1. FFA Land Judging Using the 2005 Scorecard and Guidebook Terence H. Cooper Dept. of Soil, Water, & Climate University of Minnesota, St. Paul

2. Soil - the essence of life Darkle, darkle, little grain, I wonder how you entertain a thousand creatures microscopic. Grains like you from pole to tropic support land life upon this planet. I marvel at you, crumb of granite! (Hole, 1989)

3. Part 1 & 2 Surface Soil & Subsoil Describing the Soil Profile Horizon Depth Soil Color Soil Texture Gravel and Rocks

7. Thickness Clarion A = 18 in. Subsoil = 54-18= 36 in Nebish A = 3 in Subsoil = 48-3=45

8. Surface Soil Color – Munsell Color Charts Dark Medium Light

9. Color Clarion A = 10yr 2/1 = Very Dark Nebish A = 10yr 3/1 = Very Dark Subsoil for both = Bright or no mottles or gray colors present.

10. Texture & Gravel Clarion A = Loam = Medium Clarion Subsoil = clay loam = fine Nebish A = sandy loam = moderately coarse Nebish Subsoil = sandy clay loam = fine None to few = gravel in all parts of soil.

11. Gravel Determination < 15% 15-34% 35-59% > 59% 2mm sieve 

12. Floodplain Terrace

13. 0-2% slope 2-6 % 6-12 % 12-18% 0-2% -flooding or rocks 18-30 % 30-60% > 60%

14. Interpretations of Soil Features; 6A - E Residual - Soil formed from Bedrock. In Minnesota mainly only the following: Sandstone Limestone Basalt Granite

15. Type of Material that limits rooting Depth- 6A

16. Parent Materials -6B

17. Depth of Soil favorable for roots – 6C

18. Air and Water Movement – 6D Coarse texture Medium or moderately coarse texture Fine texture Very fine texture

19. AWC = Clarion 0-18 = loam =.2”/in /in soil= 3.6” H2O Subsoil = 36 = CL =.2”/in/in soil = 7.2” H2O C horizon 60-54 = 6 sandy loam =.15”/in/in soil =.9” H20 Total = 3.6 + 7.2 +.9 = 11.7” H2O = High Available Water Capacity – 6E - (1-3)

20. Internal Drainage – 6E-4

21. 6 E -4 Well Drained Moderately Well Somewhat Poorly Poorly Drained

22. Orginal Surface soil depth- Clarion = 23” & currenlty=18 or 5 inches lost = erosion present Texture = fine or coarse Amount and Kind of Erosion -7 > 2 inches A = original soil depth > 1” loss of original depth

23. Need for Erosion Control -8 A & B None Sod Cover, Conservation Tillage Contour, Strip Crop & Conservation Tillage Grass Waterway and Gully Control.

24. Erosion Control - 8

25. Poorly Drained Somewhat Poorly Drained Both will need tile drainage.

26. Crop to be planted = small grains- past crop soybeans – use Table 5 P-test = 21 lbs/acre, K – test = 136 lbs/acre, no manure Subsoil K = low and Subsoil P = low SMP BUFFER = 5.9-Area 1- Soil Texture = loam Corn yield goal = 120 Fertilizer = ? N = 40 P = 20 K = 70 Lime = 7.5 tons/acre- from lime table

27. New Crop = corn – after soybeans. P-test = 21 lbs/acre, K – test = 136 lbs/acre, no manure Subsoil K = low and Subsoil P = low Yield Goal = 130 Fertilizer = ? N = 90 – or choose 100 as the closest answer. P = 60 K = 80 Lime = 7.5

28. Land Use Limitations -11 Part 11 - Land use Limitations Use for Dwellings Use for Septic Tank absorption fields Use for farm lagoons and holding basins

29. Features for dwellings Clarion Soil

30. Septic Tanks – Lester Soil

31. Suitability for Farm Lagoons – Clarion Soil

33. Questions ?