Location: Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research
Project Number: 5070-21600-001-008-I
Project Type: Interagency Reimbursable Agreement
Start Date: Sep 1, 2023
End Date: Aug 31, 2028
Objective:
The NRCS Soil Health Division seeks to develop a comprehensive dataset of soil health test results correlated with agroecological management systems in order to expand and refine a national-scale soil health assessment tool, the Soil Health Assessment Protocol and Evaluation (SHAPE). This project will enable NRCS to provide producers with regionally-relevant and management/soil system relevant soil health assessment scores and interpretations using SHAPE. This project will enhance conservation technical recommendations and assistance to producers and build interpretation tools to determine effective, climate-smart strategies for agricultural production systems and healthy soil/agroecological systems.
Approach:
Approximately 10,100 soil samples, along with associated management information, will be collected from across the U.S., including the five inhabited territories. Sample distribution will target diverse soil, climate, and agricultural production systems, including tribal lands. The ARS PI will establish a Cooperative Agreement with the University of Missouri Center for Regenerative Agriculture (CRA) to coordinate the collection of the 10,100 on-farm soil samples and associated management information from landowners across all 50 U.S states and five inhabited U.S. territories. The ARS PI and CRA staff will work closely with the prime subcontractor, Agronomic, Geologic, and Environmental Services LLC (AGES), which CRA has contracted with for other USDA-NRCS project work. AGES will be the principal entity performing the major functions of landowner and field identification, historic land management collection through a proprietary website, and soil sampling over all 50 states and 5 occupied US territories. Samples will be collected from the 0-6 in (0-15 cm) depth range only and will adhere to a sampling protocol developed by the ARS PI. All geocoordinates will be collected in WGS1984 datum and converted to Decimal Degrees upon data entry. Soil samples will be submitted to the ARS PI in Columbia, Missouri via in-person delivery or via APHIS-compliant shipping. CRA staff will provide support for development of written technical and educational materials, particularly in years two and three of the project. Throughout the three-year project, CRA staff will also provide management of payments for soil sampling and related work, including processing invoices, tracking expenses, and generating reports on expenses and related activities. Laboratory testing of the soil samples will be coordinated by the ARS-PI and will adhere to the NRCS-recommended tests. The ARS PI will coordinate soil testing via subcontract with a laboratory that has a demonstrated ability to provide the specified methods and protocols. This agreement funds analysis of 6,300 of the 10,100 samples collected. All final farm/ranch management and soils data, including location geocoordinates, will be submitted to NRCS. The soil health test data will augment the existing SHAPE dataset and updated scoring curves will be generated by the ARS PI for the selected soil health measurements. Updated executable files will be delivered to NRCS.
