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

Hill Labs at Fieldays – A Look Through the Photo Album

The calendar is marked, and planning is well underway for the Southern Hemisphere’s largest agricultural event – Fieldays. This year marks Hill Labs' 27th year exhibiting at the event, a milestone that gives us a wonderful opportunity to flick through the archives and reflect on our journey and the various looks we've sported over the years.
  20 May 2025

Reflections from Peter Lord, COO

It’s just over two months into my new role at Hill Labs and a good opportunity to provide an update. I have a strong personal alignment with Hill Lab’s values, and they provide a good framework from which I can reflect on what I’ve seen and learned. One of those values is People & Environment . It’s the people that have impressed me the most at Hill Labs. Not just individual’s technical knowledge and understanding of our customers, but also the collective effort to make Hill Labs a great place to work..
  20 May 2025

Embracing the Unpredictability of Every Kiwifruit Season

It's now been five years since Hill Labs established a Bay of Plenty branch dedicated to serving the New Zealand kiwifruit industry. Our Bay of Plenty branch collects kiwifruit samples from across Auckland, Waikato, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty, and Whanganui. These samples undergo a range of maturity testing at our Tauranga lab, providing trusted results for Zespri, growers, and packhouses to make informed harvest decisions.
  20 May 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.