Soil Testing

Soil and Organic Certification Tests

Using the latest technology, Hill Labs offers a complete range of soil tests for evaluating fertility and soil health, as well as tests to meet organic certification requirements.

Hill Labs soil testing services allow measurement of the nutrient status of soil for a whole range of land-use purposes. Understanding the soil nutrient status is important regardless of whether you are a large-scale farming or horticultural operator, recreational turf or garden manager, or small lifestyle block owner. Our soil tests enable you to make sound management decisions for sustainable land use. We also have tests that are required to meet organic certification, as well as environmental soil tests to assess potential contamination.

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Agricultural and Horticultural Soil

Agricultural and horticultural soils are tested to measure the soil fertility and soil quality for monitoring fertiliser programmes and to assist with identifying nutrient deficiency or toxicity.

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Organic Farming

Like routine farm systems, organically farmed soils are tested to measure the soil quality & nutrient levels and can also be tested for contaminants.

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Contaminated Soil

Soil may become contaminated with a wide variety of chemicals, e.g. hydrocarbons, heavy metals, and pesticide residues to name a few.

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Earthworm eDNA in Soil

Earthworms are a crucial component of soil biology, and abundant earthworm populations are recognised as an indicator of healthy soil. Our new Earthworm eDNA test contributes to building a holistic understanding of your soil’s health. 

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Helpful links

Our team of testing experts has meticulously crafted these documents to offer recommendations tailored to your testing requirements.

Latest Stories

Can We Unlock the Secrets Beneath our feet with the Next Era of Soil Health Testing?

Agriculture in New Zealand is fundamentally rooted in the soil beneath our feet, with soil health being critical to the success of farmers and the broader agricultural sector. Soil is the most valuable asset of a farming operation however; soil health remains difficult to assess and measure.    
  19 Aug 2025

Hill News August 2025 - Update From Our MD, Dr Jonno Hill

We turned 40 as a business last year, and thankfully, there is no sign of a midlife crisis yet. We are fortunate to remain firmly in growth mode, despite some of the economic headwinds the country has been facing lately. Described below are some of the new services we are now offering; some we have developed ourselves from scratch, and others we have acquired.
  18 Aug 2025

New Service Announcement: Environmental DNA (eDNA) Water Testing

Hill Labs is excited to announce the launch of our Environmental DNA (eDNA) Water Testing service. This service enables the detection of organisms in aquatic environments through the analysis of trace DNA found in water samples.
  12 Aug 2025

What our customers have to say

"We've always found them to be responsive in getting results back and giving advice on problems we might be facing."

Andrew Hutchinson, Technical Manager, Turners & Growers

"We strongly recommend Hill Labs as a sound testing service provider to the honey industry."

Nick Walker, Technical Manager, Egmont Honey

"Their sample registration system has made things simple and seamless - collect, scan and send!"

Mathew Bannister, Compliance Manager, First Fresh New Zealand

Accreditations

As a New Zealand accredited laboratory by International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ), Hill Labs' commitment to quality is tantamount to our overall operating philosophy. We pride ourselves on the quality of our work.