FactorInformation%20Needed

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Enterprise Natural Resources Unit Soil
Judging
Factor Information Needed
A. Protecting resources, like soil, is an
important career area in agriculture. B. The soil
judging contest is a fun, competitive way to
learn about soils.
I. Intro- duction
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A. There are three parts 1. Measuring soil
properties 2. Interpreting, determining
class 3. Management decisions B. A soil judging
site 1. A 100 x 100 area 2. A staked slope
of 50 or 100 3. A pit
II. Contest Basics
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A. There are five soil properties 1. Soil
texture ( a combination of sand, silt and clay
give soil its texture class.) a. coarse- mostly
sand, wont ribbon b. moderately coarse- sandy
soil, weak gt1 ribbon. Very gritty. c. medium-
good mix, ribbon less 1, smoother texture. d.
moderately fine- some clay, 1-2 ribbon. e.
fine- clay soils, will ribbon more than 2,
smooth texture that will get shiny.
III. Soil Properties
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2. Soil Depth- depth available for rooting,
check for rock or gravel layer. 3. Past
erosion- compares current topsoil depth to
original soil depth (given) a. deposition- more
than original b. none to slight- less than
25 c. moderate- 25-75 d. severe- greater than
75 1. formula original depth - current depth
/ original depth x 100 of soil loss.
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4. Slope- is the amount of feet a slope drops
over 100 of length. It will be 50 or 100 in
the contest. If a 50 slope is staked, your
estimate must be doubled. a. Depression is a
low spot 5. Stoniness- number of 10 stones a.
none to slight- ave. 1 stone every 30 b.
moderate- 1 stone/ 5 to 30 c. excessive- 1
stone 5 or less
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IV. Interpretive Properties
A. These are determined from the above
information 1. Permeability- affected by subsoil
texture a. rapid- coarse b. moderate-
moderately coarse, medium, mod. Fine- the 3
Ms c. slow- fine textured d. very slow-
rare
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2. Surface Runoff a. rapid- above 6
slope b. moderate- 3 to 6 slope c. slow- 0
to 3 slope d. ponded- depression 1 If the
top soil is coarse add 3 to slopes 3. Water
Table may be given under field conditions and
would affect limiting factors. a. gt20 is a (1)
b. 10 - 20 is (2) c. 0 - 10 is a (3) d.
ponded is (5)
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V. Limiting factors
A. Check all boxes that were marked worse than
one (1) on the cheat sheet.
A. The worst limiting factor factor determines
the land capability classification.
VI. Land Capability Class
VII. Field Conditions
A. These are posted at the pit and just need to
be filled in. Water table is used for limiting
factors.