About our Project

In 2022, the Kankakee County SWCD began the "Soil on Demand" (SOD) project. To date, soil temperature and moisture sensors are installed at four locations across Kankakee County. At each location, sensors are placed in adjacent field plots, one planted to cover crops in the fall and one without cover crops. 

Every hour, soil sensors send real-time soil temperature and soil moisture readings to a cloud, where farmers and landowners throughout the county can access data on demand from a computer or smart device. To view current soil temperature and moisture readings, login above or visit soilscouts.fi/login and login with the username PUBLIC and password KankakeeSWCD.

The red stars on the map indicate the field trial locations where soil sensors are installed. Sensors are placed in fields containing cover crops, as well as adjacent plots without cover, to observe any differences in soil temperature and moisture. 

Site Characteristics 

Soil on Demand sites were selected across Kankakee County to provide a holistic representation of soil types, cover crop species, and tillage practices.