Sampling tools Comparison

Using accurate Tools drives Massive Efficency Gains for Farmers

Hydraulic Probe

Significantly Misapplied Fertilizer in 52% of Samples

Problem 1: Bucket Looses Soil

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Not all of the core makes it into the bucket – you can see it flying out in this slow motion clip.

Problem 2: Frame Rises Inconsistently

The probe moves down a fixed distance from the frame, and this distance can be calibrated for a specific amount of rising.

However, the amount the machine rises changes from core to core depending on the soil hardness and moisture content, so it can capture a different depth of soil every time, no matter how it’s calibrated.

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Problem 3: Probe Design Restricts Soil Flow

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Large sections of the core are missing. The probe has no way to pierce crop residue, so leaves and husks on the surface gunk up the entrance and restrict soil flow.

The probe also doesn’t have much interior relief (space for the soil to expand), which means that when soil encounters the probe, it’s more likely to be pushed off to the side than to rise up in the core.

Auger

Significantly Misapplied Fertilizer in 38% of Samples

The deeper an auger gets, the more the friction exists inside it, which increases the soil pressure. The side walls are like a sponge (especially in wet soils), so when pressure rises it’s often easier for soil particles to be sucked into the side walls than to push the soil on top of them up and out of the auger.

Some augers, especially if their flights are thinner, wear out to quickly (we’ve seen augers 1″ wide at the surface but 0.5-0.6″ wide at the tip). Others rotate too quickly, which reduces compaction, but causes more soil to fly off the auger’s sides and tip.

This means not all the soil is captured, and the sample doesn’t accurately reflect the soil.