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Arable Agriculture

Land capable of supporting Arable Agriculture (Class 1 to Class 3.1)

Map showing areas of Arable Agriculture classes
The distribution of land capable of supporting arable agriculture in Scotland which covers 625,800 hectares or 8 per cent of Scotland's land area

Land in these classes, often referred to as prime agricultural land, is capable of being used to produce a wide range of crops. The climate is favourable, slopes are no greater than 7 degrees and the soils are at least 45cm deep and are imperfectly drained at worst. This land is highly flexible for other uses as well, such as for biofuel crops and woodland, although current management may make other options, such as heathland restoration, difficult in the short term.

Ploughed field
Soils are deep, easily worked and exhibit free to imperfect drainage

Learning & Resources


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The James Hutton Research Institute is the result of the merger in April 2011 of MLURI and SCRI. This merger formed a new powerhouse for research into food, land use, and climate change.