I could count on one hand the number of fields that I work with that are over 25 acres in size.

I was recently at an Extension field day where the topic was Precision Ag on small fields.  They soil sampled a 20-ac field, and then sampled it in grids.  They also showed data of soil sampling fields as small as 5 acres, and showed the variability in these sized fields. If I understood the data correctly, fields that are 5 acres in size are no more likely to be uniform than fields 20 acres in size.

After attending that meeting, I decided to sub-sample some of these 20-25 acre fields that I have, and look for variability.  I am surprised with what I see so far.  I am not sure where I want to go with this.  Right now we don't have variable rate application equipment - lime and fertilizer spreaders - in this area.

So, right now, I am in the "asking questions" stage.  I think one of the questions I have is:  how small can you break up a field and still be practical?    On the fields I have sub-sampled, I have used 4-5 acres per sub-sample.  However, I don't know if that is "right" or practical, or ???