Submit A Sample | Soil & Soil Health Analysis

Ready to submit your sample?

Congratulations! You’re one step closer to meeting your production goals!

What type of soil sample do you need?

Depending on your answer, you’ll use 1 of our 2 soil sampling procedures.
Important: soil sampling procedure varies based on test type. Be sure to follow the directions for your test carefully.

Traditional Soil Testing

(For all other soil sample tests)

Routine Soil Analysis

Also includes tests such as:

  • Routine + Chloride
  • Complete Routine + Boron
  • Complete + Chloride
  • NPK
  • NPK, Organic Matter, CEC, S
  • Alfalfa/Clover Special
  • Soil Nitrate
  • Subsoil Nitrate + Sulfur
  • Salinity (Saturated Paste Extract)
  • Saturated Paste + EC

View Sampling Procedure

Soil Health Sampling
Soil Health Assessment

The Soil Health Assessment Includes:

  • A complete report of the test results, including your soil’s unique health score.  
  • Cover crop and fertilizer recommendations to improve soil fertility and crop yields. 
  • Measurement of available nutrients, microbial activity and aggregate stability to make management decisions that improve your soil health.

Order a Soil Health Assessment Kit

Not sure what type of soil sample you need?

Here are a few we’d recommend:

Routine Soil Analysis

$23.65 USD

The test that covers (almost) everything! We recommend this to everyone from commercial crop producers to home gardeners … anyone who needs to know what’s in their soil! This test measures pH, buffer pH, sum of cations (CEC), base saturation (%), soluble salts, organic matter, nitrate-nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, sulfur, zinc, iron, manganese and copper.

View Sampling Procedure

PLFA

$100.95 USD

Click here to view more information about the PLFA test.

Another popular option, this test looks for phospholipid fatty acids, or PLFA. Analyzing PLFA gives you critical information about your soil’s microbial health. Environmental conditions such as temperature and moisture can alter this microbial community. Knowing how these changes occur over time gives our producers the ability to compare various management techniques and how they affect the health of these microbes.

(Total bacteria (Gram (+), Gram (-)), Total Fungi (Arbuscular Mycorrhizae, Saprophytes) Protozoa, Undifferentiated Microorganisms)

View Sampling Procedure

Soil Health Assessment

$61.90 USD

Ward Laboratories, Inc. is now offering a new Soil Health Assessment (SHA) package. This test combines the latest in soil science, ensuring that both soil fertility and soil health are viewed through a single test, helping farmers and researchers measure and manage soil health without compromising productivity. Microbial activity and food are evaluated to provide data that enhances operations while also evaluating nutrients in a manner that is widely accepted by Land Grant University correlations and calibrations.

This new package also includes modified aggregate stability. With this addition, the new Soil Health Assessment offers two biological, one chemical and one physical indicator of soil health.

Order a Soil Health Assessment Kit

Nematode Testing

Soil: $90.50
Cyst: $52.25
Root: $90.50
Soil & Roots: $103.40
Cyst & Soil: $103.40
Cyst, Soil, & Roots: $107

This test looks for common harmful and pathogenic nematodes in soil, such as lesion and spiral nematodes, along with fungal feeding, and free-living nematodes. You can also request testing for Soybean Cyst Nematodes (SCN) in addition to your soil nematode test.

Samples submitted from outside Nebraska MUST include this APHIS permit

Nematode Sample Submission

View Threshold Values

Biological Testing Package

$255.00 USD

Ward Laboratories, Inc. is now offering a new biological testing package. Through a strategic partnership with Trace Genomics, our customers now have access to nutrient cycling indicators, soil health indicators and pathogen analysis. This test utilizes whole genome sequencing, helping farmers and agronomists accurately identify biological threats and opportunities without compromising productivity. Trace’s use of industry-leading DNA sequencing, combined with their cutting-edge data analysis engine, is unmatched in agriculture and enables the most complete and detailed assessment of the soil’s capacity to cycle essential plant nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Measures of microbial biodiversity and oxygen availability, included in this new test package, also serve as important components in assessing the overall health of the soil.

