The most important tool to help understand the condition of the soil on your farm is a spade.
While your soil type and its key characteristics do not change, the soil structure will vary across the farm from year to year depending on things such as crop rotation, machinery use, livestock density and the weather.
The best thing you can do to understand the structure is dig holes across your farm and take a look. This approach will also give you a feel for the organic matter content and begin to identify any compaction.
Understanding your soil is the first step to taking action to improving it, for the benefit of your farm productivity and the environment.
Take a look through the other pages in the Soils section for guidance on specific actions you can take
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