Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

This site is currently in beta, and your feedback is helping shape its ongoing development.

Return to search results

CEC Cropland Index Model (Classified)

Published by California Energy Commission | State of California | Metadata Last Checked: July 29, 2025 | Last Modified: 2023-03-14T23:59:06.289Z
For lands used to produce crops, CEC developed a suitability model to simultaneously evaluate several factors that impact an area’s relative implication for croplands. In the CEC land use screens, implication is defined as a possible significance or a likely consequence of an action. For example, planning for energy infrastructure development in areas with more factors that support high-value croplands has implications for opportunities to preserve agricultural land. The variables used in the CEC Cropland Index Model contain information on soil quality (CA Revised Storie Index, Electrical Conductivity, and Sodium Adsorption Ratio), farmland designations (Prime Farmland, Unique Farmland and Farmland of Statewide Importance), and current existence of crops (as indicated by the California Statewide Crop Mapping). The CEC Cropland Index Model does not include statewide information for grazing lands or rangelands, and it is only applied to solar technology. Each input data layer is transformed onto a common scale and weighted according to each dataset’s relative importance. The result is a summation of the input data layers into a single-gridded map. This final model output provides a numerically weighted index of importance for croplands at a given location. The classified version of the model output, given in this dataset, partitions the CEC Cropland Index Model at the mean into areas of high and low implication. The high implication area is used as an exclusion in the CEC Land Use Screens for solar technology. These regions have a relatively higher implication for cropland than the lower implication region. The table below provides data sources that the CEC Cropland Index Model relies on. For a complete description of the model and its use in the 2023 CEC Land-Use Screens, please refer to the Land Use Screens Staff Report in the CEC Energy Planning Library. Dataset Name Source Usage Gridded Soil Survey Geographic (gSSURGO) Database Soil Survey Staff. 2020. "The Gridded Soil Survey Geographic (gSSURGO) Database for California." United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. https://gdg.sc.egov.usda.gov/ Provides CA Revised Storie Index, Electrical Conductivity, and Sodium Adsorption Ratio for the CEC Cropland Index Model for the Core and SB 100 Terrestrial Climate Resilience Screens for solar resource potential California Important Farmland 2022. "2018 California Important Farmland.” Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program." California Department of Conservation. https://www.conservation.ca.gov/dlrp/fmmp Prime Farmland, Unique Farmland, and Farmland of Statewide Importance is used in the CEC Cropland Index Model for the Core and SB 100 Terrestrial Climate Resilience Screens for solar resource potential California Statewide Crop Mapping (2019) 2022. "2019 California Statewide Crop Mapping." California Department of Water Resources. https://data.cnra.ca.gov/dataset/statewide-crop-mapping The footprint is used as part of the mask for the CEC Cropland Index Model’s domain of analysis for the Core and SB 100 Terrestrial Climate Resilience Screens for solar resource potential

