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UVM agronomist outlines how USDA, NRCS define "prime" farmland and how Vermont maps local importance
Summary
Heather Darby of University of Vermont Extension told legislators that USDA/NRCS definitions identify soils best suited to food, feed and fiber production; she explained federal thresholds (depth, slope, flooding), how states designate soils of statewide or local importance and where to find parcel-level maps.
Heather Darby, an agronomist and soil specialist with the University of Vermont Extension, gave members of the Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry panel an overview of how the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service defines and maps "prime" agricultural soils and how Vermont supplements that framework for state and local priorities.
"Knowing that we have land that can do that is at the core, of national security," Darby said, describing the original purpose of the federal classification: to identify soils best suited for producing food, forage, fiber and oilseed. She emphasized the classifications reflect inherent soil characteristics — not simply how a parcel is being managed.
Darby told legislators the NRCS and USDA maintain national soil surveys and mapping tools, including the Web Soil Survey, which allow users to zoom to…
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