Soil testing for commercial growers is intended for large farms or other large agricultural operations. Lime and fertilizer recommendations for commercial properties are given in "tons per acre" and "lbs per acre" respectively. If you are sampling on property that is 1 acre or less, consider using the Soil Sample Submission Form for Homeowners which provides recommendations for lime and fertilizer in lbs. / 1,000 sq. ft. IMPORTANT: Soilless media, also known as potting soil or greenhouse media, or material that contains less than 50% native, mineral soil is NOT considered soil and should NOT be submitted to the soil testing lab. Please submit under Soilless Media Analysis.
For routine soil sampling, use the Predictive submission form. If you have more than eight samples, please use the Excel form. If you have less than eight samples, you may use either the Excel or PDF version.
Predictive Soil Submission Form and Continuation page EXCEL
Predictive Soil Submission Form PDF
For problem samples, use the Diagnostic form:
FAQ's
On the sample box and submission form, there is a phrase "Farm ID'.
If a grower is submitting samples from different plots of land, the farm id can be utilized to help differentiate the fields. This also ensures that if they are submitting recurring samples, reports with the same farm id can be grouped together when pulling records.
For example: Joe Smith is pulling samples for three plots of land; one on Red Bud Rd.- he may use "Red Bud" as the farm id. Another field could be his main property- so he may title that one "main", another piece maybe on the same main property but is separated by a fence and is really far out - he may call this one "Back 40".
Predictive
This is the most common type of soil sampling. Predictive testing is used for determining what nutrients are needed to prepare the ground for planting.
Diagnostic
Diagnostic testing is used for "diagnosing" whether a plant growth problem is related to soil fertility. Examples where a diagnostic test may be warranted include stunted growth, patches in the lawn or discolored plants. This test is often accompanied by a Plant Tissue Analysis.
If you would like free, on-site assistance from an NCDA&CS agricultural advisor, please visit our Field Services Section. On the map, select the county where your farm or operation is located to get the contact information for the NCDA&CS Regional Agronomist assigned to your area.
This page was last modified on 02/09/2024