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5J_ <br />V <br />CONCLUSION <br />The final step in the preparation and use of the LESA system <br />is to combine cropland and forest land evaluation scores with those <br />for site assessment to produce a composite rating or score. On the <br />following pages, Tables 14A -14E show the total points possible and <br />total points actually accumulated by the farms of the Agricultural <br />Districts Advisory Board members. <br />As indicated in the previous section, a nationwide evaluation <br />of LESA systems by the Soil Conservation Service indicated that a <br />ratio of 2:1 (2 for site assessment and 1 for land evaluation) has <br />provided the best results. With the weight adjustments made in the <br />preceding section, the maximum number of points possible for site <br />assessment factors is 400. The maximum number of points possible <br />for land evaluation is 200, including 100 points for cropland <br />evaluation and 100 points for forest land evaluation. This results <br />in a 2:1 ratio and a maximum point total of 600. <br />Based on the calculations shown on Tables 14A -14E, the Walters <br />farm (485.5) would rank highest for acquisition of development <br />rights, followed closely by the Nutter (460.5) and Rogers (459.5) <br />farms. The Strayhorn (362.0) and Hogan (347.0) farms did not fare <br />as well, primarily because of their proximity to urban areas or <br />rural residential development and the availability of public water <br />and /or sewer. <br />TABLE 15 <br />COMPARISON OF LESA RANKINGS FOR SELECTED ORANGE COUNTY FARMS <br />Cropland Forest Land Site <br />Farm Evaluation Evaluation Assessment Final <br />Walters <br />1 <br />1 <br />2 <br />1 <br />Nutter <br />3 <br />4 <br />3 <br />2 <br />Strayhorn <br />4 <br />3 <br />4 <br />4 <br />Hogan <br />2 <br />2 <br />5 <br />5 <br />Rogers <br />5 <br />5 <br />1 <br />3 <br />Table 15 above provides further evidence of the importance of <br />site assessment. Though many miles apart, the Walters and Hogan <br />farms consist primarily of soils of the Georgeville- Herndon <br />association. Such soils are among the best for raising the <br />indicator crop, corn. <br />In comparison, the Rogers farm in the northwest portion of the <br />county is comprised principally of soils of the Appling- Helena <br />association. Such soils are good for growing tobacco but are not <br />well suited for corn. Thus, the Rogers farm ranked low in <br />comparison to the Walters and Hogan farms. <br />