Resources

11 resources available

Find Related Datasets

Click any tag below to search for similar datasets

Complete Metadata
@type dcat:Dataset
accessLevel public
contactPoint 
                                            {
  "fn": "tdavid_CAEnergy",
  "@type": "vcard:Contact",
  "hasEmail": "mailto:gis@energy.ca.gov"
}
description <p style='margin:0in; font-family:&quot;Avenir Next W01&quot;, &quot;Avenir Next W00&quot;, &quot;Avenir Next&quot;, Avenir, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif; font-size:16px;'></p><p><span style='color:black;'>For lands used to produce crops, CEC developed a suitability model to simultaneously evaluate several factors that impact an area’s relative implication for croplands. In the CEC land use screens, <i>implication</i> is defined as a possible significance or a likely consequence of an action. For example, planning for energy infrastructure development in areas with more factors that support high-value croplands has <i>implications </i>for opportunities to preserve agricultural land. The variables used in the CEC Cropland Index Model contain information on soil quality (CA Revised Storie Index, Electrical Conductivity, and Sodium Adsorption Ratio), farmland designations (Prime Farmland, Unique Farmland and Farmland of Statewide Importance), and current existence of crops (as indicated by the California Statewide Crop Mapping). The CEC Cropland Index Model does not include statewide information for grazing lands or rangelands, and it is only applied to solar technology.</span></p> <p><span style='color:black;'>Each input data layer is transformed onto a common scale and weighted according to each dataset’s relative importance. The result is a summation of the input data layers into a single-gridded map. This final model output provides a numerically weighted index of importance for croplands at a given location. The classified version of the model output, given in this dataset, partitions the CEC Cropland Index Model at the mean into areas of high and low implication. The high implication area is used as an exclusion in the CEC Land Use Screens for solar technology. These regions have a relatively higher implication for cropland than the lower implication region.</span></p> <p><span style='color:black;'>The table below provides data sources that the CEC Cropland Index Model relies on. For a complete description of the model and its use in the 2023 CEC Land-Use Screens, please refer to the </span><a href='https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/california-energy-planning-library/land-use-screens' target='_blank' rel='nofollow ugc noopener noreferrer'>Land Use Screens Staff Report in the CEC Energy Planning Library</a><span style='color:black;'>.</span></p> <table border='1' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='0' style='border-collapse:collapse; border:none;' width='672'><tbody><tr style='height:14.25pt;'> <td style='width:148.2pt; border:solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; height:14.25pt;' valign='bottom' width='198'> <p style='margin-bottom:0in;'><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;'>Dataset Name<span></span></span></b></p> </td> <td style='width:226.5pt; border:solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left:none; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; height:14.25pt;' valign='bottom' width='302'> <p style='margin-bottom:0in;'><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;'>Source<span></span></span></b></p> </td> <td style='width:129.3pt; border:solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left:none; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; height:14.25pt;' valign='bottom' width='172'> <p style='margin-bottom:0in;'><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;'>Usage</span></b><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;'></span></b></p> </td> </tr> <tr style='height:81.0pt;'> <td style='width:148.2pt; border:solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top:none; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; height:81.0pt;' valign='bottom' width='198'> <p style='margin-bottom:0in;'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;'>Gridded Soil Survey Geographic (gSSURGO) Database</span><span style='font-size:9.5pt;'></span></p> </td> <td style='width:226.5pt; border-top:none; border-left:none; border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; height:81.0pt;' valign='bottom' width='302'> <p style='margin-bottom:0in;'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;'>Soil Survey Staff. 2020. &quot;</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;'><a href='https://gdg.sc.egov.usda.gov/' rel='nofollow ugc'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;'>The Gridded Soil Survey Geographic (gSSURGO) Database for California</span></a></span><span style='font-size:9.5pt;'>.&quot; United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. https://gdg.sc.egov.usda.gov/</span><span style='font-size:9.5pt;'></span></p> </td> <td style='width:129.3pt; border-top:none; border-left:none; border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; height:81.0pt;' valign='bottom' width='172'> <p style='margin-bottom:0in;'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;'>Provides CA Revised Storie Index, Electrical Conductivity, and Sodium Adsorption Ratio for the CEC Cropland Index Model for the Core and SB 100 Terrestrial Climate Resilience Screens for solar resource potential </span><span style='font-size:9.5pt;'></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style='height:43.5pt;'> <td style='width:148.2pt; border:solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top:none; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; height:43.5pt;' valign='bottom' width='198'> <p style='margin-bottom:0in;'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;'>California Important Farmland</span><span style='font-size:9.5pt;'></span></p> </td> <td style='width:226.5pt; border-top:none; border-left:none; border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; height:43.5pt;' valign='bottom' width='302'> <p style='margin-bottom:0in;'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;'>2022. &quot;</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;'><a href='https://www.conservation.ca.gov/dlrp/fmmp' rel='nofollow ugc'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;'>2018 California Important Farmland</span></a></span><span style='font-size:9.5pt;'>.” Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program.