Lesson 30: Soil Characteristics

Environmental Stewardship Assessment:

Do the soils on current land application sites present any specific environmental risks? This assessment tool will help you confidentially evaluate the environmental issues that relate to the soil characteristics of land application sites. For an assessment of site-related characteristics (e.g., slope, flooding potential, and location relative to surface water), see Lesson 33, Selecting Land Application Sites. To complete, identify the Field IDs. (Note: Complete the worksheet separately for each field.) For each issue, select the statement that best describes conditions for the field. If any items do not apply, leave them blank. When this evaluation is completed for common manure application sites, use the information to:

  1. Select preferred land application sites;
  2. Identify higher risk application sites; and
  3. Determine sites requiring additional conservation management practices to offset the higher risks associated with soil characteristics.

This information should be considered as a manure utilization plan is assembled (see Lesson 31, Manure Utilization Plans).

1. Available water capacity (see Engineering Properties of Soil, County Soil Survey)

2. Caution exchange capacity

3. Rock fragments, stones, and boulders

4. Permeability rate for slowest rate within top 12 inches of soil (see Engineering Properties of Soil in County Soil Survey)

5. Soil pH

6. Salinity

Reference: Agricultural Waste Management Field Handbook, Chapter 6, USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service.

 

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