Soil testing is one of the most important management practices for crop production. Soil testing is valuable for economic and environmental reasons. If soil fertility or pH levels are low, adding more fertilizer or lime will increase yields and have a large positive monetary impact for the producer. If soil fertility levels are very high, thousands of dollars of annual fertilizer savings can be realized as fertility levels are drawn down to optimal levels.
Phosphorus is the limiting nutrient in waterway algae growth. Regardless of the tillage system used, there is bound to be some soil erosion resulting in phosphorus contamination of waterways. By keeping phosphorus levels in check with regular soil testing and adjusting fertilizer rates, phosphorus contamination of water is limited. This promotes healthier lakes and rivers and allows better fishing, swimming and other water uses.
FARMER BENEFITS
Farmers should use soil testing as a management tool for making scientifically sound management decisions about their soil fertility program. A fertility management program based on soil testing benefits the farmer in many ways.
- Improved yields and profitability from providing needed nutrients for the crop.
- The opportunity to increase the uniformity of nutrient availability across a field, so that optimum response to other management inputs can be achieved.
- More uniform crop growth which makes the individual plants more competitive with weeds and simplifies other management practices such as cultivation, spraying, etc.
- More uniform maturing dates for all plants within a field simplifies harvesting and drying of the crops, and potentially improves market quality.
- Fertilizer dollars can be allocated to the nutrients that will give the greatest increase in profit. With intensive sampling and variable-rate fertilizer application technology becoming available, there is increased potential for fine tuning fertilizer applications within a field.
Turn to AgSource for accurate soil testing with top-quality technology.
For laboratory specific information regarding soil analysis, test packages/supplies, technical bulletins, sampling guides or feature reports please contact one of our laboratories nearest you listed below:
Laboratory Locations:
| AgSource Belmond Labs, Belmond IA | 641-444-3384 | belmondlabs@agsource.com |
| AgSource Soil & Forage, Bonduel, WI | 715-758-2178 | aglab@agsource.com |
| AgSource Harris Laboratories, Lincoln, NE | 402-476-0300 | info@agsourceharris.com |
| Agri-Check, Umatilla, OR | 541-922-4894 | dosgood@agsource.com |
| CRI North West Labs, Jerome, ID | 208-324-7511 | jamdall@agsource.com |
