Factor Information Needed

Enterprise: Natural Resources Unit: Soil Judging

I. Intro-duction

A. Protecting resources, like soil, is an important career area in agriculture.B. The soil judging contest is a fun, competitive way to learn about soils.

A. There are three parts:1. Measuring soil properties2. Interpreting, determining class3. Management decisions

B. A soil judging site:1. A 100’ x 100’ area2. A staked slope of 50’ or 100’3. A pit

II. Contest Basics

III. SoilProperties

A. There are five soil properties:1. Soil textureSoil texture ( a combination of sand,

silt and clay give soil its texture class.)a. coarse- mostly sand, won’t ribbonb. moderately coarse- sandy soil, weak

>1” ribbon. Very gritty. c. medium- good mix, ribbon less 1”,

smoother texture. d. moderately fine- some clay, 1-2”

ribbon. e. fine- clay soils, will ribbon more than

2”, smooth texture that will get shiny.

2. Soil Depth- depth available for rooting, check for rock or gravel layer.

3. Past erosion- compares current topsoil depth to original soil depth (given)

a. deposition- more than original b. none to slight- less than 25%c. moderate- 25-75%d. severe- greater than 75%1. formula: original depth - current depth /

original depth x 100 = % of soil loss.

4. Slope- Slope- is the amount of feet a slope drops over 100’ of length. It will be 50 or 100’ in the contest. If a 50’ slope is staked, your estimate must be doubled.

a. Depression is a low spot5. Stoniness-Stoniness- number of 10” stones

a. none to slight- ave. 1’ stone every 30’

b. moderate- 1’ stone/ 5 to 30’ c. excessive- 1’ stone 5’ or less

IV.Interpretive Properties

A. These are determined from the above information

1. Permeability1. Permeability- affected by subsoil texture

a. rapid- coarseb. moderate- moderately coarse,

medium, mod. Fine- the 3 M’sc. slow- fine texturedd. very slow- rare

2. Surface Runoff2. Surface Runoffa. rapid- above 6% slopeb. moderate- 3 to 6% slopec. slow- 0 to 3% sloped. ponded- depression

1] If the top soil is coarse add 3% to slopes

3. Water Table may be given under field conditions and would affect limiting factors.

a. >20” is a (1) b. 10 - 20” is (2)c. 0 - 10” is a (3) d. ponded is (5)

VI. Land Capability Class

A. The worst limiting factor factor determines the land capability classification.

VII. Field Conditions A. These are posted at the pit and

just need to be filled in. Water table is used for limiting factors.

V. Limiting factors

A. Check all boxes that were marked worse than one (1) on the cheat sheet.

VIII. Land Treatments

A. Easy to complete after determining the land capability class of the site.

1. Vegetative treatmentsVegetative treatments- mark any that fall within the ranges given.2. Mechanical Erosion TreatmentsMechanical Erosion Treatments

a. diversion terraces- marked if overhead water overhead water is given on

field conditions.b. Farm on the contour- check if a 3 to 6%

c. Terrace- mark if 6% to 15%

d. grassy waterway- marked if overland water is given under field conditions

3. Fertility TreatmentsFertility Treatments

a. To determine fertility treatments look at the field conditions sheet at the pit.

B. subtract the soil test and manure value from the amount needed from the crop raised. This is the amount you list on the score card.

C. Potassium levels can exceed needs when manure is added, Nitrogen and Phosphorus can not exceed levels.