Pathogen Analysis – detection and quantification of 170+ pathogens covering 70+ crop types.

Nutrient Cycling Indicators

Phosphorus – Phosphorus Mineralization Potential & Phosphorus Solubilization Potential

Nitrogen – Denitrification Potential, Nitrate Ammonification Potential & Nitrification Potential

Soil Conditions – oxygen availability & bacterial diversity

View Sampling Procedure

Please contact Makayla Fox before submitting samples.

Some Other Traditional Soil Testing Package Options

Total Nutrient Digest

(Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Sulfur, Zinc, Iron, Manganese, Copper,
Boron, Molybdenum)

$52.55 USD

View Sampling Procedure

S-401 Routine + Chloride

$28.60 USD

View Sampling Procedure

S-5 Complete Routine + Boron

(pH, Buffer pH, Sum of Cations (CEC), Base Saturation (%), Soluble Salts, Organic Matter,
Nitrate-Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Sulfur, Zinc, Iron,
Manganese, Copper, Boron)

$28.60 USD

View Sampling Procedure

S-501 Complete + Chloride

$33.30 USD

View Sampling Procedure

S-1 Basic

$17.35 USD

View Sampling Procedure

S-101 Basic + Organic Matter + S

$19.55 USD

View Sampling Procedure

S-7 Alfalfa/Clover Special

(pH, Buffer pH, Sum of Cations (CEC), Soluble Salts, Base Saturation (%), Organic Matter, Nitrate-Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Sulfur, Boron)

$22.55 USD

View Sampling Procedure

S-9 Soil Nitrate

$7.15 USD

View Sampling Procedure

S-901 Subsoil Nitrate + Sulfur

$10.75 USD

View Sampling Procedure

S-10 Salinity (Saturated Paste Extract)

(SAR, Electrical Conductivity, pH, Bicarbonate, Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Sulfur, Chloride)

$35.75 USD

View Sampling Procedure

Some other Soil Health Sampling Package Options

Soil Respiration Test

$29.70 USD

The soil respiration test is a measure of the microbial biomass in the soil and is related to soil fertility and the potential for microbial activity.

View Sampling Procedure

Enzymes

$29.70 USD
(per enzyme, per sample)

Soil microbes create and release soil enzymes to aid in the decomposition of organic matter and promote nutrient cycling in the soil. Analyzing enzymes allows for earlier trends in nutrient cycling to be detected between different management strategies or year-to-year comparisons.

(β-glucosidase (BG) – Carbon Cycle, N-Acetyl-β-glucosaminidase (NAG) – Nitrogen Cycle, Phosphodiesterase (PHD) – Phosphorus Cycle, Alkaline Phosphatase (AlkP) – Phosphorus Cycle, Acid Phosphatase (AcP) – Phosphorus Cycle,  Arylsulfatase (ARS) – Sulfur Cycle)

View Sampling Procedure

POX-C, (ppm) Soil

$23.65 USD

Permanganate oxidizable carbon (POX-C) is an analysis that quantifies the labile carbon in the soil. Understanding changes in soil organic carbon is an early indicator of impacts of soil management decisions.

View Sampling Procedure

Wet Aggregate Stability

$35.75 USD

This analysis measures how easily a soil aggregate breaks down when exposed to water, which provides information on the soil’s resistance to water and wind erosion.

(% Aggregate Stability, 0.25-2.0 mm fraction)

View Sampling Procedure

Available Water Holding Capacity

$29.70 USD

The available water holding capacity (AWC) analysis quantifies the total plant available water a soil can hold and thus provide to a growing crop.

(Measured at Field Capacity (0.1 bar) and Wilting Point (15 bar))

View Sampling Procedure

Total Nutrient Digest

$52.55 USD

The total nutrient digest analysis quantifies the total values of elements in a soil, which includes both plant available and unavailable nutrient pools.

(Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Sulfur, Zinc, Iron, Manganese, Copper, Boron, Molybdenum)

View Sampling Procedure

Looking for individual analyses?

Soil Analysis

Prices effective January 1, 2024. All prices are subject to change without notice.
All prices are in USD.

Soil Analysis Packages
S-1 BASIC $17.35
S-101 BASIC + OM + S $19.55
S-4 ROUTINE $23.65
S-401 ROUTINE PLUS CHLORIDE $28.60
S-5 COMPLETE ROUTINE PLUS BORON $28.60
S-501 COMPLETE PLUS CHLORIDE $33.55
S-7 ALFALFA/CLOVER SPECIAL $22.55
S-9 SOIL NITRATE $7.15
S-901 SUBSOIL NITRATE PLUS SULFUR $10.75
S-10 SALINITY (SATURATED PASTE EXTRACT) $35.75
Individual Soil Analysis
  ALUMINUM (KCl Extractable) $9.65
  AMMONIUM (2N KCl) $7.15
  BORON (Hot Water) $7.70
  COMPREHENSIVE BULK DENSITY  
  Call for details.   
  Cations (K, Ca, Mg, Na by NH4 Acetate Extraction) $6.90
  CHLORIDE (0.01M CaNO3 Extract) $7.15
  Micros (Zn, Fe, Mn, Cu) by DTPA extraction) $6.90
  MOLYBDENUM (HOT WATER) $7.70
  ORGANIC MATTER (LOI) $6.60
  pH (pH, BpH, EC) $7.15
  PHOSPHORUS (Bray P1, Bray P2, Mehlich 3 P, or Olsen P) $6.90
  PRE-SIDEDRESS NITRATE FOR CORN (12″ deep soil sample when corn is 12″ tall) $7.15
  ROCKS AND ROOTS (greater than 2mm diameter) $50.00
  SALT pH (0.01M CaCl2; pH, buffer pH) $7.15
  SOIL CARBONATES (ALKALINITY, CaC03) $17.90
  SOIL MOISTURE $7.15
  TEXTURE BY HYDROMETER $16.50
  TOTAL DRY WEIGHT OF SAMPLE RECEIVED $13.75
  Total (Combustion Method)  
  Nitrogen $10.45
  Carbon $10.45
  Nitrogen & Carbon $19.80
  Organic Carbon $16.50
  Total (Digestion Method)  
  Contact the lab for individual element price.
  Total Nutrient Digest $52.55
Heavy Metals
  Digest* Fee $23.65/ sample
  Heavy Metals $23.65/ metal/ sample
  Arsenic, Cadmium, Chromium, Cobalt, Lead, Nickel, Selenium, Strontium, Vanadium  

*All samples analyzed for heavy metals will be charged a $23.65 digestion fee per sample regardless of the number of metals analyzed.

Nematode Testing
Soil $90.50
Cyst $52.25
Root $90.50
Soil & Roots $103.40
Cyst & Soil $103.40
Cyst, Soil, & Roots $107

Soil Health Analysis

Prices effective January 1, 2024. All prices are subject to change without notice.
All prices are in USD.

Soil Health Analysis
PLFA $100.95
SOIL HEALTH ASSESSMENT $61.90
SOIL RESPIRATION TEST $29.70
ENZYMES $29.70/sample/enzyme
POX-C, (ppm) SOIL $23.65
WET AGGREGATE STABILITY $35.75
AVAILABLE WATER HOLDING CAPACITY $30.25
TOTAL NUTRIENT DIGEST $52.55
AUTOCLAVED-CITRATE EXTRACTABLE (ACE) SOIL PROTEIN $23.65
Individual Soil Health Analysis
H2O EXTRACT $17.90
H3A EXTRACT $20.00

Ready to submit a sample?

Please reference our APHIS information before submitting samples.