&quot; California Department of Conservation. </span><span style='font-size:9.5pt;'>https://www.conservation.ca.gov/dlrp/fmmp</span><span style='font-size:9.5pt;'></span></p> </td> <td style='width:129.3pt; border-top:none; border-left:none; border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; height:43.5pt;' valign='bottom' width='172'> <p style='margin-bottom:0in;'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;'>Prime Farmland, Unique Farmland, and Farmland of Statewide Importance is used in the CEC Cropland Index Model for the Core and SB 100 Terrestrial Climate Resilience Screens for solar resource potential</span><span style='font-size:9.5pt;'></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style='height:57.75pt;'> <td style='width:148.2pt; border:solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top:none; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; height:57.75pt;' valign='bottom' width='198'> <p style='margin-bottom:0in;'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;'>California Statewide Crop Mapping (2019)</span><span style='font-size:9.5pt;'></span></p> </td> <td style='width:226.5pt; border-top:none; border-left:none; border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; height:57.75pt;' valign='bottom' width='302'> <p style='margin-bottom:0in;'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;'>2022. &quot;</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;'><a href='https://data.cnra.ca.gov/dataset/statewide-crop-mapping' rel='nofollow ugc'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;'>2019 California Statewide Crop Mapping</span></a></span><span style='font-size:9.5pt;'>.&quot; California Department of Water Resources. </span><span style='font-size:9.5pt;'>https://data.cnra.ca.gov/dataset/statewide-crop-mapping</span><span style='font-size:9.5pt;'></span></p> </td> <td style='width:129.3pt; border-top:none; border-left:none; border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; height:57.75pt;' valign='bottom' width='172'> <p style='margin-bottom:0in;'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;'>The footprint is used as part of the mask for the CEC Cropland Index Model’s domain of analysis for the Core and SB 100 Terrestrial Climate Resilience Screens for solar resource potential</span><span style='font-size:9.5pt;'></span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table>
distribution 
                                            [
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "ArcGIS Hub Dataset",
    "format": "HTML",
    "accessURL": "https://cecgis-caenergy.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/CAEnergy::cec-cropland-index-model-classified"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "CSV",
    "format": "CSV",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "describedBy": "https://data.ca.gov/api/action/datastore_search?resource_id=06b9f194-e559-4ff4-8c17-a0ebaec94c57&limit=0",
    "downloadURL": "https://cecgis-caenergy.opendata.arcgis.com/api/download/v1/items/83d4c6a2e9b04c0a925d5aa61d235437/csv?layers=69",
    "describedByType": "application/json"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Excel",
    "format": "XLSX",
    "mediaType": "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet",
    "describedBy": "https://data.ca.gov/api/action/datastore_search?resource_id=5e26a85e-f687-4e74-a317-02b9ecf951f3&limit=0",
    "downloadURL": "https://cecgis-caenergy.opendata.arcgis.com/api/download/v1/items/83d4c6a2e9b04c0a925d5aa61d235437/excel?layers=69",
    "describedByType": "application/json"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Feature Collection",
    "format": "TXT",
    "mediaType": "text/plain",
    "downloadURL": "https://cecgis-caenergy.opendata.arcgis.com/api/download/v1/items/83d4c6a2e9b04c0a925d5aa61d235437/featureCollection?layers=69"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "File Geodatabase",
    "format": "ZIP",
    "mediaType": "application/zip",
    "downloadURL": "https://cecgis-caenergy.opendata.arcgis.com/api/download/v1/items/83d4c6a2e9b04c0a925d5aa61d235437/filegdb?layers=69"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "GeoPackage",
    "format": "GPKG",
    "mediaType": "application/octet-stream",
    "downloadURL": "https://cecgis-caenergy.opendata.arcgis.com/api/download/v1/items/83d4c6a2e9b04c0a925d5aa61d235437/geoPackage?layers=69"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "GeoJSON",
    "format": "GeoJSON",
    "mediaType": "application/geo+json",
    "downloadURL": "https://cecgis-caenergy.opendata.arcgis.com/api/download/v1/items/83d4c6a2e9b04c0a925d5aa61d235437/geojson?layers=69"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "KML",
    "format": "KML",
    "mediaType": "application/vnd.google-earth.kml+xml",
    "downloadURL": "https://cecgis-caenergy.opendata.arcgis.com/api/download/v1/items/83d4c6a2e9b04c0a925d5aa61d235437/kml?layers=69"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Shapefile",
    "format": "ZIP",
    "mediaType": "application/zip",
    "downloadURL": "https://cecgis-caenergy.opendata.arcgis.com/api/download/v1/items/83d4c6a2e9b04c0a925d5aa61d235437/shapefile?layers=69"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "SQLite Geodatabase",
    "format": "GDB",
    "mediaType": "application/octet-stream",
    "downloadURL": "https://cecgis-caenergy.opendata.arcgis.com/api/download/v1/items/83d4c6a2e9b04c0a925d5aa61d235437/sqlite?layers=69"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "ArcGIS GeoService",
    "format": "ArcGIS GeoServices REST API",
    "mediaType": "application/octet-stream",
    "downloadURL": "https://services3.arcgis.com/bWPjFyq029ChCGur/arcgis/rest/services/Cropland_Index_Classified/FeatureServer/69"
  }
]
identifier 580e6ff0-c72a-458b-9ea4-d3440092f31f
issued 2023-03-14T23:15:34.000Z
keyword 
                                            [
  "CAOpenData",
  "California Energy Commission",
  "California Natural Resources Agency",
  "SB 100",
  "SB100",
  "STEP",
  "california energy commission"
]
license http://www.opendefinition.org/licenses/cc-by
modified 2023-03-14T23:59:06.289Z
publisher 
                                            {
  "name": "California Energy Commission",
  "@type": "org:Organization"
}
theme 
                                            [
  "Natural Resources"
]
title CEC Cropland Index Model (Classified)

data.gov

An official website of the GSA's Technology Transformation Services

Looking for U.S. government information and services?
Visit USA.gov