What grade is my land?

Farmers and landowners can check their land’s classification by using online mapping systems such as The Land App or the MAGIC interactive map managed by Natural England. Knowing the land grade enables decisions on best use and means you can find out further information such as the likelihood and duration of flooding. It can also be an important factor when it comes to planning applications – for solar schemes, for example. There are also specialists in land classification that can carry out bespoke reports to give an up-to-date determination of classification. 

What do the grades mean in practice?

Land is graded from 1 (excellent) to 5 (very poor quality). Grade 3, which constitutes about half of the agricultural land in England and Wales, is divided into 3a and 3b.

• Grade 1 – excellent quality land with no or very minor limitations to agricultural use. Suitable for a very wide range of crops, commonly including top fruit, soft fruit, salad crops and winter harvested vegetables. Yields are high and less variable than on land of lower quality.
• Grade 2 – very good quality land with minor limitations which affect crop yield, cultivations or harvesting. A wide range of crops can usually be grown but on some land there may be reduced flexibility due to production difficulties associated with more demanding crops such as winter harvested vegetables and arable root crops. The level of yield is generally high but may be lower or more variable than Grade 1.
• Grade 3 – good to moderate quality land with moderate limitations which affect the choice of crops, timing and type of cultivation, harvesting or the level of yield. Where more demanding crops are grown, yields are generally lower or more variable than on land in Grades 1 and 2.
• Subgrade 3a – good quality land capable of consistently producing moderate to high yields of a narrow range of arable crops, especially cereals, or moderate yields of a wide range of crops including cereals, grass, oilseed rape, potatoes, sugar beet and the less demanding horticultural crops.
• Subgrade 3b – moderate quality land capable of producing moderate yields of a narrow range of crops, principally cereals and grass or lower yields of a wider range of crops or high yields of grass which can be grazed or harvested over most of the year.
• Grade 4 – poor quality land with severe limitations which significantly restrict the range of crops and/or level of yields. It is mainly suited to grass with occasional arable crops (e.g. cereals and forage crops) the yields of which are variable. In moist climates, yields of grass may be moderate to high but there may be difficulties in utilisation. The grade also includes very droughty arable land.
• Grade 5 – very poor quality land with very severe limitations which restrict use to permanent pasture or rough grazing, except for occasional pioneer forage crops.

These definitions are taken from the MAFF 1988 ALC Revised Guidelines, which remain the basis for Natural England’s current classification system. 

Further information

Contact: Judy Holmes

Contact Savills Rural Services

Read more: Agriculture needs its own measure of soil quality