Collecting Soil Samples

Get directions to the field

  • Select a field
  • Under "Address" click either:
    • "Navigate to Contact Address" to navigate to the contact address on file
    • "Navigate to Field Location" to navigate to the centroid of the field

Getting to field

Setting up the sampling collection

  • Select the field
  • Push the "COLLECT" button under the map of the field

Collect

  • Enter the depth increments for the soil samples that you will be collecting.
    • Enter the minimum and maximum depth for the 1st depth increment you are collecting.
    • Select “Add depth” and enter the min and max depths for the next depth increment.
    • For example, one depth of 0-30 cm or multiple increments such as 0-15 cm, 15-30 cm, etc
  • Select “start” to begin sampling collection.

Note: The depth ranges you set here will be available for each sample in the dropdown menu for the entirety of the sampling collection!!

Depths

  • Click the icon in the upper right corner of the map to active your location
  • “Allow” the app to use your device’s location

Navigate to field

  • Select a point to navigate to. When moving, the app will tell you how far away you are from the selected point and how accurate the device’s location is.

Select point

Troubleshooting Navigation Issues

If you cannot see your location on the map, and the icon in the upper right is orange, it means that you are not within the frame of the map. Once you move closer to a sample point your location should appear.

Navigation issues

Collecting a sample

  • When you get to a collection location select “Collect Sampling”
  • The “Min Depth” and “Max Depth” show the full range of depths entered when setting up your plan.
  • Select the “+” icon to add a sample.

Note: The timestamp and GPS location are captured when you select “COLLECT SAMPLING", but are not recorded until you press “SAVE”

Arriving at a point

Capturing Bag ID QR Code

  • Select the QR code button
  • Allow the app to use your camera
  • Scan the QR code on your sample bag

QR Code

Selecting Depth of sample

  • Select the depth from the dropdown menu
  • Select "Add"
  • By selecting Custom you can enter in any depth increment

Select Depth

Updating GPS Location When Changing Location

What if I cannot sample at the location?

Some sampling protocols allow the soil sampler to move up to 10 meters away from the sampling location if they cannot collect a sample for some reason. (Ex: rocky or compacted layer, in/near standing water, in driving lane in the field, etc)

The App captures the GPS location when you select COLLECT SAMPLING. If you need to update the location to a new sampling location:

  • Press the target icon next to the GPS location to manually update the location OR
  • CANCEL out of the sampling collection page and re-enter the page

Update GPS

Check Progress

  • Select the progress menu in the upper left corner
  • See each sample collected at each sampling location
  • Your progress is automatically saved, so you can leave and come back!

Check Progress

Editing Samples

In progress Sampling Collections

  • Select the sampling location that you want to edit.
  • Choose to Edit or Delete
    • Deleting the sampling data will reset that location so you can re-sample
  • Select the sample you want to edit, you can then edit the label or depth of the sample

Editing samples

Submitted Sampling Collections

  • Once a sampling collection is submitted, you CANNOT edit the metadata that was generated by the app: GPS location or timestamp. This means that you cannot submit a partial sampling collection and return to complete the collection later.
  • Manually entered fields CAN be edited. These fields include bag id or a depth
  • To edit a completed sampling collection, follow the Editing Samples steps above.