Soil Testing
Why Soil Test?
Soil testing provides a baseline for your current growing conditions.
Reasons for Soil Testing May include:
- Nutrient Analysis: To Identify deficiencies or excess nutrients
- Fertilizer Recommendations: a recommendation based on nutrient availability and nutrient holding capacity
- To address concerns with pH: balancing pH for crop growth and nutrient availability
- Protecting waterways: mitigate nutrient run-off
- Manure application: discover if you are making the correct application decisions
- Monitoring Long Term Soil Health: discover if you are making the correct management decisions
- Assessing New/Potential Land Purchases: Nutrients can be inspected as a purchasing consideration as some nutrients are expensive to replace and take long term action to restore (e.g. phosphorus, potassium, micronutrients)
- Crop Risk Mitigation: Get a detailed report on what pathogens/pests may be present in the soil
Accredited Soil Testing Laboratories (Southern Alberta Focus)
- Down to Earth Labs (Lethbridge): A local lab providing cost efficient analysis of soil, feed, water and tissue samples with sample bags available for free.
- ALS Gobal (Calgary)
- Element (Calgary/Various locations): Offers basic and comprehensive soil testing packages.
- 2020 Seed Labs (Various locations): Provides agricultural soil testing services for soil borne diseases and pests.
- Hitek Analytics (Alberta-wide): Accredited laboratory for soil nutrient analysis and fertilizer recommendations.
Seed Testing
Why test your seed?
- Germination & Vigor Testing: Assesses seed viability.
- Disease Diagnostics: Identification of seed-borne pathogens (e.g., Fusarium, Sclerotinia)
- Purity & Seed Weight: Ensures conformity to standards and impacts seeding rate decisions
Accredited Seed Testing Services for Southern Alberta
- 20/20 Seed Labs Inc. (Lethbridge/Nisku): Offers comprehensive diagnostics including tetrazolium (TZ) viability, disease screening, and seed counts. They have a location in Lethbridge, AB.
- SGS Canada (Sherwood Park): Offers ISTA-accredited testing for exports, disease testing, and germination analysis.
- Seed Check Technologies (Leduc): Accredited Canadian Owned Lab
For specialized native grass seeds in Southern Alberta, farmers may also consult the Southern Alberta Native Seed Collaborative.