Harney Silt Loam is the official state soil of Kansas. This is cache #12 in a series of 27 honoring the official state symbols of Kansas and Nebraska along State Line Road.
Harney Silt Loam was adopted as the state soil of Kansas on April 12, 1990 when Governor Mike Hayden signed Senate Bill 96. Kansas is one of only 7 states to name a state soil. It took five years of hard work on the part of a grassroots effort to get Harney Silt Loam named as the official state soil.
Harney Silt Loam covers nearly four million acres in 26 west-central Kansas counties. It is one of 300 different soil types across the 52 million surface acres of Kansas. It is a prime soil for both prairies and agriculture. Soil is Kansas' most valuable resource. Combined with the state's climate and water supply, soil supports Kansas' number one industry: agriculture, which accounts for nearly $6 billion a year in the Kansas economy.