technical soil services activity reporting michael robotham

United States Department of AgricultureNatural Resources Conservation Service

Technical Soil Services Activity Reporting

Michael RobothamNational Leader for Soil Interpretations and

Technical Soil Servicesand

Chris Smith, Senior Scientist

Webinar: 11/19/2012


Core Mission of the Soil Survey Program• Make an inventory of the soil resources

of the United States• Keep the soil survey relevant to ever-

changing needs• Interpret the information and make it

available in a useful form• Promote the soil survey and provide

technical assistance in its use for a wide range of community planning and resource development issues related to farm and non-farm uses


What are “Technical Soil Services”?Definition:

Any and all activities that assist customers (both internal and external to NRCS) with understanding and properly using soil survey data and information and/or provide users with predictions and interpretations about the behavior of soil(s) mapped or identified under defined situations. Adapted from the Technical Soil Services Handbook: (http://soils.usda.gov/technical/tssh/)


Specific examples of TSS activities• Wetland determinations /

delineations• Assisting in conservation plan

resource inventories• On-site investigations related to

conservation practice design / installation

• Maintaining / updating the eFOTG• Providing training and

information• And the list goes on ….


Why report TSS activities? • Get “credit” for and “sell”

the great work that you are doing• Local, state and national level

• Document that time is being spent appropriately and effectively• MLRA-SSO staff have 15% of their

time allocated for TSS support• STC’s and Area Directors are asking

how state and local soils staff are supporting CTA and Farm Bill programs


Why now?• Agency budgets are tight (and

likely to get tighter in the future)• Soil scientists need to document

(at all levels from the field to NHQ) how we are supporting overall NRCS goals and priorities – we need to “sell” ourselves and our services – now more than ever

• Consistent and reliable reporting will allow for more accurate and efficient planning and allocation of staff and financial resources.


Where can I report TSS?• Please use the NASIS 6.2

Technical Soil Services table• Why use NASIS?

• It is available for use now• It is easy to use (you don’t need to be a

skilled NASIS user and it only takes a few minutes)

• It provides a consistent data input format that allows data to be sorted / reported in multiple ways

• It provides additional data collection / reporting options for local use


REQUIRED fields for NASIS reporting• Date completed

• Tech soil service type (choice list)

• Instances• Provider (NASIS

user name – select from list)

• Recipient (category – select from choice list)

• Program benefitted (choice list)

• One or more of:• Plans affected• Acres benefitted• People served

• Outcome (choice list)

• State (in TSS area overlap table – multiple overlaps are permitted)

• Note: “Hours” column will be added in the next NASIS update


How to record/report a TSS activity in NASISThe 12 step process

(even a National Leader can do it)


Step 1: Log into NASIS and open to the “Tables Explorer” panel


Step 2: Double click on the Technical Soil Service table to open in the Editor panelThe table opens and is ready to enter a TSS activity


Step 3:Record the date(s) of the activity. “Date Completed” is REQUIRED for all entries for consistent reporting purposesNote: the TSS table allows for a future planned activity and/or an activity that spans multiple days.


Step 4:Select TSS Type from the choice list. This field is REQUIRED for all entriesNote: additional TSS type names can be added to the choice list upon request (but we want to keep the list reasonably short)


Step 5:Select the TSS provider from the choice list. This field is REQUIRED for all entriesNote: this and all NASIS choice lists can be searched by typing in the entry field


Step 6:Select the category of recipient from the choice list. This field is REQUIRED for all entries.


Step 7:Select the “program benefitted” from the choice list. This field is REQUIRED for all entries.


Step 8:Select the outcome category from the choice list. This field is REQUIRED for all entries.


Step 9:Populate the number of instances (REQUIRED) and one or more of the “quantitative measures” fields in the table: plans affected, acres benefitted people served (Also REQUIRED).


Step 10:Use the “Impact” text box to provide details regarding the specific TSS activity. This field is strongly recommended for all entries.


Step 11: Populate the TSS Area Overlap table

The child table is the TSS Area Overlap. A choice list is available and the choices can be filtered using the funnel. The screen shot on the next slide shows a filtered choice list on NSSC Pangaea and State or Territory to choose HI as the state. The state where the activity took place is REQUIRED for all entries.Note: the TSS Area Overlap table can include multiple rows. Other overlaps (e.g. “county or parish”) may be useful for local or state level tracking and reporting.


Click here to open child table

Use the “funnel” to filter the Area Overlap Table


Example of an entry for one TSS activity in the State of Hawaii that meets national reporting requirements.


Step 12a:Save your activity (upload to database) Upload to the

database using the “floppy disk” icon or select from the NASIS menu

Once uploaded, the 'N' (new record) is changed to 'E' (editable record)


Step 12b:Check in your data (you MUST do this!) Check in your edits

using the “arrow CI” icon or select from the NASIS menu

After being 'checked in' the row no longer contains an 'N' or an 'E' and is no longer an editable field


Other information can be easily captured in the NASIS TSS table• Scheduled start and completion dates• Useful for planning

• Specific location• Either latitude/longitude or UTM

• Multiple geographic area overlaps• May be helpful for state/local level tracking

and reporting


How often should I report TSS activities?• Enter the activity when it is

completed• Enter activities on a regular basis

(e.g. weekly, end of each pay period)

• Enter activities on a more occasional basis (e.g. quarterly) – NOT RECOMMENDED

• Bottom line – do what works best for you• We recommend that States and MO’s

develop and issue local guidance for reporting frequency


Information stored in the NASIS TSS table can be easily accessed and reported to decision-makersSeveral TSS reports are available in the "Soil Survey Schedule” folder in the Reports section


Summary• Accurate and consistent TSS

reporting will benefit NRCS soil scientists at all levels by providing an easily accessible record of the great work being done.

• Decision-makers are asking for this information and we need to provide it.

• The TSS table in NASIS provides an available and easy-to-use location to record and report TSS activities.


For additional information• NASIS User Guide (Chapter 22)

• http://soils.usda.gov/technical/nasis/documents/documentation_6/index.html

• Everything you want/need to know about the TSS tables in NASIS 6.2

• Technical Soil Services Handbook (TSSH)• http://soils.usda.gov/technical/tssh/index.html

• National Soil Survey Handbook (NSSH – Part 655)• http://soils.usda.gov/technical/handbook/

contents.html


Questions?

technical soil services activity reporting michael robotham

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