State Soil Safari: Harnessing the Thrill of the Hunt for Soil Resource Education.

Each state and many Canadian provinces have designated a characteristic or notable soil as their “official soil”.  The chronicles of the capture (scouting, tracking, sampling and photographing) of sixteen such soils has been a popular lesson for Manitoba university soil students and the farm public. The audience is presented scouting techniques on pursuing the prey through knowledge of the characteristics, environment, habitat and age of the soil.  Soil tends to be slow moving prey, but a master of disguise, able to hide under a variety of natural vegetation and man-seeded crops. Photos of the hunt and a technique for mounting mini soil profiles are shown. Knowledge of the soils and their environments assist Manitoba students, growers and agronomists in assessing relevance of products and practices developed or used in other areas.