Leaf accepts soil sample data from over 30 format families. Files are uploaded as .zip archives. Leaf identifies the format automatically; you don’t need to specify it.
Regardless of input format, successful processing returns a flat GeoJSON FeatureCollection for mapping and spatial tools. Most formats also produce a canonical JSON result with the full data model, including lab info, provenance, and analyte categories. Check the downloadCanonicalJson field in the entry response — it is null when canonical output is not available for that format.
| Format family | Type | Typical analytes |
|---|
| SMS Shapefile (8 variants) | Shapefile | pH, P, K, OM, CEC |
| AgVance | Shapefile | pH, K, CEC |
| AgVance SkyMap | Shapefile | pH |
| Co-Op Soil | Shapefile | pH, P, K, Ca, Mg |
| E4 | Shapefile | Varies |
| GeoCarta Sampling | Shapefile | pH, CEC, Ca, Mg, K, P + resistivity sensor |
| GeoCarta Soil | Shapefile | pH, OM, P, K |
| Generic Soil | Shapefile | pH, P |
| IFARM | Shapefile | pH, P, K |
| Midwest Soil Shape | Shapefile | pH, P, OM |
| Premier Crop | Shapefile | pH, OM, P, K, CEC |
| SoilTestPro Shapefile | Shapefile | pH, P, K, OM |
| SST Polygon | Shapefile | pH, P, K, OM |
| SoilTestPro | CSV | pH, P, K, OM, BpH + methods |
| AgPhD | CSV | pH, P, K, H, NO3-N |
| SMS CSV | CSV | pH, P, K, OM, BpH + methods |
| TopCop | CSV | pH, CEC, K, OM |
| MODUS (AgGateway) | XML | pH, P, K, OM |
| Midwest Labs | XML | pH, P, K, Ca, Mg, OM + methods |
| A&L Labs (AJService) | XML | pH, P, K, Ca, OM + methods |
| Uniform Data Adapter | XML | OM, K |
| SST Soil / SoilMapshots | Proprietary | pH, P, K, OM (500+ columns, multi-depth) |
| SST Backup | Proprietary | pH, P, K, OM |
| Veris | Proprietary | EC, pH, OM, CEC + sensor channels |
Shapefiles
The most common format type. Includes data from Ag Leader SMS (8 column-naming variants), AgVance, cooperative labs, SST, Premier Crop, IFARM, and others. Most shapefile formats include GPS coordinates for each sample point and produce geospatially-located GeoJSON Features.
Some shapefile formats can contain multiple sampling dates or multiple fields within a single zip. Leaf splits these into separate events in the output, each with its own eventId.
CSV
Four CSV-based formats are supported. SoilTestPro and SMS CSV are the richest, with explicit extraction method columns (e.g. Mehlich-3, Bray-1) that Leaf carries forward into the {analyte}_method properties. AgPhD includes explicit depth columns. TopCop uses a simpler column structure.
XML
Leaf accepts MODUS XML (the AgGateway soil data standard), along with lab-specific XML formats from Midwest Laboratories and A&L Laboratories. XML formats sometimes lack GPS coordinates; in these cases the GeoJSON Features have null geometry but still contain all analyte data.
Proprietary
SST (Soil Sampling Technologies) formats often contain 500+ columns per file covering surface and multiple subsoil depth layers. Each depth layer becomes a separate Feature in the GeoJSON output, linked by sampleId.
Veris sensor files contain high-density electrical conductivity readings (9,000+ points per field). These produce large GeoJSON outputs (10+ MB) with EC measurements at shallow and deep profiles. Last modified on April 17, 2026
