The ground beneath your feet is either building wealth or washing away. We measure which.
We read your land like bloodwork — measuring compaction, mapping erosion gullies, and prescribing cover crop rotations that bring dead acreage back to biological life.
Tons of Topsoil
conserved across client fields since 2018
Acres Under Plan
active conservation management today
Avg. OM Increase
organic matter gain per field, measured at 36 months
Active assessments in Hardin County, IA · McLean County, IL · Tippecanoe County, IN
We read your land before we say a word about solutions.
Every engagement starts with a full-day field visit. We walk transect lines, take soil cores at twelve-inch intervals, and record compaction readings with a cone penetrometer. We pull the last five years of yield maps, drainage tile records, and any prior soil tests you have. Nothing gets prescribed until we understand what the ground is actually doing — not what it looked like in the last commodity year.
Deliverable: Soil core report with horizon-by-horizon organic matter, pH, CEC, and compaction data. Turnaround: 10 business days.
Sample ID: HC-2024-0447
Hardin County, IA · Field 7N · Oct 14, 2024
Core Depth
36 inches
0–3"
Organic matter, microbial activity
4.1%
OM
3–8"
Topsoil — primary root zone
2.8%
OM
8–18"
Subsoil — compaction zone
1.2%
OM
18–28"
Parent material
0.4%
OM
28"+
Bedrock / fragipan
<0.1%
OM
Field note: Compaction layer detected at 9–13". Penetrometer resistance 320 psi — exceeds root growth threshold.
We map where your topsoil is going, acre by acre.
Using LiDAR elevation data, SSURGO soil series boundaries, and field-observed rill and gully locations, we build a RUSLE2-calibrated erosion risk model for every acre. The output is a field-scale map that shows exactly which zones are losing the most topsoil — and which drainage structures are catching it. We cross-reference with USDA NRCS conservation practice standards so every recommendation is cost-share eligible before you spend a dollar.
Deliverable: GIS erosion risk map (PDF + shapefile), drainage inventory, EQIP practice eligibility matrix. Turnaround: 15 business days.
Erosion Risk Map
Field 7N — 148 acres · RUSLE2 Model · 2024
6.2 T/ac/yr
Field Average
Critical: 23 acres in northwest quadrant exceed 10 T/ac/yr — immediate intervention recommended.
The seed mix is specific to your soil type, rotation, and planting window.
There is no universal cover crop prescription. A cereal rye-hairy vetch blend that works on a Drummer silty clay loam in central Illinois will underperform on a Canisteo loam in southern Iowa with a tile drainage problem. We build species selection, seeding rates, and termination timing around your specific yield goals, equipment constraints, and the biological deficits identified in the core report. Every prescription includes a nitrogen credit calculation and EQIP practice cost estimate.
Deliverable: Species-specific seed mix with rates and timing, nitrogen credit worksheet, EQIP 340 cover crop practice documentation. Turnaround: 5 business days after mapping.
Prescribed Seed Mix — Rx #HC-2024-0447
Field 7N · Post-harvest planting · Year 1 of 3
| Species | Rate | Plant Window | Function | N Credit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cereal Rye | 60 lb/ac | Sep 15 – Oct 5 | Primary cover, erosion control | — |
| Hairy Vetch | 15 lb/ac | Sep 15 – Oct 5 | N fixation, biomass | +40–80 lb N |
| Crimson Clover | 8 lb/ac | Sep 15 – Oct 5 | Pollinator, OM builder | +30–60 lb N |
| Turnip | 2 lb/ac | Aug 25 – Sep 10 | Compaction fracture, biodrilling | — |
| Radish | 4 lb/ac | Aug 25 – Sep 10 | Deep compaction, drainage | — |
Estimated cost: $38–44/ac seed + application. Projected EQIP cost-share: 50–75% of eligible practice costs.
We come back. We measure. We show you the numbers.
Twelve, twenty-four, and thirty-six months after implementation, we return to the same GPS-referenced sample points and run the same tests. Organic matter gain, penetrometer resistance, aggregate stability, and erosion sedimentation are all re-measured and compared to the baseline. You receive a before-and-after report that documents what changed — and what the next three-year prescription needs to be. Conservation plans that don't measure outcomes aren't plans. They're guesses.
Deliverable: Longitudinal soil health report with before/after OM, compaction, and erosion data. Suitable for EQIP documentation and FSA conservation compliance records.
Field 7N
Hardin County, IA · Corn/Soy rotation
71% less erosion
36-month plan
+1.7% organic matter — measured via Haney soil health test
Pasture Block C
McLean County, IL · Beef cattle grazing
58% less erosion
24-month plan
+1.7% organic matter — measured via Haney soil health test
East Quarter
Tippecanoe County, IN · Continuous corn
64% less erosion
30-month plan
+1.7% organic matter — measured via Haney soil health test
Numbers from actual fields,
not projections.
Every result below is drawn from Haney soil health tests run at the same GPS coordinates before and after the conservation plan. No interpolation. No composite averages across dissimilar soil types.
1.4%
Before
2.6%
After
"I've been farming this ground for thirty-one years. I watched the organic matter drop from 3.8 to 1.4 percent and didn't know how to stop it. After two years with Tilth, we're back to 2.6 and climbing. That's not a marketing number — that's what the Haney test says."
Dale Hofstetter
Row crop farmer, 1,840 acres
Hardin County, Iowa
"Our county had $340,000 in EQIP dollars to allocate and no way to prioritize which fields needed it most. Tilth mapped every enrolled acre and ranked them by erosion severity. We spent the money where it actually moved the needle."
Renata Szymanski
District Conservationist
McLean County SWCD, Illinois
0.9%
Before
2.4%
After
"The pasture was so compacted the cattle were basically grazing on dirt. We followed the rotational prescription for twenty-four months. Now there's clover in places I haven't seen clover in fifteen years."
Marcus Treadwell
Ranch manager, 640 acres
Tippecanoe County, Indiana
Conservation districts & agencies we work with
Request a Soil Assessment
We'll review your submission and reach out within two business days to schedule a field visit. No obligation. No sales pitch — just an honest conversation about what your land needs.
What you receive:
Full soil core report with horizon-by-horizon OM and compaction data
RUSLE2 erosion risk map for every acre
Cover crop prescription with EQIP eligibility matrix
36-month monitoring and re-measurement schedule
Not ready to schedule? Start here.
Download "Reading Your Soil Test Results" — a plain-language guide to understanding the numbers on your NRCS soil test report.