ANKENY, Iowa (DTN) -- A national effort is underway to get soil in "SHAPE."

USDA, along with other public and private partners, is working to enhance the free Soil Health Assessment Protocol and Evaluation (SHAPE) online tool to help farmers and landowners better understand and improve soil health. Find the current version at https://shapesoilhealth.shinyapps.io/….

Developed a decade ago by a team led by Kristen Veum, a USDA Agricultural Research Service soil scientist based at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, the tool helps farmers benchmark the soil health of their fields.

"We know we have knowledge gaps in soil information across the country," Veum said in a video about the new project. "We will collect on-farm data across all 50 states and the inhabited territories to then create a tool that will provide this regionally relevant and meaningful interpretation for every farmer across America."

An initiative is ongoing to provide a more representative dataset to improve the SHAPE prototype and make the tool more user-friendly. The SHAPE team is working with farmers and landowners to collect soil samples and information about management practices, which will provide more detailed and localized soil health analysis. The new version will also identify opportunities to improve soil health by recommending practices such as cover crops, conservation tillage and no-till, which can enhance soil function, farm profitability and environmental stewardship.

While a lot of soil testing will occur this fall to make fertility decisions for the next crop season, this testing is different because it will help farmers and landowners protect and improve their ground for future generations.

"This is geared toward making soils more resilient to better handle extreme weather events -- to absorb more water to prevent runoff and allow roots to penetrate deep for nutrients and water during a drought," said Newell Kitchen, a retired USDA soil scientist and owner of Agronomic, Geologic and Environmental Services in Columbia, Missouri. He's leading the project's soil sampling and data collection efforts.

The new SHAPE tool is expected to be released in 2029.

Watch the video at https://www.youtube.com/….

HELP WANTED

The SHAPE team said landowner and farmer participation is critical to improve the tool. Participants can enroll at https://calendly.com/….

Participants select a date and time for an online Zoom meeting with a SHAPE project facilitator, who will help complete the sign-up process and ask a variety of questions about land management concerning two or three fields, based on farm size. The facilitator will inquire about tillage practices, crops, crop rotation, grazing and conservation practices, among other things. The meeting generally takes less than one hour.

Soil samples will then be taken from two or three locations within each field enrolled. The sampling team will contact the farmer or landowner a few days before arriving.

More than 13,000 soil samples from roughly 6,000 fields across the United States and its territories will be collected. The samples represent a wide range of agricultural systems, including row crops, small grains, pastures, rangelands, fruit groves and vegetable production. The project will eventually be expanded to include woodlands, forestry lands and agroforestry.

As of Sept. 21, about 40% of the field enrollment goal has been reached. Kitchen said additional participation is especially needed from producers east of the Mississippi River and throughout the Mid-South. Kitchen is working with agronomists throughout the country to recruit participants.

"It's a daunting task, but I'm excited about it," Kitchen told DTN. "The project will help farmers understand how soil health affects productivity and profitability. It's a very easy lift for them."

Farmers and landowners will be compensated for their time and receive an initial soil health report followed by a final report, which will include improvement recommendations, once the new SHAPE tool is finished. The identity of participants and their data will be protected.

John Pike, a farmer near Marion, Illinois, and a former research agronomist with the University of Illinois, welcomed the opportunity to participate, saying a more robust SHAPE tool could benefit both his farm and neighboring operations. Pike described the soil sampling, which occurred earlier this week, and the interview as "simple and painless."

"The tool will provide better benchmarks to plot soil improvements in different management systems to help guide management decisions," he added.

RESILIENT SOIL

USDA is funding the SHAPE tool upgrade. Improving soil health is one of the department's priorities this year. Read the news release at https://www.usda.gov/….

"Research and development that promotes soil health practices, increases water-use efficiency, and reduces inputs will ensure farms and ranches remain productive for generations to come," the agency stated in the news release.

Using the submitted data, the new SHAPE tool generates soil health scores ranging from zero to 100 for key indicators including soil organic carbon, active carbon, soil respiration and wet aggregate stability. Farmers can compare their results with similar soils in their region, helping them identify strengths and weaknesses in their management practices. Lower scores may signal opportunities to adopt soil-building strategies, while higher scores can validate that current practices are improving soil health.

"The endgame is a report that will provide specific practices that are proven to improve soil health and productivity," Kitchen said.

Learn how farmers can get paid to grow cover crops to improve soil health at https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Matthew Wilde can be reached at matt.wilde@dtn.com

Follow him on social media platform X @wildeagwriter

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