Soil survey and crop history for every PLSS section
Convert a section or quarter-quarter legal description, then pull the NRCS soil survey and years of USDA crop history for that exact tract. Built for farmland appraisers, ag lenders, and crop insurance work across the PLSS states.
The legal description is just step one
American farmland is still described the way surveyors described it in the 1800s. A field might be the 8 6N 3E 6th Meridian, a precise legal description that locates 160 acres but says nothing about the dirt.
For a farmland appraiser, ag lender, or crop insurance adjuster, that is where the real questions start. What are the soils? How does the tract drain? What has been grown on it the last several years? Is any of it in a flood zone or a mapped wetland? Answering each one usually means a separate trip to a separate government website.
Township America converts the section or quarter-quarter to GPS, then pulls the NRCS soil survey, USDA crop history, FEMA flood, and USFWS wetlands for that exact tract into one report. Convert one field, or a whole county's acreage reports in a single batch.
The soil and crop picture, on the tract you looked up
Soils and crop history are part of the Federal Land pack, $80/mo on Pro or Business. Look up any PLSS section and the report pulls these layers for that exact tract, with no GIS software and no hunting across agency websites.
NRCS soil survey
SSURGO soil map units, drainage class, and slope for the exact section. The first thing an appraiser or lender asks about a tract.
USDA crop history
Years of USDA Cropland Data Layer history on the tract. Read the rotation at a glance: corn, soybeans, wheat, fallow.
FEMA flood zones
NFHL flood hazard for the bottomland and creek-bottom acres that change how a tract pencils out.
USFWS wetlands
National Wetlands Inventory polygons, relevant to Swampbuster compliance and drainage questions.
How Agriculture Professionals Use Township America
Farmland appraiser building a comp set
A rural appraiser is valuing a quarter section in central Iowa. They look up each comparable by legal description and read the NRCS soil map units, drainage, and the last several years of crop history straight from the report. The soils and rotation that used to mean a morning of separate SSURGO and CropScape tabs are on one page, ready to cite in the narrative.
Ag lender running collateral diligence
A farm credit officer underwriting an operating loan needs to understand the ground behind the note. They pull the soils, crop history, and flood zones for each tract in the borrower's operation, flag the bottomland acres sitting in the FEMA flood zone, and attach the Federal Land report to the credit file. No GIS analyst needed.
Crop insurance adjuster working a claim
An adjuster processes a hail claim for a producer in western Kansas. The policy lists fields by quarter section. They convert each description to GPS, confirm the fields fall within the hail swath on the damage map, and check the soils and recent crop history for the tract. The conversion takes seconds and the documentation is clean.
Built for Agricultural Field Work
Batch Conversion
BusinessUpload a CSV of PLSS field descriptions from producer acreage reports. Download GPS coordinates for every field in one pass. CSV upload on Business.
USDA-Ready CSV Export
Export coordinates in a format compatible with FSA reporting workflows and common farm management software.
Mobile App for Field Work
BusinessConvert descriptions and navigate to fields from your phone. Offline mode keeps you covered when cell service drops. Included on Business ($40/mo/user), or add the Pro + Mobile bundle for $25/mo.
Map Verification
View converted fields on satellite imagery. Confirm you have the right quarter section before submitting reports or starting applications.
Key Agricultural States
PLSS coverage includes every major crop-producing state in the US interior. The principal meridian in each state is detected automatically, with no configuration needed when switching between Kansas and Iowa producer reports.
Texas TXSS abstracts, also covered
Texas RRC counties, abstracts, and surveys matter for agriculture workflows just as much as PLSS sections. Township America converts both PLSS section descriptions and Texas Abstract / Block & Section / Survey-name descriptions. One resolver, one API, both systems.
A-123 Reeves County, TXBlock 5, Sec 14, T&P Survey, ReevesJohn Smith Survey, Bexar CountyWorkflows by role
Detailed Township America setup guides for the roles in this vertical.
Crop insurance adjuster
Convert RMA loss claim legal descriptions to GPS, then drive the route to every claim location in one trip.
Farm and ranch appraiser
Convert PLSS descriptions from chain-of-title to GPS, then map comparables on satellite imagery.
FSA office staff member
Look up farm tracts by PLSS section for FSA program enrollment, mapping, and compliance review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do the soil and crop data come from?
Soil maps come from the NRCS SSURGO soil survey and crop history from the USDA Cropland Data Layer (CDL). Both are part of the Federal Land pack ($80/mo on Pro or Business), surfaced for the exact section you look up alongside FEMA flood zones and USFWS wetlands.
Is there a farmland productivity score?
No. Township America surfaces the underlying NRCS soil survey and USDA crop history for a tract, not a derived productivity score. You see the soil map units, drainage class, slope, and crop rotation, and draw your own conclusions.
Can I use Township America for USDA crop reporting?
Yes. Township America converts PLSS field descriptions to GPS coordinates that work alongside USDA FSA Common Land Unit (CLU) data. The batch CSV export is formatted for import into common ag reporting and farm management platforms. CSV upload for batch conversion is available on Business.
Which agricultural states are supported?
All major agricultural PLSS states are supported: Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, Colorado, and more. The principal meridian is detected automatically from the legal description.
See the soil and crop report for your next tract
Look up a section, then pull its NRCS soils and USDA crop history. Or batch an entire acreage report in one pass.