Peace - Soil and Nutrient information

Tools, factsheets and resources for the Peace River agricultural region on the following soil and nutrient topics:

Soil and Nutrient Management Resources

Factsheets and handbooks for soil management and nutrient amendment practices. Note: some information in these documents may not be applicable to all areas. Always refer to your own soil test results and local weather conditions.

Top Requested Documents for the Peace River

• Estimating Crop Residue Cover for Soil Erosion Control [pdf]
• Origin and Characteristics of Soil Compaction [pdf]
• Fertility Management and Placement in Peace River Conservation Tillage Systems [pdf]
• Manure Sampling for Nutrient Management [pdf]

Soil and Nutrient Management

Learn more about soil and nutrient Management:

• Environmental Farm Management Planning Reference Guide (PDF) See chapter 6 for nutrients/soil amendments and chapter 8 for soil management.

• Soil management publications
• Nutrient management / soil amendment publications

Soil Testing Resources

Guides, contacts and tools for conducting soil tests and determining fertilizer recommendations. More information is available at Nutrient Management.  To contact a soil scientist see “Useful Contacts” on the Nutrient Management page.

• Learn how to take a soil sample (PDF)

Find a laboratory to analyze the soil samples

• BC Nutrient Testing Laboratories (PDF)
• Alberta Nutrient Laboratories
• Understanding Different Soil Test Methods (PDF)

For the Peace River agricultural region, convert soil test P and K values to “Kelowna method” equivalent values (conversions are based on Lower Mainland and Okanagan samples), use the spreadsheet below for conversion.

• Soil Test Phosphorus and Potassium Converter (XLS)

Find interpretations and fertilizer recommendations for soil test P and K values of the “Kelowna method”.

• Interpretations for Soil Test Phosphorus and Potassium: Guidelines for Southern British Columbia  (PDF)

For all nutrients other than P and K, the most recent and comprehensive interpretations are in the following publication:

• Soil and Plant Tissue Testing Methods and Interpretations of Their Results for British Columbia Agricultural Soils (PDF)

Agricultural Capability Maps and Soil Surveys

• Land Capability Map Database Click on “TEI Scanned Map Index” for the excel spreadsheet, sort by Capability-Agriculture under the Project Name column and scroll across to Column T for links to individual maps.

• Land capability classification manual (PDF). Handbook for assessing and classifying agricultural soil capability.

Agriculture Canada Soil Surveys

For questions about these maps and data sets, contact Agriculture Canada.

• Peace River area 
• Fort Nelson area
• Fort St. John–Dawson Creek area
• Fort Simpson Trail area
• More Peace Region and B.C. soil maps and surveys

 Fort Nelson Arability Mapping Project - In 2007, the Fort Nelson Farmers Institute commissioned a soil capability survey of the Fort Nelson region. The full report is available below, via the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality. For questions about this study, contact the municipality. 

• 2007 Fort Nelson soil capability study and findings 

Agricultural Land Commission Maps

For questions about these maps or the Agricultural Land Reserve, contact the Agricultual Land Commission.

• Northern  Panel Region (PDF)
• All Agricultural Land Reserve Map