Philip Gruber âSoil health influences crop yield, farm economics, and ecological functions on farms,â OâNeil said. âQuantifiable data on the role of soil compaction in soil health and crop performance is missing. This project is designed to fill that knowledge gap.â Cornell University Nutrient Management Spear Program Director Quirine M. Ketterings will provide data analysis. Ketteringsâ earlier research has informed the design of this new project. In a 2019 study of nine conventionally-tilled dairy farm corn fields in northern New York, compaction was found at the surface and at depths of six to 18 inches in all nine fields with consistent and highly variable levels of compaction within each field and among the fields.