Soils of South Dakota

Soil maps fill an important function in the agricultural program of South Dakota. They are the means of taking stock of the State\u27s most important natural resource- the soil. Besides furnishing this inventory, these maps assist the people of the state in applying the research of laboratories and green houses. Fertilizer responses, crop adaptabilities, and management techniques are by no means the same on all soils. This is because soils have different levels of natural fertility, different water storage capacities, etc. Consequently, it is necessary to inventory the soil resources and to use this as a basis for satisfactory soil management and fertility practices. The map in this folder is based on data obtained from the following sources: unpublished Reconnaissance Soil Map of South Dakota (1935) by J. G. Hutton, South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station, and W. I. Watkins, U.S.D.A.; information supplied by the U.S.D.A. Soil Conservation Service Soil Surveyors; and maps and reports of the writers and the Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils and Agricultural Engineering, U.S.D.A