Soil Testing

Soil Testing Services

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

Connecting with Farmers and Growers at Fieldays

We are looking forward to our 28th year at Fieldays this year, connecting with farmers, growers and industry professionals from across New Zealand. Events like Fieldays are a great opportunity for our team to get out from behind the desk, hear directly from the sector, and continue building strong relationships within the agricultural community.
  21 May 2026

A Record-breaking Day for Kiwifruit Samples

Hill Labs is a key service provider to Zespri and the kiwifruit industry, providing time-critical sampling and maturity testing services seven days a week. Zespri has strict maturity criteria that all orchards must pass before harvest to ensure consumers receive the best quality kiwifruit expected from the Zespri brand.
  21 May 2026

Introducing Dairy Commodity Product Testing and MALDI-TOF Identification

Customer needs continue to evolve - particularly across dairy commodity testing and microbiological identification - and over the past year, these topics have become increasingly common in conversations with our clients. In response, we have expanded our laboratory scope to include ISO reference method testing for dairy commodity products, alongside the introduction of MALDI-TOF identification technology.
  21 May 2026

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.