Food plot soil sample analysis. I know you can order a kit from Whitetail Institute, just wondering what other sources are available. State agencies, universities? Reasons you prefer one place over another? Thanks in advance!

My local co-op does mine. They don’t charge me either.

waypoint analytical in memphis tennessee. takes a day to get there and u will get the report back within 24 hours

Get boxes from your county extension office and mail to Auburn

Do not do this. Their tests are $12 and they give very basic incomplete information. As mentioned above, Waypoint or Watters Ag in Camilla , Ga. For $2-3 dollars more you'll get a much better test.

Auburn did mine - cost was not much

Your coop also

I limed mine around august - first time ever - first time i ever test ph. They were 4.1-4.4 - horrible. January fields got a deep -,deep green like i never seen. May can actually grow a deer now 😀

I use Water's Agricultural Labratories out of Owensboro, KY. My friend has a soil sampling company and that is who he uses, so I dont know if prices are the same for a few samples. They send out a nice report though.

This. They also have a location in Ga. Good folks

To add onto the topic, get a complete test to include micros and organic matter. You’ll spend about $5 more than what you spend at AU but have more information. They report your actual CEC and % Base Saturation. pH plus P and K doesn’t do enough which is what you get from Auburn and WI.

As a quick why do I need this, your soil can only hold roughly 10X CEC in nitrogen. So if you have a sandy soil with a CEC of 4, your soil can hold 40 lbs of N. So if you put down 300 lbs 17-17-17 at planting you’ve applied 51 lbs of N. That doesn’t include any carry over N from previous legume crops etc.

FWIW, Whitetail Institute the address you send the sample to is Waypoint. They usually run a sale on the kits this time of year and I usually buy a few. Easier for me than trying to get the right kind of bag, find the proper forms to fill out, etc. on my own.

Waters will send you bags free of charge. But, I’ve sent samples in ziplocks too

You guys are great, thanks for the replies. I went to the Waters webpage and saw a bunch of analyses they can do, but no prices (that always makes me nervous--if they don't post prices there's usually a reason they don't want you to know!). Also, I don't need to know what my soil condition is, I need to know what to do to optimize for whatever crop blend I'm going to plant. I did not see that information at the Waters webpage, but maybe just missed it. Whitetail Institute provided recommendations for their seed blends, but weren't very good on other crop blends. I sent a couple soil samples to WTI last fall, want to send in a couple more for a spring treatment. Just tapping into the collective ALDeer wisdom. Thanks again!

Complete test without organic material was $15 last year compared to $12 at Auburn. For that extra $3 you get actual CEC, % Base Saturation and micros. All very important.

Waters does give crop specific recommendations on their report.

On the whitetail institute just write in what you are wanting to plant and they will recommend on that. Don’t have to use one of theirs. How I’ve always done it.

Just went and bought on WTI. They are running a deal add 4 kits to your cart and the 4th one costs 1 penny. I got 4 and total including free shipping came out to 10.50 each.

Thanks again all! --Dilbert

That sounds hard to beat. Just ordered 4 now. 1 I need now, will need 2 in the fall, and 1 more because it's a penny. Thanks for the tip!