So far we have been very pleased with the results of the Electrical Conductivity testing, for the creation of management zones for soil sampling. (See my older post on the Zone Manager).
In a nutshell – here is process and what we have found.
First, we scan the soil and create a zone map based on the subsets of soil structure found (mixture of sand, silt and clay).
Second, we overlay a 2.5 acre grid over this map, to help pinpoint potential soil sample points.
Finally, we load this points onto the field soil sampling software, and head out to get them. The biggest change for the soil sample collection process is that the sampler is no longer only going “by eye” to pick the points. Now, the sample location is given, and as such the sampler is pulling the cores from a tighter radius to this predetermined location.
What we are finding is we are better able to determine where fields have issues, and the modeled maps more closely resemble soil composition, as they are based on how the field truly is, rather than a computer’s estimation.
At this point we are charging $5 per acre for the EC scanning if you are also getting the field grid sampled. Otherwise the fee is $10 per acre.
Contact us for more information.