Soil Health

9 items in this subcategory

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USDA Web Soil Survey
Free soil data for any location in the US. Understand your soil type, drainage, and composition before planning.
Tool Free
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Soil Health Card : NRCS
USDA's soil health assessment framework. Simple field tests anyone can run to monitor soil biological activity.
Assessment Tool Free
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Soilmentor
Simple soil health monitoring platform for farmers. Track observations and measure regenerative progress over time.
App/Platform Freemium
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Haney Soil Health Test
Chemical plus biological soil assessment. Industry standard for regenerative practitioners. Measures microbial biomass.
Lab Test Paid
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MySoil Complete Kit
Laboratory soil analysis with digital results. pH, NPK, organic matter, and micronutrients comparable to university extension. Annual SOC change under improved management is ~0.01 percentage points while lab detection limits sit at 0.05-0.1 pp, so consistent multi-year testing is essential to track regenerative progress.
Hardware Paid
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BioSensor Solutions In-Field Monitor
Continuous biological signal tracking with temperature and moisture. Real-time soil health dynamics.
Hardware Paid
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Regen Ag Lab Soil Health Analysis
Professional soil testing service designed specifically for regenerative practitioners. Biological indicators included.
Service Paid
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Cornell Comprehensive Assessment of Soil Health
The standard framework for assessing physical, chemical and biological soil health. Lab-based testing with scoring functions and management recommendations. Annual SOC change is ~0.01 percentage points against a detection limit of 0.05-0.1 pp, so the CASH protocol's multi-indicator approach (physical + chemical + biological) catches regenerative progress that carbon measurements alone miss. Widely referenced in North American regenerative agriculture.
Framework + Lab Service Paid
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Alluvial Soil Lab
Professional soil health tests from basic NPK and organic matter to comprehensive biological and Haney panels. 4-8 day turnaround with detailed management recommendations for gardeners and farmers. $66-$200+ depending on panel depth. Lab combustion analysis remains the gold standard for SOC measurement since field-scale changes of ~0.01 percentage points per year require precision that emerging spectroscopy methods are still calibrating toward.
Lab Service Paid
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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Soil Health kit?

The Soil Health kit curates testing services, monitoring tools, and assessment frameworks for measuring and improving soil quality. It includes lab-based tests like the Haney and Cornell CASH systems alongside field tools like SoilMentor and USDA Web Soil Survey.

How much do soil health tests cost?

Costs range from free (USDA Web Soil Survey, NRCS Soil Health Card) to $25-$50 for home kits (mySoil) to $50-$150 for comprehensive lab analyses (Haney, Cornell CASH, Regen Ag Lab). Digital monitoring tools like SoilMentor use subscription pricing.

Why is soil health important for regenerative agriculture?

Healthy soil is the foundation of productive, resilient farming. Soils with high biological activity and organic matter retain more water, cycle nutrients more efficiently, and sequester more carbon. Measuring soil health is the first step in any regenerative transition.

Go deeper: What is regenerative agriculture?