New Age Laboratories provides agricultural lab tests on everything from seed to harvest for customers seeking to increase their production. From backyard gardeners to family farms to commercial farmers, NAL tests livestock wastes, grain, fruits, produce, dairy, vineyards, poultry, water, soil, and tissue.
As a founding member of the Southwest Michigan Agriculture Alliance, we are committed to bettering the agriculture industry of the Midwest and beyond. Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) are at the heart of NAL’s agriculture lab testing services.
Why We Test
Soil
The major objective of soil analysis is to inventory the soil’s nutrient reserves and chemical composition. Since imbalances in essential elements can limit crop yields, this information is vital to determine what, if any, additions of nutrients are justified to produce maximum economic yields. Soil analysis is the best way to ensure that lime and fertilizer nutrients are applied in both an economically and environmentally responsible manner.
Backed by chemistry and research, soil analysis should be part of every producer’s arsenal to control costs, maximize returns, and protect the environment.
Soil pH is one of the most important factors affecting soil fertility. Plant nutrients are most available when soil pH is maintained at a level just below neutral (pH 6.5 to 6.8). Ground agricultural limestone can be used to raise soil pH to a desirable level.
Fertilizer
Fertilizer raw material manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and growers all have a vested interest in knowing that the products that they handle meet or exceed quality and content specifications. The only way to be sure that the product that you are making, buying, or selling meets quality and content specifications is to have it tested by a laboratory.
Plant Tissue
Plant tissue analysis is a diagnostic tool that has been used for many years. It is based on the concept that, up to a certain critical point, the content of a nutrient in plant tissue is directly related to yield. And, nutrient concentrations in plants are directly related to the quantity of that nutrient in the soil that is available or that is in some way limited to the plant. Therefore, plant tissue analysis and soil testing go hand in hand.
Compost & Manure
Compost is widely used in horticulture and it helps improve the soil structure and enrich the nutrient content of the soil. As a result, there is an increasing interest in composting.
Manure is a valuable resource that can supply essential crop nutrients to displace the need for commercial fertilizers and organic matter to improve soil structure. Efficient utilization of manure can substantially reduce your production costs and protect our environment. Safe utilization of soil amendments from livestock sources such as manure do require particular safety precautions as it applies to use under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
Water
Water is consumed in larger quantities than any other nutrient. A comprehensive water analysis can indicate the suitability of a water supply for household, irrigation, or livestock use. GAP and FSMA require the use of analytically verified potable water. Evaluating and documenting the microbial water quality utilized on your farm is a prerequisite step to providing safe agricultural products.
Whether it is the water quality in your home, school, business, favorite swimming hole, or farm knowing the exposure risks from bacteria just makes sense.
Environmental
New Age Laboratories provides a full range of environmental analytical testing services, such as analysis of soil, sediment, water, leachates, dust, and air. The range of analytical services provided for the above mentioned matrices includes routine, trace, and ultra-trace level organics (volatiles, semi volatiles, pesticides, PCBs, herbicides), and metals. Analysis methods are based on well-established and internationally recognized procedures such as those published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Read more about what we test, how we test, and contact us to learn how we can increase your agricultural production.
Why Outsource Your Lab Services?
There are many reasons to outsource your laboratory testing.
- Degree of variability in your sample flow (e.g. Seasonality).
- Wide variety of products, ingredients, and tests to perform.
- Customers who are not satisfied with internal lab’s performance.
- Lack of confidence in the quality of your internal lab’s test results.
- Initial and ongoing costs of accreditation.
- Many more reasons!