NOW Live | New Virtual Soil Pits on Soil Hub for EP

Farmers, agronomists and land managers across the Eyre Peninsula (EP) now have powerful new tools at their fingertips with the release of three virtual soil pits on the Soil Hub website — showcasing soil profiles at Elliston, Buckleboo and Edillilie. These high-resolution, interactive soil pits bring detailed soil data directly to your screen, helping growers better understand the region’s diverse and often challenging soils from the office, tractor or home.  

The Eyre Peninsula is known for its varied landscapes — from limestone-rich coastal zones to fertile cropping plains and sandy inland soils. This diversity has significant implications for crop performance, water use, nutrient management and soil health. The newly released virtual pits add to Soil Hub’s growing EP collection, offering localised, accessible insights into soil structure, chemistry and constraints that can be difficult to assess without time-consuming and costly field visits.  

Developed as part of a broader initiative to improve drought resilience and soil management strategies, these virtual pits represent the latest in soil extension resources available through Soil Hub, which combines 3D models, interactive viewing tools and downloadable data to help inform practical, on-ground decision-making.  

Explore the New Soil Pits 

Elliston Soil Pit 

The Elliston virtual soil pit reveals key subsoil constraints that influence crop growth, including rising alkalinity, high soil strength and bands of mildly cemented carbonate beneath the surface. These conditions can limit root penetration and nutrient access, making management insights crucial for growers in the district. Users can interact with the 3D profile, review pH and water repellence data, and explore downloadable soil test summaries and constraint reports.  

Buckleboo Soil Pit 

At Buckleboo, the new virtual pit adds to Soil Hub’s comprehensive EP dataset by showcasing soils typical of the region’s mixed farming zones. The combination of stratified acidity, low organic carbon, nutrient deficiencies, water repellence, and subsoil constraints must be carefully managed to maintain productivity. The interactive platform allows viewers to compare soil horizons, assess structural characteristics and investigate nutrient profiles — all designed to support better crop planning and soil management decisions.  

Edillilie Soil Pit 

The Edillilie virtual soil pit highlights a complex soil system with strong fertility potential alongside physical and chemical challenges. Soil data shows very high nitrogen levels at depth (indicating potential leaching and root access issues), elevated sodium, mild subsoil acidity and high soil strength — all of which influence root growth and crop performance. The virtual pit gives users the ability to explore these features in detail and access raw data to guide management decisions.  

What You Can Do on Soil Hub 

Each of these virtual soil pits includes: 

• Interactive 3D views of the soil profile — click, rotate and explore different soil horizons. 

• Key soil constraints and test results — pH, nutrient levels, water repellence and physical characteristics explained. 

• Downloadable data sets — take away raw test data, strength profiles and summary reports for deeper analysis. 

• Supporting insights for management decisions — understand limitations and opportunities within your soil landscape.  

These tools empower producers across the Eyre Peninsula to visualise soil characteristics that influence crop choice, fertiliser strategy and long-term soil health planning, all without leaving their farm office. 

Get Started Today 

The Elliston, Buckleboo and Edillilie soil pits are now live on the Soil Hub EP page along with existing site at Mt Damper, Ungarra and Cummins — a digital gateway to understanding the ground beneath some of South Australia’s most dynamic agricultural soils. Whether you’re a grower, adviser or student of soil science, these interactive virtual pits offer practical insights that can help optimise soil management outcomes.  

🖱️ Explore the new virtual soil pits at: https://soilhub.com.au/ep/ 

This project is supported by the South Australian Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub, which is one of eight Hubs established across Australia through the Australian Government’s Future Drought
Fund. The SA Drought Hub brings together a dynamic network of primary producers, industry groups, researchers, government agencies, universities, agribusinesses, traditional owners and others to work towards a common vision to strengthen the drought resilience and preparedness of farms and regional communities in South Australia. This project received funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.