Analysis is an important part of good agricultural practice and fundamental in the decision making process of today’s farming businesses.

With an increasing demand for food traceability from the primary producer, through the food chain to the UK consumer, there is now more need for soil testing and analysis of manures and plant tissue to justify agrochemical and fertiliser usage.  Also, in its various codes of good practice, Defra is now recommending analysis to minimise the risks of environmental pollution.

NRM currently analyses over 220,000 agricultural soil samples a year for basic nutrients and can offer a further range of analytical packages if required.  The benefits of soil analysis are that farmers can tailor their fertiliser requirements to meet plant needs in order to maximise yield whilst minimising environmental risk.  It can also identify pests and assess the soil’s texture, moisture and strength properties.

Plant tissue analysis will help identify crop nutrient and trace element deficiencies and assess the quality of grassland for grazing.

Analysis of manures and slurries can provide information on the fertiliser value of waste products on farm so allowing farmers to make savings in inorganic fertilisers and help reduce the risk of pollution.

1. Largest agricultural soil testing facility in the UK;
   
2. Bespoke analytical packages available;
   
3. Analysis conducted in accordance with Defra approved procedures – RB427;
   
4. Report options customised to include fertiliser recommendations – RB209, with links directly into agronomic software programmes;
   
5. Accredited to ISO IEC 17025/2005  for some areas of soil analysis.