Soil Quality Card

Overview

A Soil Quality (or Soil Health) Card is a field tool that is developed collaboratively by local farmers, NRCS and conservation partners.  The card is used to assess the current status of soil quality and, when utilized over time, to determine changes in soil quality that are affected by field management.

A Soil Quality Card displays farmer-selected soil quality indicators and associated descriptive terms.  The indicators are based on farmers' practical experience and knowledge of local natural resources.  Typically, the card lists soil quality indicators that can be assessed without the aid of technical or laboratory equipment.

The farmer meeting process described in the Guide below can be used for outreach and locally led conservation activities supporting soil quality, watershed health, and other resource issues. The Design Guide is provided to assist farmers and agricultural organizations, including:

• Conservation Districts,
• Resource Conservation and Development Councils,
• NRCS and Cooperative Extension,
• Watershed Councils,
• farm community groups, and
• and others interested in developing locally adapted conservation tools.

Soil Quality Card Design Guide

The Soil Quality Card Design Guide provides a step-by-step process for leading farmers in identifying soil quality indicators and developing a Soil Quality Card. The outcomes of the facilitated farmer meetings include a user-friendly, do-it-yourself tool to assess soil quality as well as mutually beneficial dialogue among farmers and technical specialists.

The following documents require Adobe Acrobat.

Soil Quality Card Design Guide Text (PDF, 270KB)
Soil Quality Card Design Guide Appendices (PDF, 310KB)

Go to example Soil Quality Cards from several states.