Patent ID: 8051725

Claim:
An apparatus for collecting soil samples while harvesting a crop from the ground, the apparatus comprising: a moveable chassis; a digging member coupled to the moveable chassis, the digging member being configured to enter the ground and excavate a combination of soil and crop from the ground; a conveyor member coupled to the moveable chassis, the conveyor member having a transporting surface that is configured to receive at least a portion of the excavated combination of soil and crop, at least a portion of the transporting surface having openings that extend through the transporting surface, the openings being sufficiently large to allow at least a portion of the excavated soil to pass through the openings; and a soil collecting device coupled to the moveable chassis, the soil collecting device being configured to collect and store at least a portion of the excavated soil that passes through the openings on the transporting surface of the conveyor member.