The Texas A&M Soil Sample Information Form is a one-page submittal sheet you send with your soil to the AgriLife Extension Soil, Water and Forage Testing Laboratory in College Station. Download the PDF at soiltesting.tamu.edu or pick up a printed copy at your county extension office.1Soil, Water and Forage Testing Laboratory. Submittal Forms and Payment Information The form tells the lab who you are, what you’re growing, and which analysis package you want, and you can list multiple samples on one sheet with a row for each.2Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Soil Sample Information Form
Client Information at the Top
The top block asks for your name, mailing address, city, state, zip code, phone, and email. One field catches people out: the county is the county where the soil was collected, not where you live. The lab uses that to calibrate recommendations to local conditions.2Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Soil Sample Information Form
Give a working email address. Results come back as a free PDF to whatever address you write down. If you’d rather have a paper copy mailed to you, add $3 for USPS postage.2Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Soil Sample Information Form
If you’re sending enough samples to need more than one sheet, use the “Sheet ___ of ___” field at the top to number your pages.
The Sample Information Grid
Below the client block is a grid, and each row is one sample. Five fields matter per row.
Your Sample I.D. is any label you want: “Front Yard,” “Field 3A,” a number, whatever helps you keep bags straight. The only rule is that the label written on the bag has to match the label on the form.
Acreage Represented is the approximate size of the area that composite sample covers. A single pint-sized sample can speak for a lawn or for up to 40 acres of field, depending on how you collected it.
What Are You Growing is where you enter the crop, your yield goal, and the intended use. The back of the form carries a crop code list — bermudagrass, corn, pecans, tomatoes, and so on. Find the code for your specific crop and write it in. This drives the fertilizer recommendation you’ll get back, so two samples from the same field can produce different suggestions if the intended crops differ.3Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Soil, Water and Forage Testing Laboratory
Growing a Forage only applies if you entered a forage crop. Pick one purpose: Grazing, Hay, Grazing and Hay, Minimum Requirement, or Establishment. Leave the field blank for anything that isn’t a forage.2Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Soil Sample Information Form
Analysis Suite is a number from 1 to 12 indicating the testing package you want for that sample. You can mix suites across rows if different samples need different panels.
Choosing an Analysis Suite
Every suite starts with the routine analysis as its base and layers optional panels on top. Prices below are valid through December 31, 2026.2Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Soil Sample Information Form
For most lawns, gardens, and cropland, Suite 1 ($12) is the right pick. It covers pH, nitrate-nitrogen, conductivity, and Mehlich III extraction for phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, sulfur, and boron. That’s enough for basic fertilizer and lime recommendations.
If you’re managing commercial acreage or troubleshooting poor growth, step up to Suite 2 ($20), which adds zinc, iron, copper, and manganese. Deficiencies in those micronutrients don’t show up on the routine panel.
From there the add-ons stack: organic matter, soil texture (percent sand, silt, and clay), and detailed salinity each push the price up. Salinity suites (9 through 12, ranging from $47 to $100) are worth considering if you suspect salt buildup from irrigation water or coastal proximity. Suite 5 ($65) bundles routine plus micronutrients, organic matter, and texture; Suite 12 ($100) is the most comprehensive package and adds detailed salinity on top.
Paying for the Test
Payment has to accompany or precede the samples. The lab doesn’t process on credit and can’t take a card in person or over the phone.4Soil, Water and Forage Testing Laboratory. Payment You have three ways to pay:
- Check or money order made out to “Soil Testing Laboratory,” enclosed in the package with your form. No cash.
- Online prepayment through Aggie Marketplace, then a printed paper form mailed with your samples. Write the Marketplace order number in the form’s payment section.
- Fully online submission through Aggie Marketplace, where you pay by card and enter the sample information directly. You still have to mail the physical soil.
Watch the 90-day clock. Any payment made through Aggie Marketplace is only valid for 90 days. If your samples don’t reach the lab in that window, the payment is treated as a donation. Ship promptly after paying online.4Soil, Water and Forage Testing Laboratory. Payment
Preparing the Sample So the Form Means Something
A perfectly filled form attached to a bad sample gives you misleading results. The form takes five minutes; the sample is where the work is. You want a composite: multiple small cores or slices from across the sampling area, mixed together into roughly one pint of soil.5Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Testing Your Soil
For fields up to 40 acres, take 10 to 15 cores spread across the area in a zigzag pattern. For a small lawn or garden, five or six cores are enough. A soil auger, tube sampler, or garden spade all work, as long as the tool cuts a consistent slice through the full depth.
For most crops and gardens, sample six inches deep, measured after you push aside any undecomposed plant material on top. For established lawns, golf greens, and other perennial turf, go only four inches deep and discard the top half-inch before mixing.2Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Soil Sample Information Form
Mix the cores in a clean plastic bucket. Avoid galvanized or brass containers; they can leach zinc or copper and skew micronutrient readings. If the soil is wet, air-dry it in the shade on clean brown paper. Never oven-dry a sample. High heat changes the chemistry and alters the results.5Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Testing Your Soil
Skip any row where you previously banded fertilizer. Sample problem spots separately from healthy areas; if one part of a field has yellowing plants and the rest looks fine, test them as two samples with two rows on the form. Combining them hides the problem.
Where to Mail the Samples
The address depends on the carrier. The “2478 TAMU” address is a university mail code only USPS recognizes; FedEx and UPS need the physical street address.3Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Soil, Water and Forage Testing Laboratory
For USPS:
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Soil Testing Laboratory
2478 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-2478
For FedEx or UPS:
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Soil Testing Laboratory
2610 F&B Road
College Station, TX 77845
One boundary worth knowing: if the soil is coming from Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or from an area under federal quarantine, USDA APHIS rules may require authorized movement provisions before the sample can ship. Contact your local APHIS office about a compliance agreement first.6Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Domestic Soil
What Comes Back
Routine analyses take five to seven business days from the day the lab receives your package. Suites that include texture or detailed salinity need longer.5Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Testing Your Soil The PDF report arrives at the email address on your form and includes measured nutrient values plus fertilizer and limestone application rates tied to the crop code and yield goal you entered. If you put the wrong crop code on the form, the recommendations will be calibrated to the wrong crop, so double-check that field before you seal the envelope.