Soil Sampling with VRAFY
Follow these steps for successfully soil sampling with VRAFY!
Sawyer Hansen
18 steps
36 seconds
Before Going to the Field
1
Contact VRAFY to request soil sample points to be created and sent to your John Deere Operations Center. We will need to know the following: - Will you be using the same locations as a past sampling activity? - Will you be Grid Sampling or utilizing Zones? - What is your target grid size? - Which lab do you plan on utilizing?
2
Request soil sampling bags from your lab, or VRAFY if using one of our partner labs.
3
Once you receive your sample bags, label them with the field name and sample number.
Tip! Labeling soil sample bags ahead of time speeds up the collection time in the field.
Gather Tools for Sampling
4
Phone or Tablet with John Deere Ops Center Mobile App Installed
Alert! Don't Forget a Charger!! GPS will drain your battery quickly!
5
Extra sampling bags - in case you want to take extra samples in the field
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Marker for extra soil sample bags
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Soil Probe
Make a mark at 6" on your probe to make sure you are taking a consistent sample in the field
8
Bucket
9
Optional Items Depending on your situation: - Wood Dowel and Brush for cleaning the tip of your probe - WD-40: Spraying a small amount will prevent soil from sticking to your probe while not affecting the results. - Canning Jar Funnel: Helps keep sample bag open when pouring cores in
In the Field
Tip! Check out this 5 minute YouTube Video from AgPHD that contains many good tips for collecting samples in the field as well: [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=traj55Rd4i4)
Tip! Check out this KB Article on using the John Deere Operations Center Mobile App to Navigate to your points: [KBArticle](https://scribehow.com/shared/Navigating_to_Soil_Sample_Points_using_Operations_Center_Mobile_App__Nf3LMwqiRnaEzNFHxsO4Tw?referrer=documents)
10
Navigate to the first Soil Point and park your vehicle on top of the virtual flag
11
Using your probe, walk around your vehicle, collecting 8-10 six-inch soil cores. Place each core in your bucket.
Stay within 10-15' of your vehicle - don't need too big of a circle.
When collecting each core: - Remove residue from the top of the soil so it doesn't end up in your sample - Insert the probe vertically into the soil - Vary your location within the row - don't always go in the center between the rows, especially if you band your fertilizer.
12
After the cores are collected, pour them into the sample bag labeled to match your location number.
13
Repeat until all sample locations are collected.
After Sampling
14
Print off the soil sampling check-in sheet from your lab. If you are using a VRAFY partner lab, print off the check-in sheet from the John Deere Operations Center.
15
Fill out the Check-in Sheet completely so the lab can process the samples correctly
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Place your check-in sheet with the samples in a shipping box
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Ship your samples to your preferred soil sampling lab
When Soil Sample Results Are Received
Tip! If using a VRAFY Partner lab - the results will be automatically imported and will show up in your John Deere Operations Center when the soil is processed.
18
Upload the Soil Sample Results at [VRAFY.com](http://VRAFY.com) using the Returning Users Link VRAFY will be notified automatically and will upload the results for you to your Operations Center account.
Results must be in a .csv or .xlsx format. We cannot import results that are sent in a .pdf format.
