PPT Slide
The NRCS has developed into a major player in advocating the importance of soil quality, which is not surprising considering its historical focus on soil conservation, its role in soil surveys, and its involvement in the environmental provisions of agricultural programs. NRCS created a Soil Quality Institute that is headquartered with the National Soil Tilth Lab in Ames, Iowa and has branches in Oregon and Alabama. In 1996, it began a pilot program to evaluate and select key soil quality indicators that could be used to establish baseline data and survey changes in soil resources across the U.S. It is hoped that they will eventually become useful tools for the development of sound natural resource management plans at both the local and regional levels.