Click here to download USDA’s 1986 Soil Survey of Mason County KY

On page 1 the 1986 Mason County Soil survey states, “The topography of the county is dominantly undulating to very steep and is dissected by many small streams.”

Here is a tabulation of Mason County’s Soil Types listed on page 72

Tabulation of Mason County’s Soil Data in Excel format — in PDF format of above document.

In addition to soil type USDA further groups land in categories:

• USDA defines
  • Prime Farmland is permeable to water and air. It is not excessively erodible or saturated with water for long periods, and it either is not frequently flooded during the growing season or is protected from flooding. Slope ranges mainly from 0 to 6 percent
  • Farmland of Statewide Importance is land of 6 to 12 percent slope, which has a good combination of physical and chemical characteristics for the production of crops and is not yet eroded
• The 1986 soils reports states Mason County has
  • 35,780 acres of Prime Farmland. (22.7% of county)
  • 37,437 acres of Farmland of Statewide Importance (23.7% of county)

The distribution of soil types on a county-wide soil map is often too small to read, so let’s focus on a. specific farm. Our sample farm is 32% Prime Farmland and 45% Farmland of Statewide Importance, which is more than the county average in both cases. The mix of soils shown on page 11 of the farm’s soil survey helps us understand the challenges of protecting our precious topsoil.

Soil types with a B suffix have a 2 – 6 % slope, those with a C suffix have a 6 – 12 % slope, and those with a D suffix have a 12 – 30% slope. As the slope increases, the danger of erosion goes up exponentially.

Since Prime Farmland has a B suffix, while Farmland of Statewide Importance has a C suffix, the map shows Prime Farmland is located along the top of ridges, while Farmland of Statewide Importance is situated on side slopes.

Until approximately 2000, tobacco and dairy’s high profitability per acre supported crop rotations that protected the soils on Mason County’s undulating to very steep topography.

Beef cattle and cash grain are the main land uses adopted to replace tobacco and dairy. Beef’s low profitability per acre is shown by low pasture rents. USDA records show farmers efforts to replace lost profitability with row crops. Corn acres harvested increased to 8,400 in 2021 from only 4,500 in 2000. During the same period Mason County’s Soybean harvest exploded to 11,100 acres in 2021 from only 900 acres in 2000. These extra cash grain acres increased agricultural chemical pollution and topsoil erosion.

Our next comprehensive plan can best protect our environment by promoting land uses that support long-term sod while also producing sufficient income for landowners and local taxing districts.

The current zoning regulations in Maysville prohibit large-scale solar power and discourage it in Mason County. These regulations fail to adequately protect prime farmland or farmland of statewide importance. Instead, because they encourage excessive chemical pollution and soil erosion due to the overproduction of cash grains on Mason County’s uneven and steep terrain.