How to Use Acres’ Insights to Research Land at the Parcel Level

When it comes to researching land—whether for agriculture, investment, conservation, or development—the devil is in the details. With Acres’ parcel-level Insights, you have powerful tools at your fingertips to analyze land with precision, clarity, and confidence. This guide walks you through seven critical insights you can use to evaluate a property on Acres.com.

1. Historic Satellite Imagery: See How the Land Was Used

Acres’ historic satellite imagery lets you visually explore how a property has been used over time. By sliding through year-by-year images, you can uncover patterns that reveal the land’s operational history.

• See when fields were actively farmed, left fallow, or converted for other uses.
• Identify past infrastructure changes like the addition of irrigation systems, access roads, or cleared timber.
• Spot signs of erosion, flood damage, or encroachment from nearby development.

This tool gives you a reliable, visual record of land use—helping you validate claims, detect trends, and make informed decisions grounded in real history.

2. Elevation: Understand Topographic Context

Topography plays a vital role in water flow, crop suitability, construction feasibility, and even erosion risk. The Elevation layer allows you to:

• Visualize slope and elevation contours at the parcel level.
• Identify high and low points that may impact drainage or building plans.
• Assess suitability for row crops vs. orchard crops, or for infrastructure like roads and buildings.

3. Flood Risk: Evaluate Potential Water Hazards

Flooding risk can drastically affect land value, insurance, and land use. Acres provides FEMA-based Flood Risk and wetlands overlays:

• See if a property lies within a floodplain or wetlands.
• Identify areas where insurance requirements or land use restrictions may apply.
• Combine this with historic imagery to see if water pooling is evident over time.

4. Soils: Know the Foundation

Soil type is foundational to everything from crop productivity to septic viability. The Soils layer includes:

• Soil type breakdowns with soil codes, descriptions, soil scores, and non-IRR class.
• Percentage coverage for each soil type on the parcel.
• Valuable for farmers assessing yields, or developers evaluating foundation requirements.

5. Vegetation Index (NDVI): Monitor Health and Productivity

NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) measures plant health using satellite imagery.

• Use the Vegetation Index layer to analyze photosynthetic activity across the parcel.
• Spot inconsistencies in vegetative health that might indicate soil issues, drainage problems, or field management practices.
• View changes over multiple growing seasons to detect trends in productivity.

6. Crop History: Reveal Past Usage

Want to know what was planted in a field before you buy? Acres aggregates USDA Crop Data Layer and California Natural Resource Agency records, so you can see:

• Year-by-year crop maps going back 10 years.
• Patterns in crop rotation, fallow years, or shifts from row crops to specialty uses.
• Confirm whether land was used for corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, or other crops.

7. Property Tax Data: Track Year-over-Year Tax Amounts

The Property Tax layer on Acres allows you to see how annual property tax bills have changed for a parcel over time. While it doesn’t include assessed values or ownership details, this timeline view offers a direct look at how the tax burden has fluctuated year by year.

• View the actual tax amount paid for each year available.
• Spot significant increases or decreases that may indicate a change in land use, improvements, or reclassification.

It’s a quick way to assess financial patterns at the parcel level and raise questions about what may have changed on the land in a given year.

Final Thoughts

Each of these layers is powerful on its own, but the real strength of Acres Insights comes from their combined use:

• Flood + Soils + Elevation = Great for evaluating development risk.
  
  
• Crop History + NDVI + Soils = Perfect for understanding ag productivity.
  
  
• Historic Imagery + Crop History + Vegetation Index = A clear view into how land was used, managed, or improved over time.

With parcel-level access to satellite, government, and environmental data, Acres puts robust land intelligence into your back pocket—without needing a GIS degree.

Start your free trial today and explore land with confidence.