Soil Interpretations For various land uses Prime Farmland Criteria con t Soil depth depth to hardpan or bedrock must allow adequate water storage and normal root extension Soil pH suitable to crops No flooding not subject to excess water from flooding or a high water table Soil moisture adequate rain fall and irrigation 1 IL Prime Farmland Criteria Based on productivity index of a soil under optimum level of management Bulletin 811 Soil productivity index for a soil is based on the estimated crop yields corn soybeans wheat oats sorghum and hay when compared to the most productive soil in Illinois IL Prime Farmland Criteria Muscatune silt loam has the highest optimum PI in Illinois 147 and crop yields for all other soils are compared to Muscatune soil crop yield estimates The productivity index for each crop is then weight by the of the time that crop is grown in that region of IL Prime Farmland Criteria con t Soil temperature above 0 degrees centigrade at a 50 cm depth IL Prime Farmland Criteria Prime farmland productivity scale Prime Class A agricultural land has a PI of between 133 and 147 Prime Class B agricultural land has a PI of between 132 and 121 Prime Class C agricultural land has a PI of between 121 and 100 Other agricultural land has a PI below 100 2 Productivity Index Adjustments Soil Productivity Indices are adjusted for Slope Erosion Flooding 3
View Full Document
Unlocking...