Essential Soil Test
The standard university panel: OM, nitrate, P, K, secondaries, micronutrients, pH, CEC and salts. A good fit for grid sampling, manure management and composite samples.
Laboratory · Alpena, SD
Lab data you can trust, read for your field
We test what impacts the farm: soil, plant tissue, water and grain. Accurate, consistent results are the baseline. What sets our lab apart is knowing what the levels and ratios need to be, and turning them into a recommendation that pays.
- ALP proficiency tested · soil & plant
- Tested here in Alpena
- Serving growers across the U.S. and Canada
We testSoil · Tissue · Water · Grain
ALP · soil & plantProficiency tested
What we test
We test what impacts the farm.
Soil, plant tissue, water and grain, all run here in our Alpena lab.
Soil
From the Essential Soil Test to Indicator Complete and Indicator Max, plus grid packages and individual tests.
ALP proficiency testedPlant tissue
Plant Complete tissue analysis, stalk nitrate and forage nitrate, read against the soil from the same spots.
ALP proficiency testedWater
Water testing for the farm. Call the lab and we’ll set you up with the right test.
Call for detailsGrain
Grain analysis run in the same lab. Call for details on what fits your question.
Call for detailsALP proficiency testing covers our soil and plant tissue work.
Soil report guide → What each number on your NLAg soil report measures and why it matters.
How we read a sample
Numbers Ratios Recommendation
Accurate numbers are the start. A level can look fine on its own and still be out of balance with the nutrients around it. Knowing what the levels and ratios need to be for your soil and crop is what turns a test into a recommendation that pays.
- 01
Numbers
Accurate levels
Every nutrient measured right: P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Zn and the micros, plus pH, organic matter and CEC.
- 02
Ratios
The balance between them
Nutrients compete with each other. We read Ca, Mg and K as a share of CEC, check K:Mg and P:Zn, and in season, tissue ratios like N:S.
- 03
Recommendation
A rate that pays
Each reading points to a decision: add what’s short, hold what’s balanced, skip what won’t pay back. Built from our own regional trials and your yield goals.
Relationships we read
Base saturation: Ca, Mg, KCa:MgK:MgP:ZnCEC contextTissue N:S in season
CEC context18 meq/100 g
Sets how much Ca, Mg and K the soil can hold, and what “balanced” means for this field.
Base saturation share of CEC
- Ca 68%
- Mg 18%
- K 3.2%
- Na 1.5%
- Other 9.3%
Nutrient ratios
- Ca:MgSoil 3.8 Balanced
- K:MgSoil 0.18 K short
- P:ZnSoil 18 Zn short
- N:STissue · in season 17 S short
What the report says to do
- SpendAdd K in this zone. It’s short against Mg.
- SpendPut Zn with the P. P:Zn is out of balance.
- SpendAdd S with side-dress N. Tissue N:S runs high.
- SaveSkip extra Ca and Mg. They’re already in balance.
Example values for illustration, not a real sample. Targets depend on your soil, CEC and crop.
Accuracy first
The numbers have to be right
Every recommendation we make stands on the lab result under it. That’s why accuracy and consistency come first in our Alpena lab, sample after sample and year after year.
Checked from the outside, not just by us
Next Level Ag participates in the Agricultural Laboratory Proficiency (ALP) Program, run by Collaborative Testing Services. ALP covers both our soil and plant tissue testing. Three times a year, ALP sends the same prepared samples to the labs in the program. Each lab runs them with its routine methods and reports its results. ALP then compares every lab’s numbers and sends each lab a report on how its results lined up.
For you, that means our results get checked against other labs on a regular schedule, not just by our own team. It’s one more way we hold ourselves to accurate, consistent numbers before we build a fertility plan on them.
About the ALP Program
Soil test packages
Pick the test that fits the decision
Not every field needs the same answer. Start with what the decision calls for.
Indicator Complete
It includes the Essential panel, then adds plant-available nutrients, biological activity, organic carbon and nitrogen, and aggregate stability. Results come with nutrient relationships and a Soil Health Score, and they’re built for zone management.
Indicator Max
Everything in Indicator Complete, plus total nutrient analysis. You see the total pool of each nutrient in the soil, not just what’s available today.
Grid packages, Plant Available Test, Carbon–Nitrogen and individual tests are available for specific questions. Package details and prices are on the Pricing page.
Compare Packages and Prices
Plant tissue
Soil shows supply. Tissue shows uptake.
We pull tissue and soil from the same spots at different crop stages. Comparing them, levels and ratios like N:S, shows whether the crop is getting what the soil has to offer, or whether something is holding it back.
Tests offered
Plant Complete tissue analysisStalk nitrateForage nitrate
More than soil
Tissue, water and grain, tested here too
Reports
Reports written for the person making the rate call
Our Indicator Complete report ranks each primary nutrient. Each nutrient’s scores roll up into an Overall Efficiency Rating, and that rating is paired with your yield goal to build the recommendation. You can see where to focus without digging through a page of ppm.
Turnaround and sample handling
Tested here in Alpena
Samples are received, logged and analyzed by our own team at 617 Pine Ave N. Results typically come back 2 to 4 days after samples arrive at the lab. Timing varies by season.