The Soils of Brant County - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

(b)(c)Distance to markets, accessibility to transport, location,size of farm, field shape and accessibility to machinery,type of ownership, cultural patterns, skill or resources ofindividual operators, or hazards ofcrop damage by stormsare not considered in this classification system .Soil suitability ratings are subject to change if new technologyor management practices are widely adopted, e .g .drainage or irrigation, or as new information about cropyields or the behaviour and responses of the soils becomesavailable .How to Determine Special Crop Suitability RatingsEach crop subgroup was given a suitability rating for mostofthe map unit components . Organic soils were not rated here,and alluvial soils were generally not rated due to their variabletextures and drainage characteristics .A seven-class rating system was used, with ratings ofgood(G), fair to good (F-G), fair (F), poor to fair (P-F), poor (P),very poor (VP), and unsuitable (U) . Map unit componentsthat were not rated were designated NR . As the slope classincreases, the suitability ratings generally decrease . The rate ofdecrease varies with the crop group, soil texture, drainage andland slope. For example, a Brantford soil on an A (0-3%) slopehas a rating of "G" good for beans, whereas, on a B (3-6 01o)slope the rating is "F-G" (fair to good) .Management factors such as drainage and irrigation mayimprove crop performance for certain crop groups . Thischange is indicated at the bottom of the ratings for each soiltype. A plus (+) sign followed by a number (i .e . + 1, + 2, etc .)indicates the number of classes the ratings are expected toincrease withthe implementation of the specified managementfactor. A dash (-) indicates that there is no anticipated changein the ratings for either of the management factors .Table 10 .Agricultural suitability ratings for special crops in Brant CountyMap UnitComponentSoilCodeSlopeClassManagementFactorsAl A2 Bl B2 B3 Cl C2 DIAlluvium 2 2ALU A U U U U U U U UB, b U U U U U U U UDRAINAGEIRRIGATIONAlluvium 3 3ALU A U U U U U U UB, b U U U U U U UDRAINAGEIRRIGATIONAlluvium 4 4-ALU A U U U U U U U UB, b U U U U U U U UDRAINAGEIRRIGATIONAyr AYR A P VP P P VP VP P VPB, b P VP P P VP VP P VPDRAINAGE +3 +3 +3 +3 +2 +2 +2 +2IRRIGATION - + I - - - - - -Brady BAY A F F F F P-F P-F P-F P-F' B, b F F F F P-F P-F P-F P-FDRAINAGE +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 - +1 +1IRRIGATION +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 - - +1Brantford BFO A P U P-F F P-F G F FB, b P U P-F P-F P-F F-G P-F FC, c U U P-F P=F P F P-F FD, d U U P P P P-F P P-FE, e U U VP U U U U PDRAINAGEIRRIGATIONBookton BOO A F P-F F-G F-G F-G F-G F-G F-GB, b F P-F F-G F F-G F F F-GC, c P-F P F-G F F P-F F F-GDRAINAGEIRRIGATION +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 - +1 +1Berrien BRR A P-F P P-F F F F F FB,b P-F P P-F P-F F P-F P-F FC, c P VP P-F P-F F P . P-F FDRAINAGE +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1IRRIGATION +1 +1 - - +1 - - -48