Designing Soil Sampling Plans for Accurate Results

A farm’s fertility plan is only as good as the soil samples it is based on. Inconsistencies in sampling, or not accounting for factors like management history, zones where yield differs, drainage differences, and soil types, can all reduce the accuracy of the resulting soil tests and result in applying too much or too little fertility. Each farm’s tillage regime will impact soil pH and nutrient stratification. Depending on a farm’s tillage practices, pH and nutrient levels at a 6-inch depth can vary significantly from 2-inch depth. Advisors want to take into account a farm’s field management when making their soil sampling plan so that the samples give an accurate understanding of a client’s soil.

We’ll learn from a professor/field specialist and an organic agronomist as they talk through the finer points of soil sampling, so that advisors can design soil sampling plans that result in accurate soil tests, and ultimately in effective fertility plans.