Cornell Soil Health Assessment Training Manual
Bill Verbeten, Field Crops
Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops
January 2, 2009
Briefly, soil is composed of four basic components: mineral solids, water, air and organic matter (including living biota). The mineral solids are stone fragments, sand, silt, and clay. It is the proportion of the latter three that determines the soil's texture. For example, a soil that is composed of 70% silt, 20% sand and 10% clay can be classified as silt loam using the soil texture triangle (Figure 1). Soil texture contributes to the inherent soil quality, the characteristics of the soil that result from soil forming processes These characteristics are difficult to change through soil management.
Cornell Soil Health Assessment Training Manual (pdf; 7099KB)
Upcoming Events
2025 Corn Silage Dry Down Day- Seneca County (second round)
September 16, 2025
Romulus, NY
Bring a sample of corn stalks from each field you anticipate harvesting for corn silage to receive whole plant dry matter value, estimated harvest date range, and information on best management practices for the 2025 corn silage harvest.
Dairy Bovine Reproduction and Artificial Insemination Training Course en Espanol
October 14 - October 15, 2025
Barker, NY
Join us for a two-day workshop with hands-on training that will be offered in Spanish in cooperation with Javier Cheang, Genex. Space is limited, register today!
Inaugural New York State Agritourism Conference
November 10 - November 11, 2025
Saratoga Springs, NY
SAVE THE DATE! Inaugural NEW YORK STATE AGRITOURISM CONFERENCE presented by Cornell Cooperative Extension Agritourism Program Work Team
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The NWNY Team is Hiring!
We are pleased to announce the Small Farms and Livestock Specialist position has been posted. The posting will close on Tuesday, September 30th.Please share this with your networks and potentially interested candidates.
The links to the posting are:
?€? Cornell Careers: http://tiny.cc/Farm_Livestock_54721
?€? Academic Jobs Online (AJO): https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30428
The applicants submit their application materials via AJO (Academic Jobs Online).
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