> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.withleaf.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Supported Soil Formats

> Full catalog of soil data format families accepted by the Leaf Soil Sampling service: shapefiles, CSVs, XML lab reports, and proprietary formats from SST, Veris, and others.

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](/soil/overview#geojson-properties) for mapping and spatial tools. Most formats also produce a [canonical JSON](/soil/overview#canonical-json-structure) 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 catalog

| 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.