This guide was produced with generous support from the Walton Family Foundation.
We acknowledge the collaboration and contributions from our partners in developing and reviewing this guide: Forest Preserves of Cook County, Forest Preserve District of Kane County, Lake County Forest Preserves, McHenry County Conservation District, and Will County Forest Preserve District.
This guide provides an overview of the soil health testing process and aims to be action oriented. An in-depth Soil Health Testing Guide is available to those who are interested in conducting soil health testing on their farm. Both guides aim to provide the most current, correct, and clear information possible, but some information may have changed since publication. We encourage practitioners to reach out to us with questions, corrections, or to discuss implementation challenges.
Identify Goals & Constraints
Articulate goals early and revisit often to establish a clear understanding of why soil health testing is taking place. Establishing these goals will enable you to better interpret testing results. Additionally, identify any challenges that might arise during testing. For example, organizational budgets and, staff capacity, and uncertainty typically affect soil testing operations.
Select a Laboratory to Conduct Testing
Choose a lab to test your land's soil based on costs, testing parameters, timelines, and results accessibility. Different labs offer different services, so do your research and find the best fit for you according to your goals and constraints. Use this document to decide which lab will work best for you.
Establish Timelines for Testing
Conduct soil health testing at the same time each year. Typically, testing occurs prior to planting in either the fall or in the spring, which allows organizations to understand soil conditions before planting. It may take four to six weeks to get the results from the lab.
Create Profiles for Land Parcels
Compile data for the land management units that will be tested. Include data such as:
- Historical and current land use
- Soil type and characteristics
- Management practices
View our template data-collection spreadsheet. Use the publicly available resources below to get started.
Gather Your Supplies
Make sure you have the following items to collect your soil samples.
- Six gallon bucket
- Spade
- Soil Hand Probe
- GPS Unit
- Pen & Field Notebook
- Calculator
- Permanent Marker
- Resealable Plastic Bags
- Hardboard Clipboard
Additional supplies listed in the full Soil Health Testing Guide are optional but may be preferred by practitioners.
Follow Procedure While Collecting Samples
Collect soil samples according to laboratory requirements (if applicable). Otherwise, follow these steps for soil collection.
- Identify five to six sampling locations in each parcel.
- Collect composite samples from representative areas in each parcel for those with multiple soil textures or treatments, i.e. buffer strips.
- Collect five or six cores from the top six inches of soil and mix these cores to create a composite sample for that parcel.
- Label samples and record other parcel characteristics such as surface hardness and soil temperature at time of collection
- Send samples to the lab as soon as possible! Laboratories will provide packaging and shipping instructions.
Interpret Soil Health Test Results
Analyze test results to better understand soil health using individual indicators and the soil health index. Labs usually provide an overall soil health score, known as the soil health index. Labs will also provide results for individual indicators, such as respiration, aggregate stability, soil protein index, and organic matter.
Explore Feasible Management Options
Consider which management practices could be feasibly applied on parcels to improve soil health. Not all management practices will be feasible or applicable, so you should prioritize the available options based on your goals and constraints. Use this framework (pg. 84) developed by the Cornell Soil Health Lab to help determine which management practices are most appropriate to consider based on your soil health testing results.
Implement, Monitor, and Adapt Management Practices
Conduct soil health testing every two to three years to track health indicators. Soil health properties do not change quickly, so it's critical to continually monitor how your soil health indicators change in response to management practices. Decision-makers should monitor these changes over time and adapt management practices accordingly.
After the first round of soil testing is complete, revisit the planning steps to refine your goals and adjust sampling procedures to incorporate lessons learned. Explore the complete Soil Health Testing Guide for more in-depth discussion and additional resources for the key steps in the process of soil health testing.
Established in 1998, Delta Institute is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization that collaborates with communities to solve complex environmental challenges across the Midwest.
Please contact us at delta@delta-institute.org to learn more.
Credits:
Created with images by Ben den Engelsen - "untitled image" • Hakan Yalcin - "Pattern" • Dylan de Jonge - "On a sunny sunday morning I decided to cycle outside of the city and go to the farmland. I cycled around when I reached a patch of farmland located at one of the farms next to a sandy road. You could see that a tractor drove through the farmland , covered in sprouts, towards the farm. I jumped over the ditch and lied down into the tractor track to take this picture. I like this picture a lot because it is an escape from the busy city which is just a few miles further to the east, on cycling distance." • d z - "Grassland" • John Reed - "untitled image" • CHUTTERSNAP - "Plants in beakers" • Wil Stewart - "untitled image" • Andres Siimon - "Shovel in the soil" • Gabriel Jimenez - "Poor mans garden" • Johny Goerend - "I had this shot in mind already long before I took it. And as it often happens, I wasn’t planning on being able to take it on that day, but then I saw both tractors on their field from 1km away, and so I started up the drone. Although I had to work against strong winds, I was able to capture what I had imagined before. Buy awesome, limited edtition, photo prints: handpictphoto.com" • felixioncool - "microscope research lab" • Chad Stembridge - "Time to make hay" • Roman Synkevych - "untitled image"