Using this manual
This Rapid Assessment of Soil Health (RASH)
Manual is a tool to help assess soil health across a
range of land types.
Soil is the most valuable natural asset on any
property. Without a well-functioning soil,
landscape health will be poor and grazing
productivity will not be optimal. This manual can
be used to objectively assess the condition of soil
on land types across a property.
This manual demonstrates how to quickly assess
some key aspects of soil and land to determine if
the soil is healthy, or has constraints.
Monitoring the condition of land and soil can help
landholders:
• make decisions for better paddock
management;
• identify major constraints to achieving
healthy and productive land; and
• track whether current management
practices are maintaining, improving or
degrading the soil.
An introduction to using this manual, assessing
soil texture and the five soil health tests will be
available as short videos.
5 Steps to doing a RASH
1. Check equipment: Ensure the equipment
needed is in working order. The equipment list
for doing a RASH is on page 6.
2. Identify the soil monitoring site: Determine
a well thought out monitoring site and decide
when, and how often a RASH assessment
should be carried out. A guide to how to set
this up is on page 7.
3. Assess each soil health indicator using the
guidelines in this manual: Follow the steps in
this manual to complete a RASH. The tests
start on page 10.
4 - RASH MANUAL
4. Score each soil health indicator against
benchmarks and complete a Bullseye Score
Card, provided as part of this manual. Print
extras if required. See instructions on using
the “Bullseye Score Card” on page 9.
5. Review the results: Scoring soil health
helps identify constraints and areas where
action may be necessary. See ”Management
options” on page 23.