With soil tests, faster isn’t necessarily better

From in-field sensors to mobile soil-testing labs, new technologies are continually inundating farmers and agronomists with promises of faster results and more efficient management. But are these innovations beneficial for your operation?

To set the scene, it’s important to understand a key point about soil samples and testing labs. If a soil sample is divided and sent to five different labs, there will be five different results returned from those tests, even if the same extraction method is used for the desired nutrient. That does not mean that the results are necessarily wrong. They are just different. Putting those soil test results into a system such as MFA’s Nutri-Track, which is calibrated to a specific lab, will deliver good, usable fertility recommendations. 

Faster results on soil test samples have long been a goal of the precision farming industry. MFA started the Nutri-Track program in 1996, and since then we have significantly reduced the time it takes to collect and ship our soil samples. And, through experience, we have adapted to deliver Nutri-Track fertility recommendations efficiently and quickly. But it isn’t as fast as some of the new options currently being offered in the market today. 

Many companies have tried to shorten the process, and some even claim to have discovered the key to providing an almost instant turn-around in results. However, I am not fully confident in fertilizer recommendations delivered by mobile or quick-testing methods that may be unfamiliar and uncalibrated. Again, I ask: Is faster necessarily better?

I am not implying that instant or quick methods are inherently wrong, inaccurate or inconsistent. I do not know that to be true. What I do know is that correct fertility recommendations must be based on known lab results that work with a specific plant nutrient equation. To put it simply, the standard MFA Nutri-Track soil fertility recommendation is calibrated to work with Midwest Laboratories of Omaha, Neb., and would not be correct if we substituted the results from another brick-and-mortar lab or from a mobile or quick-test lab. The formulas and math that drive the best fertility equation are designed to work with one lab that outputs a known test result. That process should deliver the desired improvement to field profitability, yields, efficiency and soil test levels.

Midwest Labs calibrates its sensors and tests many times per day. Employees run a calibration test every 40 sample vials to ensure consistent and accurate results. Consistent results are required for Nutri-Track to correctly build and deliver accurate fertility recommendations. We know how much phosphorus and potassium to spread for a desired yield goal at a desired soil test level from the soil test value Midwest Labs returns to us. 

Calibration of sampling instruments and extractions are why brick-and-mortar labs are the gold standard in the agriculture industry. They closely monitor results and their testing equipment with professional employees trained to look for and notice inconsistencies or inaccuracies. This is something that field agronomists or ag retailers just cannot currently match. I equate this to going to the cardiologist and reading my own test results when I could simply hand it to the professional and wait for the correct diagnosis. 

While I believe soil test results from brick-and-mortar labs are the gold standard, innovation and technology are among MFA’s core values. In the fall of 2025, MFA’s agronomy department will test a new soil sensor calibrated with lab-analyzed soil samples from Midwest Labs. In addition to the soil scan, samples will be taken on a larger grid to calibrate the collected soil sensor data. Before any new product or system is sold at MFA, it is thoroughly evaluated and assessed. This is the first step in that evaluation process. 

Some newer technologies might allow MFA to speed up the recommendation process or save money on soil tests, but at what cost? At MFA, we believe that we must always default to the best agronomic solution. After 29 years of creating fertilizer recommendations, we believe the consistency delivered by the traditional soil test lab is still the best choice available. Faster is not necessarily better. 

View more articles from this October/November 2025 Today's Farmer magazine.