“Soil health measures the biological activity of the soil. “Those are routine, but also have additional tests we can perform for manure too,” he said.ĪgSource tests manure samples from throughout the entire state of Iowa, with clients also from Nebraska and even as far out as Montana.įriedericks said AgSource Laboratories has started testing for soil health analysis. Oftentimes, for manure, Friedericks said they are testing for N, P, K, sulfur and zinc. If it is a liquid, we will run it like it is, but if it’s a dry material, we will dry it down further and grind it down.” Once we receive the sample, the first process is to homogenize it. “We supply the bottles to the sample collector,” Friedericks said. Testing of manure samples is done in much of the same manner as soil sampling. “All of those analyses are done and, for the most part, results are reported that evening or overnight,” he said.ĪgSource Laboratories serves the entire state of Iowa and parts of Minnesota for their soil sampling services.
He added the tests are done the next day after the sample is received. Most of those are routine, but micronutrient testing is an additional request they sometimes have.” “We also do a measurement for organic matter content. “We take the ground material and will take sub-samples of that for analysis for pH and conduct tests for nutrient availability for P, K, calcium, magnesium and any micronutrients that may need applied,” Friedericks said. The drying process allows for a thorough mixing of the soil. “Once the samples are received, they are spread out, organized properly, dried and ground.” “We will go out to the co-op and pick up the samples and bring them back to the lab,” he said. Soil pH is measured in samples to determine if lime is required to neutralize acidity and make the soil more productive.
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