Orange County NC Website
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2 <br />3 <br />4 <br />5 <br />6 <br />7 <br />8 <br />9 <br />10 <br />11 <br />12 <br />13 <br />14 <br />15 <br />16 <br />17 <br />18 <br />19 <br />20 <br />21 <br />22 <br />23 <br />24 <br />25 <br />26 <br />27 <br />28 <br />29 <br />30 <br />31 <br />32 <br />33 <br />34 <br />35 <br />36 <br />37 <br />38 <br />39 <br />40 <br />41 <br />42 <br />43 <br />44 <br />Soil Productivity <br />Orange County's approximately 398 square miles (254,720 acres) consists of mostly rolling <br />terrain. The county lies across three major water basins: the Roanoke River Basin in the north, <br />the Neuse River Basin in the northeast and the Cape Fear River Basin in the southeast. The <br />growing season lasts about 200 days from mid April to late October and usually includes <br />sufficient amounts of rain during the summer months. <br />Soils are classified in associations <br />based on their suitability for different <br />land uses such as agriculture, forestry, <br />or residential or commercial <br />development. This classification <br />system defines various soils based on <br />their potential productivity for <br />different agricultural products as well <br />as their limitations - -their risk of <br />environmental damage such as <br />erosion when they are used for <br />agriculture and how easily these <br />limitations can be overcome by <br />remedial measures. Class I soils <br />generally have the fewest limitations, <br />support the widest range of uses, and <br />carry the least risk of environmental <br />damage. Class II soils have some <br />limitations that reduce the range of <br />potential crops or require moderate <br />conservation practices. Class III soils <br />have greater limitations on their range <br />of potential crops and require special <br />conservation measures. Class I and II <br />soils are considered to be "prime" <br />agricultural soils — soils whose <br />characteristics make them most suited <br />to agricultural uses. <br />Orange County Watersheds <br />n <br />Worsheds: <br />Pratadad Water Supply <br />Unprutetled Mat, Sipply <br />Critical Area <br />River Basin Bwndary <br />Streams <br />Municipal Jurisdictions <br />Almost three quarters of the County's land area consists of soils productive for agricultural and <br />forestry uses, including 140,630 acres of prime farmland and 58,650 acres of state and locally <br />important farmland .6 Approximately 34,084 acres or 40% of active and inactive agricultural <br />lands in the county are on prime agricultural soils. The majority of these quality soils (shown in <br />dark green) extend across the County in a diagonal pattern southwest to northeast. <br />6 About 90% of active and inactive farmland in Orange County consists of Class I, II or III soils. <br />Draft 1012812009 overview of Agricultural Activity <br />7 <br />22 <br />