Under the direction of W. H. Wischmer, the National Runoff and Soil Loss Data Center was established in 1954 at Purdue University with the goal of developing an erosion prediction equation compatible with data from all over the United States. What they would come up with would change the face of soil conservation. USLE stands for Universal Soil Loss Equation. The USLE is the most comprehinsive technique available for field use in estimating cropland erosion. It involves six major factors that affect upland soil erosion in terms of water: rainfall erosivemess, soil erodibility, slope length, slope steepness, cropping management techniques, and supporting conservation practices. The USLE was created to provide a convenient working tool for conservationists.

In 1929 Hugh Hammond Bennett successfully campaigned for funding from the U.S. Congress to begin doing soil erosion research in the United States. He initiated the collection of data, which Wischmeier later compiled into one large database, which we refer to as the USLE Database. The USLE database is a collection of files containing over 11,000 plot-years of data from 47 locations in 24 states. This data was collected in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, then put into the computer using punch cards during the 1950s. We are now in the process of making the data available via the modern PC using punch card decoding methods. This data is constantly updated so we encourage you to check this website often. If you need information that is not available at the time please contact us. There are three types of these files available for download on this site: Site Specific Data, Storm Data, and Soil Loss & Runoff Data.

This extensive collection of valuable data is maintained and managed at the USDA National Soil Erosion Laboratory at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.