Soil Sample Collection for Testing

After having cattle on the property, I became very aware of the importance of quality grass for the cattle to eat.  My property has very little grass and is more overrun with weeds.  I believe it is in some part due to all the bulldozer work in years past along the fence lines which disturbed all the top soil and opened the door for weeds to take over.  This is something I'd like to address especially on the west side of my property which grows over each year with head high weeds.

Today, I decided to start with a few soil samples to submit for testing.  I decided I'd create one sample from various places in the homesite area, a second sample from various places on the north fence line, a third sample from various places on the west fence line were it is so overgrown, and then a final sample from a few places around the tank.  The sample from around the tank is more for potentially adding a deer food plot.

There are other options available to get your soil tested.  I've been reading the GameKeeper magazine a bit lately and read up on their soil testing process.  Mossy Oak charges $7.50 per sample and will provide you with the basic results and will also indicate what products they have which would be fitting for a deer food plot.  I purchased four soil samples from them today and will be sending in the paperwork and samples this coming week.  I'll update with the results once they are in.

Mossy Oak Biologic Soil Testing
https://www.plantbiologic.com/pages/soil-testing-food-plot

I took pictures of every place where I collected a sample.  It took just a few seconds more at each site but then I would remember exactly where I tested and where I did not.  Here are the pictures from the area that I'm referring to as the home site.