Soil/grass/hay testing companies

[Ranyhyn]

Whom would you recommend please?

 

[cblover]

When I had my hay and soil tested....two different times, I used Forage Plus. Very happy with their service.

 

[MrsMozart]

Our local feed merchant does it (or sends it off, can't remember which). It's about £15. I've not had it done yet so no idea if that's good, bad or indifferent.

 

[Britestar]

2nd local feed merchant/ farm supplier.

 

[Esmae]

Progreen did ours and were very helpfull

 

[Mule]

Out of curiosity, did anyone get it done and get unusual results? Like the soil being very high or low in a particular mineral.

 

[outinthefens88]

Done quite a few over the years, definitely seen some weird and wacky results coming out of the tests, some one which backed up what I had been suspecting with those particular locations. Correcting certain elements makes a big difference, esp lime/acidity ratio, manganese, magnesium, calcium and others....

 

[Bob notacob]

This sort of thing is only as good as the sampling protocols. For the average Equestrian establishment ,they are worthless. Far better to look at soil type and consult an expert to identify the most likely problems ,than rely on very dubious sampling techniques. As for hay sampling , most people dont have enough of a consistent product for it to mean anything , same goes for grass. A well carried out PH test and knowledge of the soil type is all that is needed.

 

[outinthefens88]

I would debate Bob not a cobs comment above, should have made it clear it's soil sampling I have been involved with for five years or so now,. To take a sample as per the instructions and protocol, you take 4-5 'mini samples' from the landscape and combine them for your lab sample. The testing often works out similar price to the bag of fertilizer that you may not need, or the money could be better spent on grass trac or trace elements for example. There is a science behind good grass management and it makes a blinding difference to a hay crop let me tell you!!

 

[Follysmum]

I used forage plus and they designed a feed plan for each of my horses

 

[MrsMozart]

This sort of thing is only as good as the sampling protocols. For the average Equestrian establishment ,they are worthless. Far better to look at soil type and consult an expert to identify the most likely problems ,than rely on very dubious sampling techniques. As for hay sampling , most people dont have enough of a consistent product for it to mean anything , same goes for grass. A well carried out PH test and knowledge of the soil type is all that is needed.

I would debate Bob not a cobs comment above, should have made it clear it's soil sampling I have been involved with for five years or so now,. To take a sample as per the instructions and protocol, you take 4-5 'mini samples' from the landscape and combine them for your lab sample. The testing often works out similar price to the bag of fertilizer that you may not need, or the money could be better spent on grass trac or trace elements for example. There is a science behind good grass management and it makes a blinding difference to a hay crop let me tell you!!

So given these two answers, what should one do? I've not tested any of the land as yet, though want to do something as whislt it's had (Highland) cattle and sheep on it in the past and looks pretty good without being too rich for the horses, I've, currently, no idea if it's right for the horses. I was going to do a soil sample test, but from what I've understood of the instrucitons it's just one sample of soil, which doesn't seem to be enough for 7+ hectares.

 

[JillA]

Whoever you find, ask what they are testing for - some soil tests are pretty rudimentary and test for Ph and Mg only. Forageplus do a whole range of tests, and test for most of the minerals that are important for equine health https://forageplus.co.uk/analysis-testing-for-horses-grass-hay-haylage-soil-water/

 

[MrsMozart]

Whoever you find, ask what they are testing for - some soil tests are pretty rudimentary and test for Ph and Mg only. Forageplus do a whole range of tests, and test for most of the minerals that are important for equine health https://forageplus.co.uk/analysis-testing-for-horses-grass-hay-haylage-soil-water/

Looks good. Will investigate the options