Agricultural Land Classification: Detailed Site Surveys from 1989-1999

Northallerton, England, is the focus of this detailed post-1988 Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) survey. The dataset contains scanned original paper maps and survey reports for individual sites, with soil grading following the official methodology and including subdivisions of Grade 3. It was created by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food between 1989 and 1999.

Use Cases

• Classifying agricultural land capability based on detailed soil survey reports and maps.
• Analyzing historical land quality for planning and development assessments based on the official grading methodology.
• Integrating unedited sample point soils data for site-specific soil property analysis where available.

Strengths

• Uses the official 'Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales' methodology, including subdivision of Grade 3 into 3a and 3b.
• Contains original scanned maps and reports from detailed site surveys conducted between 1989 and 1999.
• Includes unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions for some surveys.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF), via Natural England and the Government Digital Service.

Collection Method

Detailed site surveys with soil grading, resulting in scanned paper maps and reports.

Time Range

1989 to 1999

Freshness

Historical data from surveys conducted between 1989 and 1999.

Geography

Northallerton, Hambleton District, England, United Kingdom.