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Empowering the Agricultural Supply Chain

Fieldprint API – /v5/SSURGO

Access to the Fieldprint Platform and API requires Field to Market membership and an active Data Management Licensing Agreement. Learn more about membership and our data partner program to get started. Access to the Fieldprint API requires an authorized API key issued by Field to Market.

The SSURGO endpoint retrieves soil survey data from the USDA NRCS SSURGO (Soil Survey Geographic Database) service for a given field boundary. It returns key soil properties — slope, slope length, organic matter content, soil erodibility (K factor), hydrologic soil group, and soil texture — that are used by the Fieldprint Platform’s environmental models. API partners can use this endpoint to preview the soil data the Calculator will derive for a field, or to display soil information in their own applications.

The endpoint accepts the field boundary as either a GeoJSON geometry or a WKT (Well-Known Text) string. You must provide one format or the other, but not both.

Contents

Endpoint Details

URL https://api.fieldtomarket.org/v5/FieldData/SSURGO
Method POST
Authentication API key (issued by Field to Market)
Content-Type application/json

Request Body

The request body must include exactly one of the two boundary formats below. Providing both geojson and wkt in the same request will result in an error.

Field Type Required Description
geojson object One of two A GeoJSON Polygon geometry object with coordinates in decimal degrees (longitude, latitude). The polygon must represent a valid field boundary within the continental United States.
wkt string One of two A Well-Known Text (WKT) representation of the field boundary polygon. Coordinates should be in decimal degrees (longitude latitude). Example: POLYGON((-95.5 42.9, -95.4 42.9, -95.4 42.8, -95.5 42.8, -95.5 42.9))
Important: Provide either geojson or wkt, but not both. The field boundary must be located within the continental United States where SSURGO coverage is available.

Response Body

A successful response returns a JSON object containing the dominant soil properties for the field boundary. These are the same soil values the Calculator endpoint derives internally when computing Fieldprint metrics.

Field Type Description
slope.value number Representative slope of the dominant soil map unit, as a percentage.
slope.unit string Unit of measure. Always "%".
slope_length.value number Representative slope length of the dominant soil map unit, in feet.
slope_length.unit string Unit of measure. Always "ft".
om_content.value number Organic matter content of the surface horizon, as a percentage.
om_content.unit string Unit of measure. Always "%".
k_factor number Soil erodibility factor (K factor) used by WEPP and WEPS erosion models. Ranges from 0 to ~0.69, where higher values indicate greater susceptibility to erosion.
hydrologic_group string NRCS Hydrologic Soil Group classification. Values include "A", "B", "C", "D", and dual classes such as "A/D", "B/D", "C/D". Group A soils have the highest infiltration rate; Group D soils have the lowest.
texture string USDA soil texture class name (e.g., "Silt loam", "Silty clay loam", "Sandy loam").
texture_id string Numeric identifier for the soil texture class, used internally by the Fieldprint Platform models.

Example: GeoJSON Request

Request

// POST https://api.fieldtomarket.org/v5/FieldData/SSURGO
{
  "geojson": {
    "type": "Polygon",
    "coordinates": [
      [
        [-115.972587, 44.102834],
        [-115.967866, 44.100431],
        [-115.976106, 44.092541],
        [-115.981428, 44.095808],
        [-115.972587, 44.102834]
      ]
    ]
  }
}

Example: WKT Request

Request

// POST https://api.fieldtomarket.org/v5/FieldData/SSURGO
{
  "wkt": "POLYGON((-115.972587 44.102834, -115.967866 44.100431, -115.976106 44.092541, -115.981428 44.095808, -115.972587 44.102834))"
}
WKT Coordinate Order: WKT uses longitude latitude coordinate order (the same as GeoJSON), with coordinate pairs separated by commas and the ring enclosed in double parentheses.

Example Response

// 200 OK
{
  "slope": {
    "value": 1.0,
    "unit": "%"
  },
  "slope_length": {
    "value": 200,
    "unit": "ft"
  },
  "om_content": {
    "value": 6.2,
    "unit": "%"
  },
  "k_factor": 0.28,
  "hydrologic_group": "C/D",
  "texture": "Silty clay loam",
  "texture_id": "12"
}

Error Handling

HTTP Status Codes

CodeDescription
200Soil data retrieved successfully.
400Invalid request. The boundary may be malformed, both geojson and wkt were provided, or neither was included.
403Authentication failed. Verify your API key.
404No SSURGO data available for the given location. The boundary may be outside SSURGO coverage (e.g., outside the continental US).
500Server error. The NRCS SSURGO service may be temporarily unavailable.

Usage Notes

Calculator Derives Soil Data Automatically: You do not need to call the SSURGO endpoint before submitting a Calculator request. The /v5/Calculator endpoint automatically retrieves SSURGO soil data for the field geometry you provide. This endpoint is useful when you want to preview or display soil properties independently — for example, to show a grower their soil characteristics before they complete the full data entry process.
Overriding Soil Values in the Calculator: The Calculator endpoint allows you to override SSURGO-derived soil values by providing explicit values in the field.soil_inputs object. This is useful when local soil survey data or field-level measurements are more accurate than the SSURGO map unit data. Use this endpoint to check what SSURGO returns, and override only the values that differ from your field-level knowledge.
Dominant Map Unit: SSURGO data is based on the dominant soil map unit that intersects the field boundary. For fields that span multiple soil types, the returned values represent the single most prevalent map unit rather than a weighted average across all map units.
Coverage: SSURGO data is available for the continental United States. Fields located outside this coverage area (Alaska, Hawaii, US territories, or international locations) will not return results.
Endpoint Description
POST /v5/Calculator Submit field data and crop history to compute Fieldprint sustainability metrics. Automatically derives SSURGO soil data from the field geometry.
POST /v5/FieldData/PrefillFieldHistory Generate a multi-year crop history (2008–present) from USDA Cropland Data Layer data based on field geometry.
POST /v5/FieldData/PrefillCropIntervals Pre-fill a crop interval with default activities and input values for a given crop type.
GET /v5/EndPoints Full list of all 52 API endpoints.

Reach out to support@fieldtomarket.org with additional questions on implementation.

Documentation Notice

This documentation reflects the Fieldprint Platform API v5.0.2 as of April 2026. The Fieldprint Platform is actively developed and implementation details may evolve between releases. While we work to keep this reference accurate, we encourage API partners to validate behavior against the live API and reference data endpoints. The Field to Market team is available to support your integration — contact support@fieldtomarket.org or your partner liaison with any questions.

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