A Receiver Hitch Mounted Device for Deep Soil Sampling

Recently, necessity for soil sampling at greater depths has increased to determine residual nitrogen available for cotton production. This necessity was driven in most part by increased fertilizer costs. Previous soil samples were taken at the 0 to 6" depths and could be acquired easily with a shovel or small soil probe. However, soil sampling to depths up to 24" most often require hydraulic powered samplers. With this in mind, a device was designed and fabricated by Texas AgriLife Extension personnel at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Lubbock. The device consists of a hydraulic cylinder with a quick attach soil probe mounted on a metal frame that can be inserted into a pickup mounted receiver hitch.