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Soil Sampling Sets Everything 02/05/03 12:58:45 PM
Soil Sampling
Soil Sampling is the basis for every decision in your cropping program. It
provides the basis for your fertility and liming program, which in turn determines your
seed, chemical, even your tillage decisions. So how is it that something so vitally
important is so often neglected? Get your soil sampling program up to speed by letting Farm
Fertilizers & Seeds help you make a soil sampling plan of action.
Guidlines for a good soil sampling program are:
- Samples should be representative of something. Whether
you grid sample or zone sample, it is important that a sample can be shown to represent a
portion of a field. "Smart Sampling", the type of sampling Farm
Fertilizers & Seeds recommends, divides the field into distinct
"management units" based on soil type, history, topography, and/or yield mapping
history.By sampling these "management units" separately, a fertility plan can be
made that represents each "management unit" individually. This is more
effective than a benchmark, or averaging, sample because programs using a "smart
sample" will be tailored for the "management unit", rather than over- and
under-managing areas of the field that do not match up with the benchmark sample.
- Samples should be of appropriate size. Too much or too
little area sampled will skew results. It is important to take a large enough sample
that it is representative, but not so large that it ignores field variations.
- Sampling should be repeated, and repeatable. Farm
Fertilizers & Seeds recommends sampling on a 4 year rotation. It is
also important that samples taken are recorded in such a way as to make them repeatable
the next time it is sampled. By taking samples in the same "management
unit" and the same vicinity each year, strengths and weaknesses of a fertility
program can be measured by examining applications, yields, and results.
- Send Samples to a reputable lab. Farm
Fertilizers & Seeds sends our samples to A&L Great Lakes in Fort Wayne,
IN. A&L is an independent, professional lab that employs the most current
scientific methods of analyzing soil samples, as well as the most stringent quality
control measures. For more information on A&L Labs and their sampling analysis
techniques, visit their webpage.
Farm Fertilizers & Seeds has all the tools to help you develop a
successful soil sampling program. Using a GPS compatible handheld computer, we can
map your fields, providing accurate size of your field, as well as geo-reference soil
samples so the same spot may be sampled each cycle for accurate analysis of results.
Computerized fertility programs can then be created to make your applications
smooth. Professional, quality soil sampling programs start here.
Contact us to discuss your soil sampling
program and how we can help.
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