Pursuant to the Farmland Protection Policy Act (FPPA) of 1981 [Sections 1539-1549 P.L.
97-98, Dec 22, 1981], the Secretary of Agriculture is directed to establish and
carry out a program to "minimize the extent to which Federal programs contribute
to the unnecessary and irreversible conversion of farmland to nonagricultural
uses, and to the extent practicable, will be compatible with state, unit of
local government, and private programs and policies to protect farmland."
[7 USC 4201-4209 & 7 USC 658].
This web site provides USDA NRCS employees and
others with support for evaluation of farmland sites proposed for conversion to
nonagricultural uses.
If you encounter problems with the files provided on this page, please contact
the Webmaster.
The following documents require
Adobe Reader.
How
to fill out form AD-1006 (PDF; 38 KB)
Form AD-1006 (PDF; 188 KB)
Supporting Program Links
Information about Land Evaluation & Site Assessment (LESA) Systems
In 1981, the NRCS, known
at the time as the Soil Conservation Service, released a new system that was
designed to provide objective ratings of the agricultural suitability of land
compared to demands created by nonagricultural uses of land. The rating system
became known as Land Evaluation and Site Assessment, or LESA. Soon after it was
designed, LESA was adopted as a procedural tool at the federal level for
identifying and addressing the potential adverse effects of federal programs
(e.g., funding of highway construction) on farmland protection. The Farmland
Protection Policy Act of 1981 (Public Law 97-98) spells out requirements to
ensure that federal programs, to the extent practical, are compatible with
state, local and private programs and policies to protect farmland, and calls
for the use of LESA to aid in this analysis.
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