Agricultural Soils Mapping

The first step in developing a successful farmland preservation program is to identify the prime agricultural soils in an area. In the early 1960s, soil scientists with the USDA Soil Conservation Service (now the Natural Resources Conservation Service) conducted fieldwork to delineate the soil types in Tompkins County. Soil types were then placed in "capability groups" to show, in general, how suitable the soils are for most kinds of farming.

Using this information, along with any other criteria the community wishes to use, such as proximity of active farms to one another, viability of farm operations, agricultural support services in the area, etc., a community can target their resources and strategies toward agricultural areas that are most crucial. Geographic Information Systems software can be a useful tool for displaying the location of prime agricultural soils in a community.