DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES
We don’t guess—we diagnose.
At Planet Earth Agronomy, we combine practical field experience with advanced diagnostics to uncover what’s actually limiting performance on your farm.
We use leading-edge testing and trusted third-party labs to generate accurate, unbiased insights—then work side-by-side with you to turn that data into profitable action. The result: better decisions, stronger crops, and improved ROI.
PLaNeT eARTH ARGONOMY's
3D APPROACH TO DIAGNOSTICS
Our 3D Model guides every recommendation we make. Agronomy is part science, part experience, and part intuition, and the best decisions come from combining all three.
1
DISCOVERY
We combine comprehensive testing with one-on-one collaboration to uncover what is actually limiting performance on your farm.
2
DIAGNOSIS
We replace guesswork with accurate, unbiased insights generated through leading-edge, third-party laboratory testing.
3
DETERMINATION
We work side-by-side with you to analyze the data and turn those insights into profitable action and improved ROI.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF OUR DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
Seedling Microbial Testing
What We Test:
Seed
Early biology often determines whether seedlings launch hard or stall under pressure.
It analyses the microbial community associated with young roots and seedlings to assess beneficial and harmful organism balance.
THE RESULTS:
Helps decide whether to change seed treatment, inoculation strategy or early biological support to improve establishment.
Soil Carbon Testing
What We Test:
Soil
Carbon is not just a sustainability metric. It is a core driver of water holding, structure and nutrient cycling.
It measures the amount, and sometimes the type, of carbon stored in soil organic matter.
THE RESULTS:
Helps decide whether to prioritise residue retention, cover crops, reduced disturbance or carbon-building inputs for long-term soil performance.
Soil Compaction Testing
What We Test:
Soil
Compaction can make a well-fertilised paddock behave like a low-performance one.
This test measures resistance in the soil profile and identifies zones where roots struggle to push through.
THE RESULTS:
Helps decide where to rip, where to control traffic, or whether poor crop performance is physical rather than nutritional.
Soil Drainage Testing
What We Test:
Soil
Poor drainage quietly destroys root health, nutrient access and microbial performance long before you see patchy crop growth.
It measures how quickly water moves through the soil profile and identifies zones where water is pooling or moving too slowly.
THE RESULTS:
Helps decide whether to improve drainage, adjust traffic, reduce compaction or rethink irrigation and planting strategies.
Soil Greenhouse Media Testing (PEA SGMT)
What We Test:
Soil
Greenhouse media can look fine and still be chemically or biologically off enough to cap performance.
This test evaluates the physical, chemical and biological condition of potting or propagation media.
THE RESULTS:
Helps decide whether media needs adjusting for pH, salts, biology, moisture handling or nutrient balance before transplant or propagation losses occur.
Soil Health Testing
What We Test:
Soil
Soil health testing tells you whether your soil is actually functioning as a system, not just carrying nutrients.
It evaluates indicators such as organic matter, aggregation, microbial activity and nutrient cycling potential.
THE RESULTS:
Helps decide whether to focus on cover crops, reduced disturbance, organic inputs or other practices that rebuild resilience and input efficiency.
Soil Heavy Metal Testing
What We Test:
Soil
Heavy metals can limit crop health, marketability and soil biology without obvious above-ground clues.
This test measures the presence of metals such as cadmium, lead or arsenic in the soil.
THE RESULTS:
Helps decide whether a paddock is safe for a crop, whether remediation is needed, or whether certain inputs or water sources are causing contamination.
Soil Nematode Testing
What We Test:
Soil
Not all nematodes are bad, so this test stops you treating the whole category as the enemy.
It identifies and counts different nematode groups, including plant-parasitic and beneficial types.
THE RESULTS:
Helps decide whether nematodes are actually driving yield loss and whether the solution is biological balance, crop rotation or targeted treatment.
Soil Resin Ball Testing
What We Test:
Soil
This gives a more dynamic picture of nutrient supply than a static soil number alone.
