Arable land

Arable land (orná půda) is farmland cultivated to grow crops such as cereals, rapeseed, maize or sugar beet. In the Czech land register it is one of the land types: according to the cadastral decree it also includes land left fallow or temporarily under grass as part of crop rotation. Arable land is part of the agricultural land fund.

Land register and LPIS

In the LPIS land use register, arable land is a crop category of a land parcel block and is split into standard arable land, temporary grassland and fallow. The two records need not match: the land register records the land type, LPIS the actual farming. A field registered as arable land may therefore be permanent grassland in LPIS, and vice versa.

What it means for living nearby

Fields behind a house on the edge of a village bring open views, but also seasonal farm machinery, dust in dry weather and the application of fertilisers and plant protection products. In heavy downpours soil and mud may wash off sloping fields. Crops with low erosion protection, such as maize, potatoes, beet, soya or sunflower, carry a higher risk; farmers receiving subsidies may not grow them on areas classed in LPIS as severely erosion-prone. See soil erosion risk for details.

Frequently asked questions

Can the field next to the house be built on?

It can, if the zoning plan includes it in a development area and the developer obtains consent to removal from the agricultural land fund. A field next to the house need not stay a field forever; the zoning plan shows its future use.

How do I find out what is grown on a field?

The public LPIS land register shows the crop category of the parcel block, its area and its erosion risk category. The specific crop changes from year to year with the crop rotation.