This article provides guidance related to the importance of using the same lab to assess changes in soil health over time, in addition to the importance of sampling at a consistent time of year and depth when collecting samples for soil health evaluation. 

An overview of the following soil health indicators: Soil Organic Matter (SOM), Soil Organic Carbon (SOC), Potentially Mineralizable Carbon (MinC), Permanganate Oxidizable Carbon (POXC), Total Nitrogen (TN), Potentially Mineralizable Nitrogen (PMN), Autoclaved Citrate Extractable (ACE) Protein, and Aggregate Stability (AS). 

In this article, we present some foundational considerations related to soil health testing and describe situations where soil health testing can provide useful information about specific soil functions to farmers, landowners, agronomists, and crop consultants.

This article highlights the characteristics of healthy soil and describes how these characteristics, and soil health generally, can contribute to sustainable crop production and indirectly impact society beyond the farm field.