Announcing Dirt Data Reports: A No-Code Soil Health Reporting Tool
WSDA releases a new tool! Upload your soil data and automatically generate customized interpretive reports for growers and land managers near you.
September 2, 2025
Author: Jadey Ryan
In 2023, we introduced the {soils} R package to help soil health professionals visualize, interpret, and report soil data using R and Quarto. But we know that not everyone has the time or interest to learn these programming tools and that’s okay. Now, we’re excited to announce a new no-code solution built on top of {soils}: Dirt Data Reports.
What Is Dirt Data Reports?
Dirt Data Reports is a web-based tool that makes it easy for anyone to upload their soil sampling data, enter project-specific information, and generate customized, research-based soil health reports to make farmers’ soil health data accessible and actionable.
Whether you're part of a state soil health initiative, an extension program, or a conservation district, this tool can help you:
- Save time with automated reporting,
- Generate reports in two formats: an interactive HTML file and a printable Word document,
- Generate reports in English and Spanish,
- Provide high-quality soil health outreach and extension,
- Communicate complex data in an accessible way, and
- Empower participants to better understand and manage their soils.
Each report includes:
- A high-level summary of soil health indicators using the latest science,
- Context for interpreting results,
- Comparisons of results by crop, county, and project,
- A map of sampled fields, and
- Visualizations in both table and plot formats.
Why We Built It
As part of the State of the Soils Assessment (2020 – 2024), nearly 1,200 soil samples were collected and analyzed for over 30 indicators of soil physical, chemical, and biological health. Each of the 350+ participating farmers received comprehensive soil health reports to help them access, understand, and translate their soil data into informed management decisions.
To automate and scale this report generation process for technical assistance providers, the {soils} R package was created. But that was only the first phase. For the broader audience that doesn’t write R code, the Dirt Data Reports tool was developed.
How It Works
You can create reports in four simple steps:
- Download the template and replace the example data with your own data.
- Upload your file and validate the data types and requirements.
- Customize the reports with your project details.
- Generate your reports with just a few clicks.
You’ll spend most of the time on Steps 1 and 2, making sure your data match the expected format. After that, the tool handles the heavy lifting.
Want to Go Deeper?
This tool prioritizes user-friendliness by limiting advanced customization of the reports. If you’re comfortable with R and Quarto, the underlying {soils} package gives you even more flexibility. You can fully customize the report branding aesthetics, add your own visualizations, or integrate results into broader data pipelines. Learn more about {soils} in this blog post and webinar.
Let’s Make Soil Data More Actionable
We believe that understanding soil health shouldn’t require a soil science degree. With Dirt Data Reports, we’re closing the gap between complex data and practical decision-making – one report at a time.
Ready to generate your own reports? Head over to https://wsda.shinyapps.io/dirt-data-reports/ to get started. Your feedback is welcome as the team works on updates and new features. Describe your experience through this form.
Jadey Ryan
Jadey Ryan is the data scientist for the Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences section within the Washington State Department of Agriculture.
This article was published by the Washington Soil Health Initiative. For more information, visit wasoilhealth.org. To have these posts delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe to the WaSHI newsletter. To find a soil science technical service provider, visit the Washington State University Extension website or the Washington State Conservation District website.