Agricultural Land Classification Survey Maps and Reports, 1989-1999

Post-1988 Agricultural Land Classification survey data includes scanned original paper maps and reports for sites surveyed in detail between 1989 and 1999 by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. Surveys map land grades, including subdivisions of Grade 3 into 3a and 3b, using methodology from the official classification guidelines. Some surveys also include unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions.

Use Cases

• Mapping historical agricultural land quality based on detailed survey grades.
• Analyzing soil characteristics based on available sample point and pit description data.
• Comparing land classification detail across varying survey scales from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000.

Strengths

• Data spans a defined 10-year period from 1989 to 1999.
• Includes subdivision of Grade 3 land into subgrades 3a and 3b for finer detail.
• Some surveys contain unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service

Collection Method

Scanned original paper maps and survey reports from detailed site surveys.

Time Range

1989-1999

Geography

England and Wales (specific sites: Marton, Roughham and Hollins Farms)