The Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales: Guidelines for grading the quality of agricultural land, published by the Welsh Government and Defra in December 2025, provides an update of the 1988 MAFF Guidelines: ‘The revised criteria for grading the quality of agricultural land using the Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales’. No changes to grading criteria or reference climate data have been made.
The ALC provides a framework for classifying land according to the extent to which its physical or chemical characteristics impose long- term limitations on agricultural use, and is the only approved system for grading the quality of agricultural land in England and Wales. The classification can be used at national, regional and local levels. These are the current ALC criteria to be used in ALC surveys.