KERS Soil Testing

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Overview

Brief Overview of KERS Soil Testing Features pdf file of Brief Overview of KERS Soil Testing Features

Tips & Tricks

Estimate turnaround time.

Select the “edit” button for the sample.
The information will be displayed in the non-reported comment field.

Change crop information after the report has been generated.

If you receive a report and find that you entered incorrect crop information, or the client wants to know how changing crops would affect recommendations.

Select the "Alter" button for the sample.
Select the "add crop" button that is below the information already entered.
Enter the new crop information and press "submit".
The status of the sample will change to "AltCrop". The next time a background process runs, the status of the sample will change to “Received” and a new report will be generated. You will be notified in the usual manner when the new report is ready.

image of adding a crop to get a new report and recommendations.

Provide clients with internet access to all their reports.

The client does not need access to KERS. All of their reports with an archived status are available on the page.
The link does not change over time, so they can bookmark it for future reference.

image of client URL

Select the “Client Addresses” tab on the top of the page.
Search for the client by entering first OR last name.
Select the “Copy” button for 'Reports Url' to copy the address to your clipboard. You can paste the link into another application or browser.

Difficulty finding the account when many clients have similar names.

You can adjust the sort order to display names alphabetically.
image of changing the sort order of client list.

Create one file with multiple reports for distribution.

image of consolidated reports printing

You can filter out all reports ready to distribute by selecting “more search options” under the calendar.
Next to "Report Status", uncheck boxes to make sure only “received” or “reviewed” are checked. “Received” status indicates reports that have NOT been reviewed by the agent. “Reviewed” status indicates reports that have been reviewed by the agent.
Select the “pdf” button to generate a consolidated report of filtered results. A pdf file that contains all the reports will be downloaded and the status of the samples will be changed to "Archived".
The last page of the file contains names and addresses that can be copied onto mailing labels.

Enter multiple crops for one sample.

You can add multiple crops for one sample by selecting the “add crop” button.
image of adding additional crops

Corn & Soybean rotation.

A common scenario for grain crops is growing corn one year and soybeans the next year.

For soybeans, you only need to select the primary crop.
For corn you should enter information in all fields.

Recommendations for multiple grain crops.

The client knows they would like to grow grains but is unsure which one.

Select “Grain Crop (multiple)” as the primary crop.
Enter information in all fields (as if corn were the crop). This will generate recommendations for corn, soybean, grain sorghum, and wheat.
image of data entry when recommendations are needed for multiple grain crops.

Renovating vs New Seeding for pasture.

Renovating is renewing or improving an existing pasture with seeding of legumes. The Agriculture Pasture/Hay form has a list of legumes.
New Seeding is the addition of primarily grass seed to new or existing pastures.

When are “Soil Drainage”, “Previous Crop” and “Previous Management” important?

Soil Drainage & Previous Crop are important if corn or tobacco is the primary crop.
Previous Management is important if Corn is being grown after pasture.

Obtain an excel file to be used for reports and analysis.

image of obtaining csv file

Apply filters such as date range, client name, form type and report status so the data you are interested in is displayed.
Select the “csv” button to download reports data.
A csv file is downloaded that can be opened in excel. You can use features in excel like removing duplicate county sample numbers and filtering to obtain the information you want.

Training & Cheat Sheets

Getting Started

How to control the calendar video of How to control the calendar in KERS Soil Testing 7 mins.