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  • Corn Stalk Nitrate Analysis
  • Elemental Analysis
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History of the Laboratories

The Soil and Plant Analysis Laboratory was established circa 1913 as the “State Soils Laboratory” in the Department of Soil Science by an act of the State Legislature. It was physically located in the Soils Building on campus until 1967, when it was moved to a rented facility off campus. Since 2004, the laboratory has been located at the West Madison Agricultural Research Station at 8452 Mineral Point Road. A second laboratory, located at the Marshfield Experimental Farm, was started in 1959 to help meet the extension and research needs of north central Wisconsin.

The Laboratories expanded their activities in the late 60’s and early 70’s in response to requests from UW researchers, county agents and agribusiness. The soil testing program was computerized in 1964. Plant analysis was added in 1966 and forage analysis was added in 1969. A separate lawn and garden soil testing program was begun in 1970. Tests for zinc and sulfur were also added during this time period. Analysis of sewage sludge and manure began in 1979. Near infra-red (NIR) forage analysis was introduced in 1983 offering non-chemical forage assays with a very short turn-around time.

Historically, the function of the Soil and Plant Analysis and Soil and Forage Analysis Laboratories include:

1. Deliver agricultural and environmental diagnostic services to Wisconsin farmers, homeowners, agri-business and others. Services include the analyses of:
• Soil for fertility evaluation
• Plant tissue for nutrient adequacy
• Feeds/forage for quality parameters
• Manure, water, wastewater and other waste materials
• Other specialty tests for greenhouses & nursery operators, environmental consultants and others.
2. Provide leadership to the WDATCP check sample program that ensures Wisconsin certified soil testing labs deliver quality services. Also develop and maintain the computerized soil test recommendation program used by Wisconsin DATCP certified soil testing labs. This certification is required for any soil analysis that is to be used in the nutrient management planning process.
3. Deliver analytical services to University of Wisconsin system researchers using traditional and state of the art instrumentation for many types of samples and analytical needs.
4. Provide educational and training opportunities for UW-Madison, UW-System and other students.
5. Integrate and develop/modify new tests for routine and research application.
6. Contribute to regional soil testing and other agricultural diagnostic testing development by NCERA-13.
7. Provide data from routine soil, plant, forage, and manure samples for support of extension and research programming by local county faculty and state specialists.