In modem society there has never been more emphasis placed on the accuracy and reliability of spatial information used for management of natural resources. As management decisions regarding environmental and built resources are being more closely scrutinised, so too are data used for decision making based on alternative land uses. Therefore the collection of accurate natural resource data and their processing into useful information are of utmost importance. In recognition of these requirements, the Australian Cotton Cooperative Research Centre funded (total funding: $37 million) a number of research projects since 1994 to make inventories of soil of the cotton-producing regions of Australia. The outcome of this project is a large amount of both quantitative and qualitative soil data covering much of the northwestern New South Wales and southwestern Queensland.