20100302 agchat soil not dirt information

Most Asked Agronomic Questions

National Resources Inventory, Soil Erosion

The Dakota Lakes Research Farm's primary goal is to identify, research, and demonstrate methods of strengthening and stabilizing the agriculture economy. The research farm is operated by South Dakota State University, but the land and other fixed facilities are owned by a nonprofit corporation owned by area farmers.

No-till on the Plains Inc. is a non-profit educational organization providing information to farmers on adopting No-till and other sustainable production methods, and to further develop those techniques.

No-till systems affect soil structure and the potential for soil compaction in many ways. Some changes with reduced tillage are rapid, such as increases in residue cover, while others occur slowly, such as improved aggregation and increased biological activity. Many changes are positive, but others may have somewhat adverse effects, especially in the short-term. The extent of changes are affected by soil type, drainage, climate, and cropping system. Differences between no-till and other tillage practices also depend upon the type of tillage system no-till is compared to.

Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) Database

Web Soil Survey (WSS) provides soil data and information produced by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. It is operated by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and provides access to the largest natural resource information system in the world. NRCS has soil maps and data available online for more than 95 percent of the nation’s counties and anticipates having 100 percent in the near future. The site is updated and maintained online as the single authoritative source of soil survey information.