March 1, 2006
UTAH TECHNICAL GUIDE
450-IV
NOTICE UT220
SUBJECT: TCH-RUSLE2 TEMPLATES AND SOIL CONDITIONING INDEX (SCI)
Purpose. To transmit information regarding recently updated Rusle2 Management Templates and the use of Rusle2 as the official tool for the Soil Conditioning Index (SCI).
Supersedes. Notice UT42, Soil Conditioning Rating Indices, dated December 18, 1991.
Effective Date. Effective immediately.
General Information.
Rusle2 Templates: A new version of Rusle2 (1.25.8.0) was released December 19, 2005. Utah IT employees are currently loading the new version on all soil conservationist computers throughout the state. This new version changed the way irrigation water is entered. Previously, irrigation water was entered when in a plan, profile, or worksheet view. Now the irrigation information is entered into management templates. This change required all current single-year and multi-year rotational templates to be revised to include the irrigation information in the template. These new templates have been loaded onto the Rusle2 databases on the field office server. All new or old locally developed management templates will need to have this information entered. Net irrigation information should be entered into the template. This information should be obtained from either the current consumptive use tables in the Irrigation Guide or from the old consumptive use tables in the Utah Irrigation Guide.
Soil Conditioning Indices: The concepts contained in the publication, “Soil Conditioning Rating Indices for Major Irrigated and Non-Irrigated Crops Grown in the Western United States” have now been incorporated into the Rusle2 program. Rusle2 is now the official program that should be used when making a SCI run.
Filing Instructions. The updated management templates have been loaded into the Rusle2 database that is located on each office’s main server. All employees using Rusle2 will need to open the new version and take the following steps:
- Go to database/open alternate
- Browse to the Area XXX database.gdb located on the office server at: S:\Service Center\NRCS\Rusle2\Area XXX database.gdb
- Select the database and click on Open
- Go to database and make sure that Startup Database is checked
A copy of the “Soil Conditioning Rating Indices for Major Irrigated and Non-Irrigated Crops Grown in the Western United States” should be filed in Section I of the FOTG or some other location in the FOTG. If this publication still exists or is referenced in the Section I,Reference List, it should be thrown away. All Soil Conditioning runs should now be made using the Rusle2 program.
UTAH TECHNICAL GUIDE NOTICE UT220
March 1, 2006
Page 2
A copy of this notice can be found in Section I under the folder “FOTG Notices and Updates” of the eFOTG. Please make sure that employees are made aware of this notice.
Contacts. For additional information or help with the Rusle2 program contact Kerry Goodrich, Conservation Agronomist, at (801) 524-4568; Marlon Winger, Area Agronomist, at (801) 629-0580, ext. 12; Larry Young, Area Agronomist, at (435) 835-4171, ext. 22.; or Tony Beals, Area Agronomist, at (435) 637-0041, ext. 20.
/s/ Ron Davidson
M. RON DAVIDSON
AssistantState Conservationist-Technology
DIST:
All FOTG Holders
Area Conservationists (ASTC-FO’s)
Area Resource Conservationists
District Conservationists
Surrounding States