Q. How can soil test results and recommendations be displayed on a field map in a grid view rather than a surfaced view?
A. There are two ways to create the foundation Grid Layer. This may be setup manually, or use the SSI / Create SSI Grids menu item to automatically create this layer if no special setup is required.
To setup this layer manually, right-click on the field in the Resources Tree, and select Create a New Layer / Create a New Region Layer. Enter a Name for the layer, such as ‘Grid Areas’, and set Layer Type to Grid. On the Attributes tab, select the Add Attribute button. Enter a Name for the attribute, such as ‘SSI ID’. Change the Decimals to ‘0’. Leave the other values at their default level. Select OK. (Notice that Mapping changed the attribute’s name to SSI_ID). Select OK to finish adding the layer.
To setup this layer automatically, select the desired Farm or Field in the Resources Tree. Navigate to the SSI / Create SSI Grids menu. Refresh Mapping, and the layers are created for the field(s).
Select the Current Test Results layer in the Resources Tree for the field, and note the layout and numbering of the samples. An example for a field is shown below. It has 18 samples in a 3 column, 6 row grid.
Note: Grid areas may be setup using any type of zone needed, such as Modified Soil Type Zones, Veris Data, Historic Yield Zones, Custom Management Zones, etc.
Select the Grid Areas layer in the Resources Tree, and then select Layers / Layer Editor. Choose the Show Grid icon and adjust the Target Width and Target Height to match the grid sample areas from the Test Results layer. Choose the Move Grid icon to reposition the grid as necessary to line up the grid edges with the field boundary. When the grid is set appropriately, select the Snap Grid icon.
The Data tab of the Layer Editor displays the SSI_ID column so the grids can be numbered appropriately. Select a cell in the SSI_ID column, and note the selected grid on the map. Enter the appropriate number in the cell for each grid. Choose Save when finished.
Select the field in the Resources Tree and press F5 on the keyboard to refresh. Navigate to SSI / Create Grid Layers. Choose Grid TR in the top left corner to create the Gridded Test Result layer. Choose Grid REC to create a Gridded Recommendation layer.
With the field selected in the Resources Tree, press F5 on the keyboard to refresh.
