When I bought my first additional 80 acres back in 2009, the NRCS soil maps showed mostly Class II and III soils. Looked solid on paper. What I didn't do was track down the county tile maps or talk to the neighbors who'd actually farmed that ground for thirty years.
Turns out about 40 acres of it had failing tile from the 1940s that needed complete replacement. First wet spring, I watched standing water sit on that field for three weeks. Yield drag for years until I spent nearly $18,000 fixing drainage that should have been a negotiating point — or a dealbreaker — before I ever signed.
Productivity ratings assume functional drainage. In my experience across the Sandhills and the surrounding crop country, that assumption fails more often than anyone selling land wants to admit. County drainage records, old aerial photos from wet years, and a straight conversation with neighboring operators will tell you more than any soil classification map ever will.
Anybody else found that rated productivity and actual performance diverged significantly because of drainage nobody disclosed?