The Getting Started Guide is intended as the starting point for all other guides found within the Deed Mapper section.
Getting Started
First you will want to create a list of calls from your legal description. The legal description used in this example is as follows: “Those parts of the Northwest fractional quarter and the Southwest fractional quarter of Section 11, Township 31 North Range 11 East of the third principal meridian in Kankakee County, Illinois, bounded and described as follows: commencing at the Northwest corner of said northwest fractional quarter, and running; Thence North 88 degrees 58 minutes 00 seconds East, along the North line of said Northwest fractional quarter, 1319.85 feet to the Northeast corner of said Northwest fractional quarter; Thence South 01 degrees 31 minutes 07 seconds East, along the East line of the last said Northwest fractional quarter, 1791.16 feet to the point of beginning; Thence South 88 degrees 58 minutes 00 seconds West, parallel with said North line, 1020.20 feet to the Southeast corner of parcel of land conveyed by warranty deed No. 200117930 recorded September 11, 2001; Thence South 86 degrees 38 minutes 54 seconds West, along the South line of said conveyance, 213.83 feet to the East line of the Wais-ke-shaw reservation in said township and range, said East line being also the West line of said Northwest fractional quarter; Thence South 01 degrees 39 minutes 45 seconds East, along said East line, 846.37 feet; Thence South 01 degree 24 minutes 02 seconds East, along said East line here being also the West line of the Southwest fractional quarter of said Section 11, 1133.95 feet to the center of Illinois Route 102; Thence South 54 degrees 17 minutes 40 seconds East, along said center, 454.47 feet; Thence South 56 degrees 46 minutes 57 seconds East along said center 853.00 feet; Thence North 01 degrees 07 minutes 38 seconds West along the West line of a survey as said West line has been occupied, made by W.H. Mathewson, May 28, 1862, 1851.27 feet; *Thence South 89 degrees, 31 minutes 30 seconds East 157.71 to the Southeast corner of said Northwest fractional quarter and;*Thence North 01 degrees 31 minutes 07 seconds West along said East line of the Northwest fractional quarter 893.84 feet to the point of beginning.” You will need to go through each line of the legal description to understand what you are reading: where is your starting point, where is your place of beginning, are there exceptions, are there multiple keeps? With the example legal description used in this guide, the list of calls created are as follows:1
31N 11E
2
N88°58’00”E 1319.16ft
3
S1°31’7”E 1791.16ft
4
S88°58’00”W 1020.2ft
5
S86°38’54”W 213.83ft
6
S1°39’45”E 846.37ft
7
S1°24’2”E 1133.95ft
8
S54°17’40”E 454.47ft
9
S56°46’57”E 853ft
10
N1°7’38”W 1851.27ft
11
S89°31’30”E 157.71ft
12
N1°31’7”W 893.84ft
Navigating to the Deed Mapper
1
From the Dashboard click into the Map
2
Once on the Map, click the Farm Builder icon in the upper right corner
3
In the Add a Farm panel, click Use Deed Mapping Tool
4
The Deed Mapper tab will open in the Parcel Details panel, ready for you to Add call
Finding the Starting Point
What is the Starting Point? The starting point is the point at which the calls in the legal land description start, but it may not be where the parcel itself starts.1
Click Layers in the left-hand menu, expand Land Boundaries, then click Section/Township/Range Search
2
Refer to the Legal Land Description for the property you are working with and enter the State, County, Township - Range and Section, then click Apply. For our example, we will be using Illinois, Kankakee County, 31N 11E, Section 11
3
The section will be outlined in yellow on the map. To free up space on your screen, click the X to close the Layers panel
4
In the Deed Mapper tab, click Add call
5
Under Starting Point, choose either Select point on map or Latitude/Longitude from the dropdown
- Latitude/Longitude: Select this option from the dropdown and enter the coordinates
- Select point on map: This option is best used with the Section/Township/Range search. Zoom in and click on the map to place your starting point. The latitude and longitude will fill in automatically. In the example used in this guide, we need to look at the paragraph “Those parts of the Northwest fractional quarter and the Southwest fractional quarter of Section 11, Township 31 North Range 11 East of the third principal meridian in Kankakee County, Illinois, bounded and described as follows: commencing at the Northwest corner of said northwest fractional quarter, and running; Here we will get the Section, Township and Range as well as the starting point, which is the Northwest corner of Section 11, Township 31 North, Range 11 East.
Set the Point of Beginning
What is the Point of Beginning? This is the point at which the parcel actually starts being drawn.1
If your starting point is the point of beginning, select the checkbox for Point of Beginning and click Save. If the starting point is different from the Point of Beginning, simply click Save
Note: The example we are using has a starting point that is different from the point of beginning.
Adding Calls
1
To enter a call click Add call
2
Click on the Line or Curve tab depending on the type of call you are making
Note: For our example we will be using a line
3
Under Bearing, select N or S, enter the Degrees, Minutes and Seconds, then select E or W. Under Distance, enter the Length and choose the Measurement Unit (for example, Feet), then click Save
4
Continue to add calls until you reach the point of beginning
5
On the call that reaches the point of beginning, select the checkbox for Point of Beginning then click Save. In our example, this is the third call: S1°31’7”E 1791.16ft
6
The point of beginning call is marked with an orange flag in your list of calls, and the calls that follow are grouped under Point of Beginning. The parcel will begin drawing on the map from this point
7
Continue to add calls until you have completed the outline of the parcel. To make changes to a call, click the pencil icon next to it
8
Once you have added all of your calls click Finish plotting
Creating the Farm
1
The Parcel details tab will open with the Name and Gross Acres of the plotted parcel. Update these if needed, then click Confirm
2
On the Define Farm Boundary step, the deeded parcel will be selected. Click Next
3
On the Create Fields step, choose Use SmartDraw or Start Fields from Parcel, then click Next. You can also click Save Farm to save the farm and create fields from parcels later
4
On the Edit Field Details step, review the field Name, Gross Acres and acres breakdown, then click Next
5
On the Review step, confirm the parcel and field details, then click Save Farm
6
Once the farm is created, you can Go to Farm Details, Create Comparative Market Analysis, Record Sales Data, Go to My Farms or Create another farm
7
To rename the farm, click the pencil icon next to the farm name on the farm details page