Overview:
Farmers in Massachusetts can now receive limited free access to soil and plant diagnostics through the UMass Extension Soil and Plant Nutrient Testing Laboratory, thanks to funding from the Massachusetts Legislature and Department of Agricultural Resources. The application opened on August 1 and will be available for the rest of the year with limited quantities of each type of test. Farmers who normally produce agricultural products worth at least $1,000 a year, including urban farmers and nonprofit organizations engaging in farming, are encouraged to make requests as soon as possible.
AMHERST — With funding from the Massachusetts Legislature and Department of Agricultural Resources, farmers can now receive limited free access to soil and plant diagnostics through the UMass Extension Soil and Plant Nutrient Testing Laboratory.
The application opened on Aug. 1 but will be available for the rest of the year with limited quantities of each type of test. Farmers who normally produce agricultural products worth at least $1,000 a year, including urban farmers and nonprofit organizations engaging in farming, are encouraged to make requests as soon as possible. All vouchers must be used by the end of December 2026.
The soil lab is an agricultural testing lab that provides services to farmers, homeowners and municipalities to help them with their crops, whether it’s corn, cranberries or vegetables, according to Lab Manager Sam Glaze-Corcoran. Farmers can request quantities of each type of test with a total cap of $300. After collecting samples from their fields and sending them in for analysis, the lab tests for pH levels, or how acidic or basic the soil is, as well as for minerals, metals and more. Results inform participants on how to optimize their crops’ growth, reduce fertilizer costs and support increased soil health.
“If we want the above-ground part of our plant to be healthy and to grow the way that we want it to, then we need to take care of that soil below,” Glaze-Corcoran said. “A big piece of that is making sure it has the nutrients. … That’s like the vitamins for the plant.”
Based on what a farmer is growing, the lab sends specific recommendations on how to adjust soil fertility for those plants. According to Glaze-Corcoran, the lab processes about 15,000 soil samples each year.
Plant pathologists at the UMass Extension Plant Diagnostic Lab focus on the plants themselves, serving farmers, landscape contractors, turf managers, nurseries and more in the agriculture and green industries. Samples with disease or insect damage are analyzed in the lab and when a diagnosis or identification has been made, the lab emails a written report with recommendations and strategies, according to a statement from the UMass Extension Soil and Plant Nutrient Testing Lab.
Clem Clay, the director of the UMass Extension Agriculture Program, said the lab service is something that a lot of farmers know about and use, but cost is a factor because the lab has to charge fees.
“Taking away the obstacle of cost for growers and giving them the opportunity to do so … means that more people will do it or they will implement the recommended sampling and testing practices more fully … and that means they’ll be making better decisions at the farm level,” Clay said.
Working with the lab also opens an avenue for dialogue between the lab and farmers, Glaze-Corcoran noted, as farmers can ask follow-up questions about the recommendations they receive and how to execute them.
So far, the reception to the program has been substantial: “It’s clear that the demand is there,” said Clay, pointing out that if everyone who applied so far was eligible and received everything they asked for, the lab would be oversubscribed on all its tests except for the routine test and total sorbed metals test. Currently, routine, organic matter and total sorbed metals tests are still largely available for applicants.
The demand for tests comes from all over the state, but some applicants are more local, like Alane Hartley, who has co-owned Park Hill Orchard in Easthampton for 18 years and relies on soil and plant testing to understand the health of her crops, which include apples, berries and peaches.
“I was very excited to hear that the extension was going to do foliar testing again,” said Hartley, explaining that her farm benefits from testing leaves of plants to see their nutrient status.
Hartley said being able to see the data from the soil and foliar tests helps her know if the plant is having a hard time uptaking what’s already there, or if it needs more amendments or materials added to the soil to improve its physical properties.
“It’s like detective work,” Hartley said.
Glaze-Corcoran is excited to see the service be offered for free and to receive so much farmer participation. In particular, she said it is very valuable for the lab to have protocols specific to New England’s acidic soils.
Clay added, “When I think about what UMass Extension is here for, big picture, we want to help farmers make the best decisions for their farms, right? And we do a lot of … other kinds of education that are just designed to give farmers the tools they need to make those good decisions.”
Vouchers can be redeemed for routine soil analysis with organic matter, pre-sidedress soil nitrate test, total sorbed metals (testing for metals in soil) and more. A full list of services can be found on UMass Extension’s Soil and Plant Services homepage online.