Resources For Knowing Your Soil
July 30, 2015 One of the first publications I read when I started working for the Soil Conservation Service more than 35 years ago was Agricultural Information Bulletin No. 267 titled, Know Your Soil. This bulletin continues to be among the first recommendations of Cooperative Extension, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Soil and Water Conservation District, and private agronomy and crop consultants, for good reason. The soil name and its associated characteristics can immediately tell farmers and others much about the soil drainage, depth to bedrock, or other restricting layers, slope, yield potential, and suitability for many different uses.
Soil mapping through the National Cooperative Soil Survey Program, has been completed for more than 95% of the counties in the U.S. Traditional (although not necessarily current) printed, county, and tribal soil surveys continue to be an important resource for finding out what soil type is mapped on your property. Though many are out of print, these documents are generally available at least for reference in federal depository libraries and local USDA Service Centers and Cooperative Extension offices.
Electronic versions of the archived soil survey manuscripts for many soil surveys can be downloaded and viewed at the Soil Survey link of the NRCS Soils web pages:
Nrcs.Usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/soilsurvey/soils/survey/state/.
Additional Technical Tools
Increasingly, farmers and others turn to technical tools to determine what soils are mapped on property of interest to them. Here are four websites you can
turn to for more information.
1. The NRCS’ Web Soil Survey (WSS) is the main computerized tool currently available for accessing the world’s largest natural resources information system. Web Soil Survey allows users to produce customized, printable maps and reports for their areas of interest based on the most current data and interpretations.
WebSoilSurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/HomePage.htm.
2. Many soil and water conservation districts, county planning departments, and other local agencies also provide web-based tools for determining soil and soil characteristics. A good example is the Internet Mapping System maintained by the Erie County (New York) Department of Environment and Planning. Aerial photography, tax parcel boundaries, wetland and floodplain maps, and other data can all be combined with soils information for a more complete assessment and understanding of the landscape.
www2.erie.gov/gis/index.php?q=internet-mapping
3. Tablet and smartphone users can access soils information through their hand-held devices. Many smartphone users with agricultural and environmental interests download SoilWeb for either iPhone or Android cellular phones. This free app was developed by the California Soil Resource Lab at the University of California-Davis in collaboration with the USDA NRCS. The California Soil Resource Lab has produced a number of other desktop, tablet, and smartphone applications which allow users to view detailed information about soil map units and their components with Google Map and Google Earth interfaces.
CasoilResource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/soilweb-apps/
4. More technologically advanced users can download digital soils data (and many other demographic and natural resource layers) from various federal, state, and academic geographic information system data repositories including the NRCS’ Geospatial Data Gateway:https://gdg.sc.egov.usda.gov/
Get To Know Your Soil
Soils and other environmental and natural resources data can be downloaded for use with many computer software platforms for general resource analysis and farm management. Increasingly, these mapping, planning, and management tools are being used on farms, and not just by crop advisors.
These mapping tools are not intended to replace on-site soil assessments and sample collection for laboratory analysis. Still, they can be useful tools for planning and land management. Knowing the name and approximate boundaries of mapping units is a great start but there’s so much more to know about your soil.
That’s where soil testing comes in, particularly with respect to fertility levels and needs, and for assessing and managing soil health. Whether those tests are based on traditional land-grant-college-developed analytical methodologies or newly emerging integrated soil health testing strategies like the Haney Soil Health Test, the results can help land managers better understand the soils they are farming.
During this 2015 International Year of Soils, farmers, planners, consultants and other land managers can all help shape a healthier, more sustainable future by knowing their soil.
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