In collaboration with the North Dakota Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Department of Soil Science at North Dakota State University (NDSU), the North Dakota Geological Survey (NDGS) developed a strategy whereby the more than 700 grid-cells into which the state was divided could be sampled in an efficient and consistent way using a set of protocols based on standard NRCS soil sampling procedures. Sample collection commenced in the summer of 2003 and was completed in October 2004. A total of 3,248 samples (1,755 analytical and 1,493 archival), representing 715 individual sites, were collected and submitted to the USGS for elemental analysis and subsequent inclusion in the National Geochemical Survey database, maintained by the USGS.