Typical Early Spring Sampling Day

I worked today between Elkhart and Mt. Pulaski.  It was a typical early spring sampling day.  That means cold and not everything goes right.  Temperature was right at 20 degrees when I got to the field; 29 when I finished up.  I had a flat tire on my 4 wheeler and my little air compressor would not work, so I had to drive about 10 miles to get air in Mt. Pulaski.  Little towns closer only had big grain elevators.  Bare ground was frozen about 4 inches deep.  Most of the field I sampled probed OK if I probed through some residue, but about 50 acres was tilled and bare, so I needed to hammer the probe through the frost.

What about sampling could soils?  Does that affect the results?  Maybe, but this is usually my first farm of the year, so if we are tracking it, the soils are always cold.  I have sampled in the past on this farm with snow on the ground.  By sampling at the same time every year we should assure consistent results.