MN Association of Professional Soil Scientists

MAPSS was established in 1973, the Minnesota Association of Professional Soil Scientists (MAPSS) is the only organization representing the professional interests of soil scientists in Minnesota. MAPSS promotes the understanding and wise use of Minnesota's soil resources. Our members consist of professional soil scientists, consultants, researchers, teachers and students, as well as those who just have an interest in soils.

Thank you for joining us for the 2018 MAPSS Summer Meeting.

The MAPSS Summer Tour was in and around Austin-Albert Lea, Minnesota on Friday July 21st.

Our first stop was a dam/reservoir area where pelicans gather for free lunch downstream of the electrical current used to prevent unwanted fish from entering the lake. Interesting how much equipment is needed for this site.

At another stop, where as I recall Lester soil was being questioned for correct depth to saturation. Four soil profiles were on display for the group to be divided in to 4 subgroups to have our hand at classifying each profile.

Midday we had lunch and our Business Meeting - concluded in record time to get us back on the road.

Our next stop was a farm utilizing minimum tillage-crop rotation-grazing. A discussion how this is all working out and the learning curve required to implement more conservative practices.

Our final stop was a site being developed for a retention pond for the surround watershed to slow runoff. This site was a tad wetter (and muddier) than earlier sites.

A very good soils tour with a variety of sites to observe. Rainy morning, nice afternoon and an opportunity for old guard soil scientists to test their skills on a few profiles