Continuing on the subject of Web Soil Survey and how we can use it to look at our land and start gathering data I want to discuss one of the features in the “Soil Data Explorer” tab. In the previous post I explained how to select an Area of Interest in WSS and look at some of the basic features of your soil. In this post we will look at the Suitabilities and Limitations for Use tabs and the Soil Properties and Qualities tab in Soil Data Exporter.

The suitabilities and determination for use tab is a good tool when you are trying to build facilities in your farm. It gives you a quick snapshot of what types of facilities the soil can technically support. I usually check on the Soil Health tab to determine if certain areas of my farm have slopes, are prone to flooding and to get estimates for the depths of the cemented pan, saturated pan and thick cemented pan. Needless to say these are just estimates and not to scale, requesting assistance from the NRCS or your local extension agent is recommended to get the most accurate readings for your farm. However this is a good start to the discussion with those specialists.

Utilizing the map above The RsB soils are slopes (fields highlighted in yellow) and the RsE soils are prone to flooding (fields highlighted in red) Suitabilities and Limitations is useful but the Soil properties and Qualities tab is even more useful

This tab has ALOT of information that is useful to farmers. The Soil Chemical Properties drop down can give you information on Cation Exchange Capacity, Electrical Conductivity and pH. The Soil Erosion Factors can give you Wind Erodibility and K factors. Soil Health properties drop down gives can give you info on water capacity and organic matter. You can find bulk Density of your soil and Texture on the Physical properties drop down and the water features map can give you information on flooding and ponding frequencies. These are just a few of the MANY features that you can find utilizing the Soil properties and Qualities tab in Soil Data Explorer.

A lot of these insights have to be taken in context for them to be useful to the farmer. Let’s take a couple of the tabs on Soil Properties and Qualities tab. Utilizing the Soil Chemical properties tab in my own farm I can see that three areas of my farm consist of Millhopper sand, which has a low CEC at a 12 inch depth with a neutral pH. Well what does this mean? This probably means that those areas in my farm require more application of fertilizer than other areas of my farm with higher CECs. However I don’t use fertilizer so for me it means that the mix of cover crops that I use in those areas is different than in other areas of the farm. In this particular instance I have actually witnessed how crops (squash) had a hard time growing in those sections of the farm two years ago, its because the soil is less healthy in those areas.

Using the pH tool the readings are pHs of between 5.3 and 5.5. I can validate this because I conducted soil tests with extension agents in different areas of the farm resulting in readings with pHs of 5.6, a slightly acidic soil. What does that mean? I need to carefully select crops and cover crops that can thrive in slightly acidic soils. Thankfully 5.6 is not too acidic so a lot of crops can be grown in my farm.

One tool that I use at least once a year in Florida is the Water Features Ponding Frequency Class tab. Since I live close to a prairie I have seen a lot of the farms in the area have ponding issues in the last 3 years. There are some farms that have been under water since Hurricane Irma in 2017. Utilizing the tool I can see that my farm has a 0 percent chance to suffer from ponding. Drainage in Florida is good but the water table is high, ponding is a real problem. If the reports do not match what I see on my land i will seek the help of both NRCS and extension agents. So far I am still good.