The Natural Resources Conservation Service Web soil survey, www.websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov, is the modern, electronic version of our paperbound soil survey books.

The online version allows you to create a site -specific area of interest or collect data on a countywide basis. There is a vast amount of information available through this tool, making more than just a way to create soil map.

While the construction and development capability data and reports are nice for the general public, farmers can really take advantage of some of the neat features this software offers.

If you’re interested in picking up a rented piece of ground, you can run reports to determine seasonal high water tables, yield potentials, organic matter levels and available water holding capacities.

All of these are good tools to determine a farmable baseline and help determine if picking the tract will yield a worthwhile investment.

If you’re looking for suitable land for manure stockpiling, as part of a nutrient management plan or soil rutting potential in the wetter seasons, those reports are available too.

Overall, the Web soil survey is a good interactive tool that provides a vast amount of information to the user and is easy to navigate.

Take some time this offseason and explore the soil under your farm.

Soil health workshop

Don’t forget there is still time to register for the soil health workshop at the USDA service center. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday and will feature a lunch for $5.

We will cover the basics of soil health along with how to build healthy soils on your operation and wrap everything up with a conversation on developing cover crop mixes and taking covers to a new level on your operation.

Whether you’re a seasoned cover cropper or are new to the game, this will be a worthwhile and educational event to attend.

For more information or to register, contact our office at 724-482-4800, Ext. 3.

Andy Gaver is a conservationist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Butler County.