Whitetail Institute has made laboratory soil testing faster and easier by adding a download option so you can get kits immediately. Further, it offers a high-quality soil test probe that makes collecting soil samples a breeze. Soil pH and fertility are among the most important factors you can control to ensure food plot success. They can mean the difference between the best food plot possible and failure, so they should not be left to chance. Only a laboratory soil test can provide accurate readings about soil pH and fertility and make precise recommendations on lime and fertilizer, which ensures your food plot offers an optimum growing environment and that you save money by eliminating wasted lime and fertilizer expenses. It makes sense to use a soil test kit that sends a sample to a qualified lab for analysis. Most cheap probe and slurry testers are inaccurate, and because soils differ in capacities to hold lime and fertilizer, such tests can offer only generalized recommendations. Only a qualified soil testing lab can accurately analyze soil to determine the exact soil pH and fertility and provide you with precise lime and fertilizer recommendations for the crop you’ll be planting. You might ask, “Can’t any qualified soil testing lab do that?” Sure. Any qualified lab can accurately analyze your soil. The differences are Whitetail Institute’s report and support. The Whitetail Institute lab report is designed for food plotters instead of commercial farmers and is much easier to understand. When possible, the Whitetail Institute report even provides recommendations of alternative bagged-fertilizer combinations you can look for locally. The Whitetail Institute lab also provides fertilizer and lime recommendations based on specific WINA seed products, and that makes the service much easier for customers to use. The Whitetail Institute kit can be used to test soil for planting or maintenance of any Whitetail Institute product (check the block) or any other crop (write on the form). Whitetail Institute also backs up its soil testing service with its team of agronomists and consultants, who are ready to help answer any questions you have. You can purchase the Whitetail Institute soil test kit in its original form at many retailers and directly from Whitetail Institute. It contains a pouch for your soil sample, a simple instruction sheet and a label with the lab’s address for returning the completed kit to Whitetail Institute’s lab. The laboratory customarily provides extremely fast turnaround — usually within 24 hours after receiving a completed kit. The additional new downloadable form lets you get your soil tested quicker by eliminating mailing time. As the instruction form specifies, you should take representative soil plugs across a broad area of the food plot and then combine them to create a representative sample for testing. Whitetail Institute now offers a high-quality soil collection probe to make gathering soil samples easier. The probe is extremely heavy duty, and its welded stainless-steel construction will handle soil collection without shoveling or digging away grass. To download a Whitetail Institute soil test kit or see the new soil collection probe, go to whitetailinsitute.com/soiltests/. For information, call Whitetail Institute at (800) 688-3030.
