Participants:  Farmer Producers, ANR Agent Glen Roberts, Assistants Terry Bertram and Steps employee Lynn Slagle and KSU Small Farms, Danny Adams.  Farmers are not adopting soil testing to the degree they should be.  Part of this is due to the time involved.  The average age of farmers, especially beef cattle farmers, is getting older and all of the walking involved taking soil tests is a barrier.

The educational program response to this problem is one of demonstration and of providing a service to producers.  The ANR agent recommended to the Extension District Board that they purchase a Mounted Soil Sampler to go on the Extension owned side by side four wheel vehicle and they purchased it.  After some training the ANR Agent and Assistants contacted farmers who have expressed interest and have done entire farm soil sampling for them.  We are in the early stages of this program and will add a software program to retain data over time to help producers with long term fertility information.  

We have had 15 producers to participate so far and will be recruiting many more as time permits.  Participants have been pleased to get the soil test results and are especially pleased that they can get their whole farm done at once.  It gives them a much better foundation for planning their soil fertility program for future years.