Precision Agriculture and SSURGO

Key Soil Properties

Texture, AWC, bulk density, Ksat, pH, CEC, organic matter, EC, drainage class, hydrologic group, water table depth.

Variable Rate Applications

Seeding, nitrogen, liming, and drainage planning prescriptions derived from soil zone maps.

Zone vs Grid Sampling

SSURGO-based zone sampling reduces costs 60-80% vs grid sampling at $8-15/acre.

Limitations

Survey-scale data needs ground-truthing for management-zone boundaries.