An Exercise In Precision Agriculture Module 4, Exercise 1 Grid Sampling Techniques

        Grid soil sampling is a systematic process whereby producers collect geographically referenced soil samples from a field. The grid size is arbitrary, and to date there is no agreement as to the optimal or most economical size. However, most commercial service providers have adopted 2.5 acres as the standard grid size. Traditionally, grid sampling is accomplished using an ATV equipped with GPS receiver. The technician begins by running the boundary of the field to establish a base map. The polygon representing the field boundary is then divided into a finite number of fixed area cells. The technician then navigates to these locations, using GPS, to pull composite soil samples.