Natural Resources Conservation Service

Soils

United States Department of Agriculture

2019 NCSS National Conference

The 2019 NCSS National Conference will be June 10-13 in Narragansett, Rhode Island. This year’s theme is “Charting the Future of Soil and Ecological Sciences.”

Photo of Point Judith Light by Charlie Kellogg.

Technical Soil Services

TSS personnel assist users with understanding and properly using the soil survey and provide users with predictions and interpretations about the behavior of each kind of soil mapped or identified under defined situations. Click on the map to see the reports.

Map of the Month - February

By comparing USDA soil survey maps of varying ages, you can discern relationships that are not otherwise apparent. These maps of a single county from 1909, 1938, and 1980 illustrate this point.

Thumbnail of the Map of the Month for February.

Soil Colors - A Mosaic of Stories Told in Color

What do you get when you combine 26,000 official soil series descriptions (OSD), a handful of NRCS employees, and an idea? An evolving soil color map of the continental U.S., that’s what! See more ...

Soil colors at varying depths for the United States.

Updated Tools Page

The Tools web page has been re-designed to serve as a one-stop source for new, leading-edge tools and technologies to help farmers, ranchers, and other land users understand, evaluate, and conserve soils. (See the News Release.)