Buying land, planning a garden plot or checking a field? Enter an address to see USDA's farmland classification for the soil there, and the land capability class behind it.
US addresses only: street address, city and state, or ZIP.
Example result · Story County, Iowa
All areas are prime farmland
Source: USDA SSURGO · Story County, Iowa (IA169) · map unit 2765537 · survey data as of 9/8/2026 · How we get this data · What’s a soil survey?
Search your own address above to check your spot.
The Farmland Protection Policy Act defines prime farmland, unique farmland, and farmland of statewide or local importance. Unique farmland is land other than prime farmland used for specific high-value food and fiber crops; farmland of statewide or local importance is other land a state or local government agency names as important for food, feed, fiber, forage or oilseed crops[1]. The soil survey adds conditional classes, such as prime farmland if drained, and ‘Not prime farmland’[2]. We show the class exactly as USDA publishes it for your point.
Under 7 CFR 657.5, prime farmland has the soil quality, growing season and moisture supply needed to economically produce sustained high yields when managed by acceptable farming methods, with water from precipitation or irrigation, and it either doesn’t flood frequently or is protected from flooding[3].
Some soils are prime only once a condition is met: where drained, where irrigated, or where protected from flooding. ‘Prime farmland if drained’ means the soil qualifies only where it has been drained[2].
USDA also sorts soils into eight land capability classes by how much they limit field crops; the first four can produce crops under good management. The definitions, from Agriculture Handbook 210[4]:
| Class | What it means |
|---|---|
| 1 | Few limitations that restrict use. |
| 2 | Some limitations that reduce the choice of plants or require moderate conservation practices. |
| 3 | Severe limitations that reduce the choice of plants, require special conservation practices, or both. |
| 4 | Very severe limitations that restrict the choice of plants, require very careful management, or both. |
| 5 | Little or no erosion hazard, but other limitations, impractical to remove, limit use largely to pasture, range, woodland or wildlife. |
| 6 | Severe limitations make it generally unsuited to cultivation; use is largely pasture or range, woodland or wildlife. |
| 7 | Very severe limitations make it unsuited to cultivation; use is largely grazing, woodland or wildlife. |
| 8 | Limitations preclude commercial plant production; use is restricted to recreation, wildlife, water supply or esthetic purposes. |
8 classes: USDA’s land capability scale, from few limitations (class 1) to limitations that preclude commercial plant production (class 8)[4]. See it mapped across the US on the soil quality map.
Clarion loam in Story County, Iowa: ‘All areas are prime farmland’, land capability class 2: some limitations that reduce the choice of plants or require moderate conservation practices.[2][4]
The Farmland Protection Policy Act asks federal programs to minimize how much they contribute to the unnecessary and irreversible conversion of farmland to nonagricultural uses, and the farmland it covers is prime, unique, or of statewide or local importance[1]. So the class is weighed when a federally funded project would take land out of farming. See how prime farmland is spread across the country on the prime farmland map.
We read the map unit’s farmland class and its non-irrigated and irrigated land capability classes[2], and phrase each capability class from Agriculture Handbook 210[4].
Land with the best combination of physical and chemical characteristics for producing food, feed, forage, fiber and oilseed crops, and available for those uses[1].
The soil qualifies as prime farmland only where it has been drained[2].
Land other than prime farmland used for specific high-value food and fiber crops, such as citrus, tree nuts, olives, cranberries, fruits and vegetables[1].
Some limitations that reduce the choice of plants or require moderate conservation practices. With classes 1, 3 and 4 it is one of the four classes that can produce crops under good management[4].
It names the main kind of limitation: e for erosion, w for excess water, s for soil limits in the root zone, c for climate. Class 1 carries no letter[4].
Marko Visic · MPharm, BSc Physics · Last reviewed November 13, 2026
Expansive Soil Checker
See how much the soil at an address shrinks and swells, and whether USDA says it can damage buildings.
Water Table Depth
Find how close to the surface the seasonal water table comes at an address.
Septic Suitability Checker
See USDA's rating for a septic drain field at any US address.
Building Site Checker
See USDA's soil ratings for houses with and without basements at an address.
Soil Texture Triangle Calculator
Enter sand, silt and clay to name your USDA texture class on the triangle.
Soil Jar Test Calculator
Settle your soil in a jar, measure the layers, and get your USDA texture class.
Soil Ribbon Test
Answer a few questions about how your soil feels to estimate its texture class.
Topsoil Calculator
Enter area and depth for topsoil in cubic yards, bags and estimated weight.
Raised Bed Soil Calculator
Enter bed size and depth for the soil you need, split into your own mix.
Compost Calculator
Area and depth to cubic yards and bags, using university application rates.
Soil Bulk Density Calculator
Work out soil bulk density from a ring sample, and whether it restricts roots.
Soil Porosity Calculator
Turn bulk density into pore space, and see how it compares with the ideal.
Soil Moisture Content Calculator
Find soil moisture from wet and dry weights, gravimetric and volumetric.
Soil Infiltration Rate Calculator
Time how fast an inch of water soaks in, for a rate in inches per hour.
Soil Water Holding Capacity Calculator
How much plant-available water your root zone holds, in inches and gallons.