SCL is a laboratory ideally situated for land-managers from within the southwest Saskatchewan, southeast Alberta regions interested in soil and water quality analysis without the need for shipping. Support with soil sampling can be arranged with SWT and a soil corer for those interested in collecting their own samples. Alternately, companies such as those below specialize in soil sampling.

Regional Soil Sampling Companies

    Kaitlyn Thibault - Eastend: Shop Ten Enterprises Ph: 306-330-0549 shoptenenterprises@gmail.ca

    Kevin Bernadet - Lethbridge: Deveron Ph: 403-458-3777

    Greg Lundsten - Eastend: Hidden Valley Agra

    Haley Caswell - Climate: Boarderview Agronomy Ph: 306-293-7822

Soil Sampling: General Information

Soil sampling at the geographical scale of land management

            Farmers, Ranchers & Land Managers: Section or Quarter or Field depending on cropping and/or management plans. Where you want to                             sample may vary depending on if you want to compare higher and lower yield portions of a field for example, and how that                             changes over time or with management practices.

            Gardeners: More and Less productive areas of the garden or field, Wet and Dry areas, Shaded or Sunny areas might be your main                             concerns.

Where, When, What, Who, How to sample matters depending on whether you are interested in carbon credits (CC), soil nutrients (NU),             soil health measures (SH) or isotopes (IS), 

It is important to know too, the TYPE OF ANALYSIS that best suits your needs

 Where to sample matters depending on whether you are interested in carbon credits (CC), soil nutrients (NU), isotopes (IS) or soil health                 measures (SH),

     A. CARBON CREDITS (CC)

     B. NUTRIENTS (NU)

     C. SOIL HEALTH (SH)

     D. ISOTOPES (IS)

    A. Carbon Credits (CC) are typically of interest to farmers, ranchers and land managers who are planning to apply for CC for 40 acres or more. Generally a             quarter section is the smallest unit although this may change as CC prices vary. At a minimum, 1 area per field is essential. The site should be representative             of the entire field; 10 cores from 0-12" must be collected in a representative 32.8' x 32.8' (1076 square foot) or 10m x 10m (10 square meter) area. Here this             sampling area is refered to as a Designated Sampling Area (DSA).  These soil samples from the 10 cores may be pooled (or composite samples) by the lab or             a professional soil sampling specialist.  It is highly recommended to sample subsurface soils (12-24") as highly microbially active soils are expected to produce             soluble material that can migrate to lower soil layers and this will be missed in the carbon accounting if subsoil sections are not collected in addition to surface             soils.

    B. Nutrients (NU) are typically assessed in the first 6" of the soil (0-15cm), although there is much to learn if subsurface (6-12", 12-24": 15-30cm, 30-60cm)             samples are assessed as well during the first year of sampling (as a baseline).  Here, the typical recommendation is sampling at 15-20 sites per field;             composite samples can be an effective way to reduce costs for NU analysis but this cannot be done if the samples are to be used for CC.  If CC is not of interest,             then care by the sampler in combining equal volumes of soil from the various site to create composite soil samples for a specific depth are acceptable.

   C. Soil Health (SH) is often confined to in the top 3 or 6" of the soil (0-7.5 or 0-15cm) although baseline analysis for subsurface samples is useful as well,  Here,             the typical recommendation is to sample several sites per field or garden; composite samples can be an effective way to reduce costs for SH analysis but             this cannot be done if the samples are to be used for CC.  Care by the sampler in combining equal volumes of soil from the various site to create composite soil             samples for a specific depth are acceptable.        

    D. Isotopes (IS) are sometimes sampled for specific purposes such as research. Carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis combined with %C and %N can be used             to help interpret soil processes.  Contact A.L. Norman for more information.            

Connect to find out more about how to collect samples or submit them for analysis by texting

Ann-Lise Norman: 825-994-4542

Soil Carbon Lab location

673 Centre Street

Shaunavon, SK