Montana · university & extension labs
Where to get a soil test in Montana
A soil test is how you stop guessing at fertilizer and fix the one thing your lawn actually needs. In Montana, the public program below tests homeowner samples and interprets the results for local soils.
Montana state lab
Montana State University Soil Testing Laboratory
MSU soil testing information.
Visit the lab & sampling instructionsCounty offices
County extension offices.
County extension offices across Montana stock sample forms and can help you read your results. Whether an office will forward your sample to the state lab varies from county to county, so call yours before you drive over; otherwise mail it in with the form. 56 of the most populous counties are listed below.
Not your county? Find your local office in the full Montana directory.
- MSU Extension, Anaconda-Deer Lodge County officeAnaconda, MT
- MSU Extension, Beaverhead County officeDillon, MT
- MSU Extension, Big Horn County officeHardin, MT
- MSU Extension, Blackfeet Reservation officeBrowning, MT
- MSU Extension, Blaine County officeChinook, MT
- MSU Extension, Broadwater County officeTownsend, MT
- MSU Extension, Carbon County officeJoliet, MT
- MSU Extension, Carter County officeEkalaka, MT
- MSU Extension, Cascade County officeGreat Falls, MT
- MSU Extension, Chouteau County officeFort Benton, MT
- MSU Extension, Custer County officeMiles City, MT
- MSU Extension, Daniels County officeScobey, MT
- MSU Extension, Dawson County officeGlendive, MT
- MSU Extension, Fallon County officeBaker, MT
- MSU Extension, Fergus-Petroleum Counties officeLewistown, MT
- MSU Extension, Flathead County officeKalispell, MT
- MSU Extension, Flathead Reservation officePolson, MT
- MSU Extension, Fort Belknap Reservation officeHarlem, MT
- MSU Extension, Fort Peck Reservation officePoplar, MT
- MSU Extension, Gallatin County officeBozeman, MT
- MSU Extension, Garfield County officeJordan, MT
- MSU Extension, Glacier County officeCut Bank, MT
- MSU Extension, Granite County officePhilipsburg, MT
- MSU Extension, Hill County officeHavre, MT
- MSU Extension, Judith Basin County officeStanford, MT
- MSU Extension, Lake County officeRonan, MT
- MSU Extension, Lewis and Clark County officeHelena, MT
- MSU Extension, Liberty County officeChester, MT
- MSU Extension, Lincoln County officeEureka, MT
- MSU Extension, Madison-Jefferson Counties officeWhitehall, MT
- MSU Extension, McCone County officeCircle, MT
- MSU Extension, Meagher County officeWhite Sulphur Springs, MT
- MSU Extension, Mineral County officeSuperior, MT
- MSU Extension, Missoula County officeMissoula, MT
- MSU Extension, Musselshell-Golden Valley Counties officeRoundup, MT
- MSU Extension, Park County officeLivingston, MT
- MSU Extension, Phillips County officeMalta, MT
- MSU Extension, Pondera County officeConrad, MT
- MSU Extension, Powder River County officeBroadus, MT
- MSU Extension, Powell County officeDeer Lodge, MT
- MSU Extension, Prairie County officeTerry, MT
- MSU Extension, Ravalli County officeHamilton, MT
- MSU Extension, Richland County officeSidney, MT
- MSU Extension, Roosevelt County officeCulbertson, MT
- MSU Extension, Rosebud-Treasure Counties officeForsyth, MT
- MSU Extension, Sanders County officeThompson Falls, MT
- MSU Extension, Sheridan County officePlentywood, MT
- MSU Extension, Silver Bow County officeButte, MT
- MSU Extension, Stillwater County officeColumbus, MT
- MSU Extension, Sweet Grass County officeBig Timber, MT
- MSU Extension, Teton County officeChoteau, MT
- MSU Extension, Toole County officeShelby, MT
- MSU Extension, Valley County officeGlasgow, MT
- MSU Extension, Wheatland County officeHarlowton, MT
- MSU Extension, Wibaux County officeWibaux, MT
- MSU Extension, Yellowstone County officeBillings, MT
The steps
How it works.
Get a form and sample the way your lab says to
Pick up a form at a county office or download it from Montana State University Soil Testing Laboratory. Where you pull cores and how you mix them decides whether the report means anything, so follow the lab's instructions exactly.
Send it in
Mail your sample to the lab with its completed form, or call your county office first to ask whether it will forward samples.
Turn the report into a plan
When results come back, the numbers only matter if they change what you put down. Enter them in the app and it builds the plan.
The app · soil report analyzer
Got your Montana report back? Analyze it.
Enter your report values in the Lawn Dominator app and pick your lab, and it handles the messy part: units and extraction methods differ by lab, so your numbers get compared against turf targets that match how your lab measured them. Then it helps build the fertilizer plan for your grass type and checks timing against your live soil temperature.
Free to download on iPhone and Android.
Common questions
Before you ask.
- Where can I get a soil test in Montana?
- Montana's public soil testing is run through Montana State University Soil Testing Laboratory. Many county extension offices (listed on this page) stock the sample forms and can help you submit. National mail-in labs like Logan Labs, Ward Laboratories, and Waypoint Analytical are established alternatives.
- How much does a soil test cost in Montana?
- Fees vary by lab and by which package you choose (basic pH plus phosphorus and potassium, versus expanded panels with organic matter and micronutrients). Check Montana State University Soil Testing Laboratory for current pricing before you send a sample; the page linked here is the authority for its own fees.
- How do I turn my Montana soil test into a fertilizer plan?
- Enter your report values in the Lawn Dominator app and pick your lab so units and extraction method are handled correctly, and it compares your numbers against turf sufficiency targets and helps build the fertilizer plan for your grass type.
Looking for another state? See the national map of soil test labs. Montana State University Soil Testing Laboratory is the authority for its own test menu, sampling instructions, fees, and result interpretation.