An easy to use test can be done to predict potential soil crusting on farm fields.  All you need is some chicken wire, water, a glass jar, and a dry clump of soil.  When you immerse the clump of soil in the jar of water, the longer it holds together, the better the soil structure to resist crusting. 

The slake test compares two chunks of topsoil in water to see how well and how long they will hold together. Here are the steps according to NRCS Newsletter article #14:

During our recent survey of CORN Newsletter users, one item suggested for addition was a chart of soil temperatures in the spring. The Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) Agricultural Research Station located throughout the state have 2 and 4 inch bare surface soil temperatures monitored on an hourly basis. The chart provided here summarizes the average daily two inch bare soil temperature from several stations.