Soil Quality – Student Opportunities

Spring 2013 Team © Matteson
Spring 2013 SQP Team, Natalie Allen, Henry Cakebread and Fran Lacroix, gear up to collect soil samples.

Students for Soil Quality

Since 2010, 16 Oregon State University students have participated in SQ work through internships and course assignments. To learn more about current opportunities, email Teresa Matteson.

SQP interns visit farm fields, collect and process soil samples, perform soil assessments and create reports that help farmers better understand soil and make informed decisions to improve soil function. Some students apply their SQ knowledge and skills to research. To see all the intern summaries, click here.

OSU students apply their soil assessment skills to research projects.

Mycorrhizal potential and soil quality

Aggregate stability

Cover crop cost benefit analysis

 

SQP interns became familiar with SQP procedures, including Wet Aggregate Stability and Active Carbon. Spring term was SQP sample collection time! Ideal soil collection is within weeks after rains cease and fields are no longer saturated but have some residual moisture. We implement these steps for each site during the sample collection process: recruit, schedule and interview the farmer; collect soil samples, geolocation points, and compaction data; and return to the lab to weigh, sieve, dry and partition the soil for assessments.