| gpsdude - 12/22/2025 13:59 If all your soils maps actually line up with productivity you are the exception. SURGO soils maps were never designed to be used at the field level. Web Soil Survey used to pop up a disclaimer that stated this. Usually soils alone are not our only limiting factor. It is usually water, either too much or too little. A depression in a great soil may still have reduced yield if not properly drained. A depression in a light sandy soil my hold enough extra water to not be affected as bad as surrounding parts of the same soil.
They don't all line up with productivity that well, but some do. Some fields its actually pretty crazy how accurate soil maps from nearly 100 years ago are.
The field that we have that lines up the best and has the most pronounced yield changes by soil type is almost all due to soil water holding capabilities. The soil types that hold more water, yield more, always. There is not 1 single foot of tile in that field and I doubt there ever will be. Drip tape for sub surface irrigation would pay a much better than tile ever would.
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Prescription map steps between zones
