A guide to the Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS)

Dr. Bill Crooks, a soils and drainage expert is on a farm to demonstrate how to undertake a Visual Examination of Soil Structure (VESS). In this video, he is in a grassland field that is due to be ploughed and planted in crop as part of the rotation but not before time as can be seen by the VESS. Dr. Crooks then moves into a neighbouring grassland field to compare the soil structure with the first field, again using a VESS. You can find the VESS guide sheets highlighted in this video in the Valuing Your Soils booklet available below.