FRST Resources

FRST Activities

Modernizing Fertilizer Recommendations: Fertilizer Recommendation Support Tool (FRST)
An overview of what the FRST project is, its various phases, and who is involved

National Soil Fertility Survey
A Survey to Evaluate the Current Status of Land Grant University and State Department of Agriculture Soil Fertility Recommendations and Analytical Methods

FRST Legacy Database
Legacy Database Development

Minimum Dataset
Minimum Dataset and Metadata Guidelines for Soil-test Correlation and Calibration Research

Relative Yield
Defining a relative yield calculation for FRST

Critical Soil Test Value
Defining the Correlation Model for the Fertilizer Recommendation Tool (FRST) to Identify a Critical Soil Test Value

National Lime Rate Survey
Survey to determine the methods used to measure soil pH and lime requirements in the United States and Puerto Rico.

FRST Soil Test Database
Relational Database for Preserving Soil Test Correlation and Calibration Data

Soil Test Decision Aid
Decision Aid for Soil Test P and K Interpretation

How Stakeholders View Soil Testing
Stakeholder Perspectives on Soil Test-Based Fertilizer Recommendations

FRST Legacy Data Collection Guide

The following guides provides collaborators with instructions for submitting quality data from past research on crop response to fertilizers.

FRST Legacy Data Collection Guide (P and K)

FRST Legacy Data Collection Guide (S)

Submitting Data to FRST

The FRST Data Submission template was developed for submitting data to the FRST National Soil Test Correlation and Calibration Database to facilitate adherence to the published minimum dataset and metadata guidelines.  We encourage anyone collecting soil test correlation and calibration data to use this template.

Phosphorus and Potassium FRST Data Submission TemplateDownload
Sulfur FRST Data Submission TemplateDownload

Submitting Data to Ag Data Commons

USDA Ag Data Commons Website
Ag Data Commons Data Submission – Information needed for data submission to the National Agricultural Library.

FRST Submissions

  • Bourns, M.A., Osmond, D.L., Slaton, N.A., Spargo, J.T., Gatiboni, L., Lacey, C., Sawyer, D., & Yost, M. (2025). Stakeholder engagement with soil testing: Practices and perspectives in U.S. agriculture [Data set]. Ag Data Commons. https://doi.org/10.15482/USDA.ADC/29656808.v1
  • Spargo, J. T., Lyons, S. E., Clark, J. D., Osmond, D. L., Parvej, R. Md., Pearce, A. W., Slaton, N. A., Saffire, D., Alford, S., Allen, T., Arnall, B., Buob, T., Camberato, J. J., Cardon, G., Culman, S, W., Davenport, J. R., Fernandez, F. G., Florence, R., Flynn, R., Franzen, D., Geisseler, D., Grove, J., Hardy, D., Heckman, J., Hopkins, B., Hoskins, B., Hue, N. V., Huluka, G., Jones, C., Jones, K., Kaiser, D. E., Kalmbach, B., Ketterings, Q. M., Laboski, C. A. M., Lessl, J., Lucas, E., Maguire, R., Mahler, R., Mallerino, A., Margenot, A., McGrath, J. M., Miller, R., Moore, A. D., Morris, T. F., Mylavarapu, R., Nathan, M., Nelson, N. O., Norton, J., Pena-Yewtukhiw, E., Pettinelli, D., Provin, T., Radin, A., Ross, D., Saunders, O., Self, J., Shober, A. L., Sonon, L., Sotomayor, D. R., Stammer, A., Steinke, K., Toor, G., Walworth, J., Wang, J. J., Wortmann, C., & Zhang, H. (2022). A survey to evaluate the current status of land grant university and state department of agriculture soil fertility recommendations and analytical methods [Data set]. Ag Data Commons. https://doi.org/10.15482/USDA.ADC/1526506

FRST Facilitated Submissions

  • Fisher, T. R., Lyons, S. E., Roth, J. A., & Fisher, T. E. (2021). Legacy phosphorus and potassium correlation experiments: Qulin, Missouri [Data set]. Ag Data Commons. https://doi.org/10.15482/USDA.ADC/1524293
  • Jagadamma, S., & Savoy, H. J. (2020). Comparison of four extractants used in soil phosphorus and potassium testing for two soils in a corn-wheat-soybean rotation in Tennessee receiving various amounts of P and K fertilizer [Data set]. Ag Data Commons. https://doi.org/10.15482/USDA.ADC/1519155
  • Rogers, C. W., Dari, B., & Liang, X. (2022). Plant, grain, and soil response of irrigated malt barley as affected by cultivar, phosphorus, and sulfur applications on an alkaline soil [Data set]. Ag Data Commons. https://doi.org/10.15482/USDA.ADC/1526436
  • Savoy, H. J., Leib, B. G., & Grant. T. (2021). Alfalfa response to potassium rate and timing of application [Data set]. Ag Data Commons. https://doi.org/10.15482/USDA.ADC/1520724
  • Slaton, N. A., Pearce, A. W., Lyons, S. E., Drescher, G. L., & Smartt, A. D. (2022). Soybean yield response to fertilizer-phosphorus rate on soils having different Mehlich-3 phosphorus values in Arkansas [Data set]. Ag Data Commons. https://doi.org/10.15482/USDA.ADC/1524648
  • Slaton, N. A., & Uthman, Q. (2024). Bermudagrass forage response to phosphorus and potassium fertilization [Data set]. Ag Data Commons. https://doi.org/10.15482/USDA.ADC/24978027.v1
  • Sotomayor, D. R., & Araya, K. (2021). Improved tropical forage fertilizer-P calibration: In support of FRST to conduct state-level soil-fertility correlation and calibration trials for P and/or K [Data set]. Ag Data Commons. https://doi.org/10.15482/USDA.ADC/1524294
  • Sullivan, D. M., Peachey, E., Heinrich, A., & Brewer, L. J. (2023). Sweet corn response to banded phosphorus in the Willamette Valley [Data set]. Ag Data Commons. https://doi.org/10.15482/USDA.ADC/1528942

