USDA NIFA and the land-grant university system
FREE SERVICEMore than 100 land-grant colleges are obligated to share research-based knowledge with EVERY county in the United States, through county Extension agents — a public system from the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 that most people never use. Soil testing is the classic service: some states test free for residents, most charge a modest per-sample fee, and a commercial lab is usually the expensive way to get the same answer. Call the county office before you pay anyone.
Open to the public. Find yours through the NIFA Land-grant University Website Directory. If a soil test is part of a funded project, SARE explicitly allows it as a project cost.
Apply at the official source →← more like this · all programmes
Not financial or legal advice. Program terms change — verify eligibility, amounts, and deadlines with the administering agency before acting.