited as: 'Soil Survey of Scotland Staff (1984-87). Land Capability for Agriculture maps of Scotland at a scale of 1:50 000. Macaulay Institute for Soil Research, Aberdeen. 10.5281/zenodo.6322760'.

The digital dataset contains information on the 'class' of soil. Soil classes range from Class 1 (land capable of producing a wide range of crops) to Class 7 (land of very little agricultural value). Land within Class 3 is subdivided to provide further information on potential yields; Classes 4 and 5 are further divided to provide information on grasslands; Class 6 is divided on the quality of the natural vegetation for grazing. Classes 1 to 3.1 are known as prime agricultural land.

There is an accompanying booklet that describes the classification in more detail and set out the rules and guidelines to be used. This booklet should be referenced as: Bibby, J.S., Douglas, H.A., Thomasson, A.J. and Robertson, J.S. (1991) Land capability classification for agriculture. Soil Survey of Scotland Monograph. The Macaulay Institute for Soil Research. Aberdeen. ISBN -0-7084-0508-8.

The spatial dataset is provided under the James Hutton Institute open data licence included within the zipped dataset.

The maintenance of this dataset is funded by the Rural & Environment Science & Analytical Services Division of the Scottish Government. The data can also be downloaded from or viewed at https://www.hutton.ac.uk/learning/natural-resource-datasets/soilshutton/soils-maps-scotland/download or viewed at https://soils.environment.gov.scot.

THE CLASSES
Class 1. Land capable of producing a very wide range of crops with high yields
Class 2. Land capable of producing a wide range of crops with yields less high than Class 1.
Class 3. Land capable of producing good yields from a moderate range of crops.
Class 4. Land capable of producing a narrow range of crops.
Class 5. Land suited only to improved grassland and rough grazing.
Class 6. Land capable only of use as rough grazing.
Class 7. Land of very limited agricultural value.

Survey name: Bishop Auckland (Etherley Grange) (Wear Valley L.P.) Post 1988 Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) site survey data - scanned original paper maps and survey reports for individual sites surveyed in detail between 1989 and 1999 by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. Where Grade 3 is mapped this includes the subdivision of Grade 3 into subgrades 3a and 3b. Surveys use the current grading methodology as described in "Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales," a link for which is provided with the data. Individual sites have been mapped at varying scales and level of detail from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000 (typically 1:10,000). Unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions are also available for some surveys. Attribution statement: Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data. Crown copyright and database right [year].

Survey name: Beltingham, Ridley Hall (Northumberland M.L.P.)

Post 1988 Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) site survey data – scanned original paper maps and survey reports for individual sites surveyed in detail between 1989 and 1999 by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. Where Grade 3 is mapped this includes the subdivision of Grade 3 into subgrades 3a and 3b. Surveys use the current grading methodology as described in "Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales," a link for which is provided with the data. Individual sites have been mapped at varying scales and level of detail from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000 (typically 1:10,000). Unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions are also available for some surveys. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year]. (Environment theme)

Crop year 2014 US map at the county level shows designations across the country under USDA's amended rule. The faster, more efficient process will immediately expand assistance to more than 1,000 counties in 26 states.

The Crop Map of England (CROME) is a polygon vector dataset mainly containing the crop types of England. The dataset contains approximately 32 million hexagonal cells classifying England into over 15 main crop types, grassland, and non-agricultural land covers, such as Woodland, Water Bodies, Fallow Land and other non-agricultural land covers. The classification was created automatically using supervised classification (Random Forest Classification) from the combination of Sentinel-1 Radar and Sentinel-2 Optical Satellite images during the period late October 2021 – September 2022. The dataset was created to aid the classification of crop types from optical imagery, which can be affected by cloud cover. The results were checked against survey data collected by field inspectors and visually validated. The data has been split into the Ordnance Survey Ceremonial Counties and each county is given a three letter code. Please refer to the CROME specification document to see which county each CODE label represents.

Survey name: Great Leighs, Essex Showground Post 1988 Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) site survey data – scanned original paper maps and survey reports for individual sites surveyed in detail between 1989 and 1999 by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. Where Grade 3 is mapped this includes the subdivision of Grade 3 into subgrades 3a and 3b. Surveys use the current grading methodology as described in "Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales," a link for which is provided with the data. Individual sites have been mapped at varying scales and level of detail from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000 (typically 1:10,000). Unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions are also available for some surveys. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year].

Survey name: Buckden A1(M) Improvements (Map 1) Post 1988 Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) site survey data – scanned original paper maps and survey reports for individual sites surveyed in detail between 1989 and 1999 by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. Where Grade 3 is mapped this includes the subdivision of Grade 3 into subgrades 3a and 3b. Surveys use the current grading methodology as described in "Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales," a link for which is provided with the data. Individual sites have been mapped at varying scales and level of detail from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000 (typically 1:10,000). Unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions are also available for some surveys. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year]. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year].

Survey name: Portchester, Wicor Farm (Fareham BLP)

Post 1988 Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) site survey data - scanned original paper maps and survey reports for individual sites surveyed in detail between 1989 and 1999 by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. Where Grade 3 is mapped this includes the subdivision of Grade 3 into subgrades 3a and 3b. Surveys use the current grading methodology as described in "Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales," a link for which is provided with the data. Individual sites have been mapped at varying scales and level of detail from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000 (typically 1:10,000). Unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions are also available for some surveys. Attribution statement: Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data. Crown copyright and database right [year].

Survey name: Aylesbury, Wendover Road (Aylesbury Vale LP) Post 1988 Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) site survey data – scanned original paper maps and survey reports for individual sites surveyed in detail between 1989 and 1999 by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. Where Grade 3 is mapped this includes the subdivision of Grade 3 into subgrades 3a and 3b. Surveys use the current grading methodology as described in "Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales," a link for which is provided with the data. Individual sites have been mapped at varying scales and level of detail from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000 (typically 1:10,000). Unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions are also available for some surveys. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year].

Survey name: Alton, Chawton Park Farm (East Hants DLP)

Post 1988 Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) site survey data - scanned original paper maps and survey reports for individual sites surveyed in detail between 1989 and 1999 by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. Where Grade 3 is mapped this includes the subdivision of Grade 3 into subgrades 3a and 3b. Surveys use the current grading methodology as described in "Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales," a link for which is provided with the data. Individual sites have been mapped at varying scales and level of detail from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000 (typically 1:10,000). Unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions are also available for some surveys. Attribution statement: Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data. Crown copyright and database right [year].