Teton Mountain Range

Technical Resources

Section 2 - Soil and Water Inventory

In this section you will collect information about your soils and land characteristics. There are two forms to download and complete. The Soils Inventory worksheet includes soil factors that are important for livestock operations and crop production. The Groundwater and Surface Water Inventories consider factors of your land that might affect water quality.

You need to have a soils map of your land. If you don't have one already you can find one in a Soil Survey of your area, or you can get one from your local Natural Resources Conservation Service Cooperative Extension office. You can also get the information about your soils from those sources.

What you need for this section
Part 1. Soil Inventory
Part 2. Groundwater Inventory
Part 3. Surface Water Inventory

What you need for this section:

Aerial soils map (including soil map units). Obtain from your NRCS or Cooperative Extension office.
Soils data for your county. A Soil Survey of your area (from your NRCS or Cooperative Extension office, or some libraries)
Soils Inventory
Groundwater Inventory
Surface Water Inventory

Part 1. Soils Inventory

Download a copy of the Soils Inventory table. The information you organize by completing it will help provide a picture of your land resource and how it can be best used for manure handling and storage. This information could also become part of your record keeping system.

To complete the table you will need an aerial photo of your land, including map units. You also need a copy of your Soil Survey. You may be able to get a copy of the Survey from your local Cooperative Extension, NRCS, or soil conservation district agent, or from a library.

When you have your aerial photo and soils data you can fill out the Soils Inventory table. For each soil you have you will collect several pieces of information.

Soil Inventory Table
Map Unit Symbol	Map Unit Name¹	Field IDs²	Depth to Water Table	Flooding Potential	Permeability Class	Limitations for Buildings	Limitations for Lagoons

¹ - (including surface textural class and % slope)
² - (for fields containing this soil)

Completing the Soils Inventory table:

Field Number
List every field that contains the map unit.

Map unit symbol
A mapping unit is an area of land in which the soils have similar characteristics and slope. On a soil map these mapping units are represented by letters or numbers. On your Table, include every map unit you find on your land from the aerial photo.

Map unit name
The name of the map unit. The name includes the soil series, the textural class of the surface horizon, and the slope class. In a soil survey they usually appear in a list, near the front of the text section, or on the back of the index map.

Limitations for Building
This describes how limited the map unit is for buildings without basements. In a soil survey this is found in a table of building site criteria inside of the text section. Terms are slight, moderate, and severe. Slight limitations indicate that the soil properties are favorable and any limitation is minor and easily overcome. Moderate limitations indicate that soil properties and site features are unfavorable but can be overcome or minimized by special planning and design. Severe limitations indicates one or more soil properties or site features are so unfavorable or difficult to overcome that a major increase in construction, special design, or intensive maintenance is required. In some cases, such costly measures may not be feasible.

Limitations for Lagoons
Also uses the terms slight, moderate, and severe (see above). In a soil survey these ratings are found in a table of sanitary facilities within the text section.

Permeability
The least permeable layer in the top three feet of soil. In a soil survey this information is usually found in a table of soil physical and chemical properties within the text section. Slow rates suggest a potential for water collecting on the surface and creating a runoff hazard. Rapid rates may indicate a potential for water to move through the soil too quickly to be filtered.

Flooding potential
The frequency and duration of flooding, based on evidence in the soil profile and local information. In a soil survey these data are found in a table of soil and water features.

Depth to Water Table
The depth to the highest level of a saturated zone more than 6 inches thick for continuous periods of more than 2 weeks during most years. In a soil survey these data are found in a table of soil and water features.

Part 2. Groundwater Inventory

1. The depth to groundwater on my farm is:

___ < 50 ft

___ 50-100 ft

___ > 100 ft

___ unsure

2. I have tested my well water for nitrates and bacteria:

___ in the last 1 year

___ within the last 5 years

___ never

**Inventory of Wells**
Well No.	Location	Depth	Distance to Corrals¹	Distance to Manure or Runoff Storage¹	Distance to Field that Receives Manure²

¹ - Corrals, manure stockpiles, runoff holding ponds, and wastewater retention structures should be a minimum of 150 ft downstream from any well in order to protect the well.
² - Keep a grassed buffer area around wells where no manure is applied.

Part 3. Surface Water Inventory (ponds, creeks, canals, etc.)

1. The distance of the feedlot to surface water bodies (creeks, ponds, wellheads, etc.) is:

___ < 10 ft

___ 10-50 ft

___ 50-150 ft

___ > 150 ft

2. The nearest surface water is ___ from the feedlot:

___ uphill

___ downhill

___ the same elevation

**Inventory of Water Bodies**
Name of Water Body	Location	Distance to Corrals¹	Distance to Manure or Runoff Storage²	Distance to Field that Receives Manure³

¹ - Corrals should be a minimum of 150 ft (preferably downstream) from any water body in order to protect water quality.
² - Be sure that your manure stockpiles, runoff storage ponds, and wastewater retention structures are not located within a 100-year flood plain.
³ - Keep a grassed buffer area around water bodies where no manure is applied.

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