Resin balls act like artificial roots, capturing nutrients that move through the soil over time.
THE RESULTS:
Helps decide whether nutrients are actually becoming available to plants and whether timing or placement of fertiliser needs changing.
Soil Salinity Testing
What We Test:
Soil
Salinity can quietly block water uptake and nutrient performance even when fertility numbers look acceptable.
It measures dissolved salts in the soil that affect osmotic stress and root function.
THE RESULTS:
Helps decide whether to change irrigation management, select more tolerant crops or amend soil conditions before emergence and growth are hit.
Soil Structural Testing
What We Test:
Soil
Soil structure determines whether roots can explore, breathe and access water, regardless of how much fertiliser you apply.
It assesses aggregation, porosity, layering, stability and how well the soil holds its physical form under pressure.
THE RESULTS:
Helps decide whether to reduce tillage, alter traffic patterns, add biology or carbon, or mechanically address structural limits.
Solar Radiation Testing
What We Test:
Environment
You cannot optimise crop performance if you do not know how much usable light the system is actually receiving.
It measures the intensity and distribution of incoming solar energy that drives photosynthesis.
THE RESULTS:
Helps decide planting density, greenhouse management, canopy strategy or whether environmental conditions are capping growth potential.
Standard Plant Tissue Testing
What We Test:
Plant
This is the crop equivalent of human blood work because it shows the nutrient levels already inside the plant.
It measures the concentration of key macro and micronutrients in plant tissue at the time of sampling.
THE RESULTS:
Helps decide which nutrients are deficient, excessive or out of balance so the next foliar or fertility pass can be more precise.
Sunlight Lumen Testing
What We Test:
Environment
Light quality and intensity directly shape growth, especially in controlled environments or shaded production systems.
It measures visible light intensity reaching the crop canopy.
THE RESULTS:
Helps decide whether crops are receiving enough light, whether shading is excessive, and whether supplemental lighting or spacing changes are justified.
Larry Fiene
Founder/CEO
CEO and Co-Founder of Planet Earth Agronomy, Larry leads the company’s research-driven agronomy platform, delivering tested biostimulant and nutrient solutions across 15 U.S. states and Canada while serving on multiple industry boards and earning national recognition for agricultural leadership.
Jake Fiene
Operations Lead
Jake Fiene combines hands-on agricultural experience with a systems-level role at Planet Earth Agronomy, supporting product formulation, manufacturing, logistics, and customer success. He focuses on delivering consistent, field-ready solutions by aligning product performance with real-world conditions.
Meet Our Team
DON'T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT
See the Results from Growers in the Field
I like their practicality really at the end of the day, they value the implementation and they understand that it's an ROI game...[the Planet Earth Team] are a tremendous wealth of information... their information is the key, you know, and they have the experience and everything needed to guide you in a direction that's going to be synergy.
Kevin D.
- Distributor, Upper Mid-West
I would highly recommend Planet Earth to anybody that has questions about the biological world, the biostimulants, something that they want to add to their portfolio and be able to offer customers and be comfortable with proven products and a lot of knowledge.
Troy T.
- Retailer, High Plains
We take their advice. Yes. There's a lot of good and there's a lot of bad microbiology in the industry and with the research they have here at Planet Earth Agronomy, we've never been steered in the wrong direction.
Nelson M.
- Retailer, South Dakota
We met Larry and the guys at Planet Earth Agronomy and everything's been great. They've been awesome to us and we just hit things off right away.
[They are] more about the passion than thier bottom line.
Chris H.
- Grower, South Dakota
A lot of companies, they can get a product and take it to the market and have a big year with it and they disappear off the map. They got their money, they're gone onto the next thing... and that's just not the approach with [Planet Earth Agronomy]. And so their beliefs and who they are to the core is what makes me want to work with them.
Andy J.
- Grower, South Dakota
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