Land is level, with some small (2-5’) hummocks where vegetation has attracted the soil over the years.
Looks a lot like this.
Zoned for agriculture.
Not normally, no. Normally it’s called levelling or just tilling with a descriptor of how it was levelled, eg harrowing.
You can grade agricultural land, using a grader, but it’s a fairly specific term for that operation.
To my somewhat trained eye it’s not immediately apparent that that country has been worked. It looks like pretty typical semi-arid tussock grass/shrub land.
Are you planning to farm that land? If so, what crop(s) do you propose? Out of idle curiosity, where is it located?
Considered by who and for what purpose? If there’s a legal distinction involved, you might have to give some idea of what law/regulation you’re concerned about.
For instance, in one professional field I know about, ‘grading’ isn’t defined, but ‘earth disturbing’ is an important term. (And plowing would be ‘earth disturbing’, though for agricultural purposes, which has its own category)
One of my friends wants to farm it. The land is in Lancaster, CA, about halfway between Lancaster and Victorville.
Is this in reference to stormwater permitting, or some other kind of environmental regulations?
(or, what Quercus said)
Shaping the land surface for irrigation water flow or drainage is generally called “levelling” as others have pointed out. Plowing, harrowing etc. is generally called “tillage” or “seedbed preperation” or occasionally just “bedding”. I’ve never heard “grading” used that way in an agricultural application, but I suppose it’s possible, especially if you’re dealing with legal terms.
If, as the question sounds like, You’re considering breaking virgin ground for agricultural production, I’d advise your friend to tread carefully. Both federal and state laws & restrictions could apply. And, as you’re no doubt aware, the big question is water supply. That terrain doesn’t look suitable for dry farming. In CA and much of the arid west, surface water rights (streams, canals, etc.) are usually fully allocated and in some cases over-allocated. Even groundwater pumping permits are difficult to get because of the effect on aquifers.
Best place to go for a definitive answer to your question is probably the county extension agent.
SS (Oregon farmer)