Soil sampling tasks require the Tasks add-on. See Tasks — FarmQA to learn more.
Permissions: Enterprise Administrator, Agronomist, Technician+, Technician, Soil Sampler, Operator
If your organization collects samples without tasks, see Collect soil samples instead.
Before you start, make sure your task has been created and assigned to you. See Create a soil sampling task.
What changed in August 2026: You now finish soil sampling tasks from the sampling page by submitting your samples, not from the task page. Your progress saves as you go, the Review tab catches duplicate or missing sample IDs before they reach the lab, and nothing is submitted until you confirm. If a task has sample points, the task page only lets you complete it once every point is collected. Each task can be submitted once, so one person works each task.
- Select the Work icon, then select the task you need to complete.
- On the task page, select the blue arrow in the lower-right corner to open the sample points.
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Select the point you're sampling. FarmQA opens the camera to scan the barcode on your sample bag. To type it instead, select Enter barcode. Select OK when done.
*marker names need to be unique
- When you've finished collecting, select ✓ to open the Review tab.
- Review your samples. The Review tab shows each sample with its sample ID, so you can catch mistakes before anything is submitted.
- Select Submit, then confirm. Submitting sends your samples and marks the task completed. You can't undo it.
- Add a note to the task if you need to, then save.
If your lab is connected for automatic submission, completing the task triggers it. See Automatic lab submission and results import.
If you can't sample every point
You don't have to collect every point, but you need to collect at least one. Collect the points you can, then submit from the Review tab. FarmQA warns you about points that weren't sampled and asks you to confirm before submitting. Points you didn't collect don't become soil sample records and don't go to the lab.
If no points are collected, the task won't complete.
Leave and come back
Your progress saves as you go. You can put the phone away, let it sleep, or close the app. When you reopen the task, your collected points and sample IDs are still there. Your progress clears only after you submit, or if the task is completed or removed from the web app.
Collection works offline. Submissions queue and send when you're back in coverage.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Why won't the task complete when I select the checkmark on the task page?
A: When a task has sample points, the task page only completes it once every point is collected. To finish with some points uncollected, open the sampling page, select ✓, and submit from the Review tab.
Q: Last year I completed tasks without marking any points. Why can't I now?
A: The August 2026 update moved task completion to the sampling page. Collected points are what create sample records and connect your lab results to locations on the map. If you use pre-labeled bags, scanning each bag's barcode at its point marks the point collected and records the sample ID in one step. A task needs at least one collected point to complete.
Q: Can two people sample the same task?
A: No. A task can be submitted once. The first person to submit completes it, and samples from any later submission on the same task aren't saved. The app doesn't currently warn the second person. If two people are sampling the same field, create a separate task for each sampler with only the points that person will collect, and have each person submit their own task. For zone tasks, see Collect composite and zone soil samples.