FFA Land Judging Using the 2005 Scorecard and Guidebook

1. FFA Land JudgingUsing 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 Light Medium Dark

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 2mm sieve < 15% 15-34% 35-59% > 59%

12. Terrace Floodplain

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. Available Water Capacity – 6E - (1-3) 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

20. Internal Drainage – 6E-4

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

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

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 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 ?