where do you get your soil tested?

hi! wondering if people would share where they get their soil tested and about what they pay nowadays. I am specifically looking for labs/tests that will include micronutrients and the CEC infirmation.

thanks!

Sandy

In the United States, there are things known as agricultural extensions found in some states which bridge the gap between agricultural scientists in the lab and farmers who do the work. Many of these agricultural extension groups have the ability to test soils and will do so for folks in the local area for a fee.

For example, where I live we have Cornell College Agricultural Cooperative Extension which is a college based lab which provides my county a bunch of services. They have specific instructions on how to order and take a soil test sample and they can be sent in. There are multiple different things you can test for all at once or just specifically, depending on why your getting the test. I believe the cost for the general overall test is around $90 a sample.

Check with your local AG extension office, here in VA it was $26 last time I had one done. A lot of times they are free.

I have always done it through the co-operative extensions in my state, but I know there are some independent labs that do testing too. I have never used any, so I can't recommend any specific ones. Here is a screenshot of price listed for the University of Maine, which is who does the tests for the co-operative extensions here in Maine. The basic is only $20, but then there are all sorts of things you can add on. I imagine your state will have similar services... though based on the other posts, the prices will vary quite a bit.

I've ordered 2 separate tests through Amazon to do myself. But I know my local Ag extension offers it too. I may compare my test to one that I send off with the extension office to see if we get the same results.

Here is where I am testing going forward, Cornell Soil Lab.  https://cornell.app.box.com/s/ryy6xgtwok5l85zzy9fgms1276drud0y   Pay special attention to how they break down soil. There is what they call "inherent soil quality" and "dynamic soil quality". Inherent soil quality is that which comprises your soil, the composition of elements. Inherent soil quality cannot be changed in any great measure; your soil is what it is. At 2 million pounds per acre per 7" of topsoil, any appreciable component change would be very expensive. What can be improved greatly is the dynamic soil quality, basically the life in the soil. This is where all of the good soil building measures come in, composting, cover crops, minimum or no tillage and the like. A standard soil test does not measure the life in the soil, this is where comprehensive soil analysis shows off. Cornell Soil Lab contends that measuring soil life will tell the landowner where they are going with their soil improvement program long before a typical soil test.

I would look for a soil lab that is using either Morgan Extract, Haney or Mehlich III. These test methods are known to show plant nutrient availability better than other tests. I have started using plant tissue tests as a good measure of what is plant available. If the nutrients show up as normal in the plant tissue it is in the soil in an adequate amount. As you improve your soil life, nutrients that may previously been unavailable and not showing on the soil test may become available. Also, soil pH can change quite a bit during the growing season as plants have the mechanism to alter pH.

I have been using the test kits from Redmond.  I like the results they provide.
https://redmondagriculture.com/products/soil-test-kit

State of NC does it for free except peak season. Just pay for shipping. Unfortunately, it is not organically minded in terms of recommendations. But it's nice since it's free and appears to be accurate. Steve Solomon recommends Logan Labs and there is what appears to be a more permie oriented site to help interpret the results (or you can send directly to them) which is https://growabundant.com .