Create a composite or zone soil sampling task

Composite and zone sampling is available to selected accounts. If you don't see these features, contact your FarmQA representative.

Soil sampling tasks require the Tasks add-on. See Tasks — FarmQA to learn more.

A composite or zone sampling task tells your technician where to pull cores and how many bags to fill. In a composite task, everything collected across the field goes into one bag. In a zone task, each zone in a management zone layer produces its own bag.

Which one you're creating is decided by the task type you pick — the sampling type is set on the task type and appears as read-only here. If you're planning one bag per point, use a grid task instead.

For every role and what it can do, see Breakdown of user permissions.

Before you start

Your account needs three things in place. If any are missing, an administrator sets them up in Set up composite and zone soil sampling.

• A task type with the sampling type you want. Composite and zone task types are separate from your existing grid ones, and sampling type can't be changed on a task type after it's created.
• A soil sample location marker type. Collected locations load into it. Without one, FarmQA won't let you create a soil sampling task of any kind.
• A management zone layer, for zone tasks only. If the field has none, it won't be available for a zone task and FarmQA tells you to add a zone map first. A composite task has no such requirement.

Create a composite task

1. Open the Fields tab and check the box next to the field you want to sample.
2. Select Schedule task at the top of the screen.
3. In the Create tasks window, choose a task type whose sampling type is Composite. The sampling type appears as read-only and can't be changed.
4. Select the field to open the Define sampling locations window.
5. Place points anywhere across the field where you want cores pulled. There are no zones — every point you place feeds the same bag.
6. Optionally, set Number of samples to collect as a target for the task.
7. Select Save to return to the Create tasks window.

To adjust points: select and drag any point to move it. To remove a point, select it and select Delete.

Create a zone task

1. Open the Fields tab and check the box next to the field you want to sample.
2. Select Schedule task at the top of the screen.
3. In the Create tasks window, choose a task type whose sampling type is Zone. The sampling type appears as read-only and can't be changed.
4. Select the field to open the Define sampling locations window.
5. In the Management zones panel on the right, select the layer to use for this task. No layer is selected by default, and you can't continue without one — FarmQA tells you a management zone must be selected before continuing. The layer's zones appear as overlays on the map.
6. Place points anywhere inside the zone boundaries. Each point is attributed to the zone that contains it — you don't assign it yourself. A point placed outside every zone isn't added, and FarmQA tells you the point was outside the selected management zone. Grid-generated points that fall outside are clipped when you accept the grid, and dragging a point outside removes it the same way.
7. Optionally, set Samples per zone as a target for each zone.
8. Select Save to return to the Create tasks window.

Where two zones overlap, a point is attributed to the first one that matches. If it matters which zone a point belongs to, place it clearly inside.

Finish setting up the task

Select Next in the Create tasks window, then complete the task details:

• Lab — Choose which connected lab these samples go to.
• Sample depth — Select Add depth for each depth to collect at. Use the Select packages dropdown beside each depth to choose a soil test package, if any.
• Marker types — If shown, choose the marker layer your collected sample locations load into. This field only appears when your account has more than one soil sample location marker type; with a single one it's chosen for you and the field is hidden.
• Start after and Finish by — Set the date window for collection.
• Priority — Set the task's priority.
• Assigned to — Choose who collects the samples.
• Instructions — Add any notes for the person completing the task.

Select Create to finish. The task appears in your team's work list.

After the task exists

The sampling plan stops being editable once the task is in progress or complete — FarmQA tells you points aren't editable because the task has been completed or is already in progress. If you need a different management zone layer, change it before collection starts or create a new task.