Publications

  • Bolster, C. H., Correndo, A. A., Pearce, A. W., Spargo, J. T., Slaton, N. A., & Osmond, D. L. (2022). A spreadsheet for determining critical soil test values using the modified arcsine-log calibration curve. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 87, 182-189. https://doi.org/10.1002/saj2.20498
  • Bourns, M., Buol, G., Spargo, J. T., Gatiboni, L., Yost, M. A., Slaton, N. A., & Osmond, D. L. (2025). The Fertilizer Recommendation Support Tool: A relational database and decision interface tool. Agricultural & Environmental Letters, 10, e70016. https://doi.org/10.1002/ael2.70016
  • Jones, J. D., Miller, R. O., Spargo, J. T., Sikora, F. J., Rakkar, M. K., Slaton, N. A., & Osmond, D. L. (2025). Assessment of soil pH and lime requirement methods and recommended lime rates for six reference soils across US land grant institutions. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 89, e70116. https://doi.org/10.1002/saj2.70116
  • Lyons, S. E., Osmond, D. L., Slaton, N. A., Spargo, J. T., Kleinman, P. J. A., Arthur, D. K., & McGrath, J. M. (2020). FRST: A national soil testing database to improve fertility recommendations. Agricultural & Environmental Letters, 5. https://doi.org/10.1002/ael2.20008
  • Lyons, S. E., Arthur, D. K., Slaton, N. A., Pearce, A. W., Spargo, J. T., Osmond, D. L., & Kleinman, P. J. A. (2021). Development of a soil test correlation and calibration database for the USA. Agricultural & Environmental Letters, 6. https://doi.org/10.1002/ael2.20058
  • Lyons, S. E., Clark, J. D., Osmond, D. L., Parvej, M. R., Pearce, A. W., Slaton, N. A., & Spargo, T. S. (2023). Current status of US soil test phosphorus and potassium recommendations and analytical methods. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 87, 985-998. https://doi.org/10.1002/saj2.20536
  • Pearce, A. W., Slaton, N. A., Lyons, S. E., Bolster, C. H., Bruulsema, T. W., Grove, J. H., Jones, J. D., McGrath, J. M., Miguez, F. E., Nelson, N. O., Osmond, D. L., Parvej, M. R., Pena-Yewtukhiw, E. M. & Spargo, J. T. (2022), Defining relative yield for soil test correlation and calibration trials in the fertilizer recommendation support tool. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 86, 1338-1353. https://doi.org/10.1002/saj2.20450
  • Slaton, N. A., Lyons, S. E., Osmond, D. L., Brouder, S. M., Culman, S. W., Drescher, G., Gatiboni, L. C., Hoben, J., Kleinman, P. J. A., McGrath, J. M., Miller, R. O., Pearce, A., Shober, A. L., Spargo, J. T., & Volenec, J. J. (2022). Minimum dataset and metadata guidelines for soil-test correlation and calibration research. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 86, 19-33. https://doi.org/10.1002/saj2.20338
  • Slaton, N. A., Pearce, A. W., Gatiboni, L., Osmond, D. L., Bolster, C., Clark, J., Dhillon, J., Farmaha, B., Kaiser, Lyons, S., Margenot, A., Miguez, F., Moore, A., Ruiz Diaz, D., Sotomayor, D., Spackman, J., Spargo, J., & Yost, M. (2024). Models and sufficiency interpretation for estimating critical soil test values for the Fertilizer Recommendation Support Tool. Soil Science Society of America, 88(4), 1419-1437. https://doi.org/10.1002/saj2.20704
  • Zhang, H, Antonangelo, J, Grove, J, Osmond, D, Slaton, N A, Alford, S, Florence, R, Huluka, G, Hardy, D H, Lessl, J, Maguire, R, Mylavarapu, R, Oldham, J L, Pena-Yewtukhiw, E M, Provin, T, Sonon, L, Sotomayor, D, Wang, J. (2021). Variation in soil-test-based phosphorus and potassium rate recommendations across the southern USA. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 85, 975−988. https://doi.org/10.1002/saj2.20280