Turnaround Time for Routine Soil Analysis

We are currently operating at our normal turn-around range of 6-10 business days from when your sample is received in the lab. Orders are processed in the order in which they are received (though we process particle size and routine nutrient analysis separately). Before inquiring about whether we received your sample and when your report will be complete, please read all of the information below to make sure there is a good chance we will actually be able to help answer your question. 

Mail Receipt and Timing

  • It is extremely rare that a sample properly sent to us does not arrive so there is generally no need to confirm our receipt of your sample.
  • The date of receipt in the lab is affected by weekends, holidays, shipping time, and time for UMass Campus Mail to deliver samples to the lab. FedEx and UPS do deliver directly to our lab.
  • Our turn-around times are business days after receipt in the lab, so weekends and holidays are excluded. UMass takes a fairly standard set of holidays as listed here. So, if you mail us a package on Wednesday and it arrives at the Campus Mail facility on Friday and is delivered to the lab on Monday, then the first business day after we receive it in the lab would be Tuesday, six days after you sent it. In this example, results in 10 business days would mean the Monday two weeks after we received it, or 19 days after you sent it. A holiday would add another day.

If you did not receive results by the expected date

  • It is possible that we sent your results but they were filtered out by your email client, which is common with emails that have attachments. Please look for emails from soiltest@umass.edu. If you have an account with hotmail, outlook.com, msn.com or another Microsoft-owned email service, please look for results coming from umass.soiltest@gmail.com. 
  • If your order included both Routine Analysis and Particle Size (Texture) Analysis, you will receive those reports in separate emails, probably on different days, because they are batched and processed on different schedules.
  • If none of the above apply, please email soiltest@umass.edu and include all the information you can about when the sample(s) should have arrived, any alternative or business names they might be found under, etc.

If you received results and have questions about interpretation, recommendations, or problems with the report

  • Please email soiltest@umass.edu and include your Order Number and Sample ID, and ideally the PDF of your report (we can look it up, but it saves time if it's attached to your query). We are currently unable to respond to phone inquiries, though it is helpful if you provide your phone number in the body of your email in case it is more efficient to answer your question with a call.

 

Please DO NOT send samples for PLANT TISSUE NUTRIENT ANALYSIS.  Information will be updated here when we have sufficient staffing to resume this service.

 

Last updated: 5/10/23.