Vitality Newsletter – Spring 2024

 

After what has been one of the coldest winters in decades across most regions, spring has finally arrived with a welcome flourish. Winter rain patterns have varied, though overall, the southern half of the country has seen adequate rainfall.

Here at AgVita, we’ve been hard at work finalising the rollout of our new LIMS (laboratory information management system) following its launch a few months ago. Great news: our online portal is now up and running, making it easier and more efficient to submit your sample information.

In line with these advancements, we continue to offer a range of accredited nutrition tests for all agricultural enterprises. For full details, please refer to our updated Product & Price List – please get in touch if you haven’t yet received your copy.

 

What’s inside this edition?

  • Our new LIMS online portal is now up and running
  • Need a rapid option for your soil analysis?
  • Expanded range of analytes for Great Barrier Reef catchment soils
  • Prices remaining unchanged for the 2024/25 financial year

 

 

Our new LIMS online portal is now live!

We’re excited to announce the launch of our new, industry-leading online sample submission portal. This lab information management system (LIMS) portal is efficient, accurate, and convenient – making it faster and easier than ever to submit samples without the hassle of paper forms.

One of the standout features is the addition of historical information, including drop-down lists of growers and previously tested paddocks, which streamlines the process and helps you enter data seamlessly. Plus, by prompting you to fill in all required fields and eliminating any risk of errors from us misreading handwritten forms, the system improves the accuracy of your reports.

Once your data is entered, you can choose how you’d like your report delivered: a standard Excel file, a PDF via email link, or a simple .csv report, giving you full flexibility.

To get started, contact us at info@agvita.com.au for your login details. Once we set you up, you’ll receive an email with your username and password, and you’re good to go. We also recommend a quick 10-minute training session via a Teams meeting screen share to help you get familiar with the system and make the most of its features.

Don’t wait – get set up today! Call us on 03 6420 9600 during office hours, and we’ll get you up and running in no time.

 

Need a rapid option for your soil analysis?

Our AgVita team has introduced a new soil test that’s already a hit thanks to its fast turnaround time and reliable results. We’ve named this test SNAPSOIL, and you’ll get your results within two days of us receiving your soil samples.

This test is a water-soluble nutrition analysis, measuring the nutrients in the soil solution that are immediately available for your crops to take up. Analytes included in a SnapSoil analysis are pH, EC, NO3, Chl, Ca, K, Mg, and Na, plus a calculation of these macros as a percentage of CEC.

 

Expanded range of analytes for Great Barrier Reef catchment soils

We’ve recently added a few extra soil tests required under the ‘Six Easy Steps’ Reef Rescue plan, specifically for sugarcane and banana farms in the Great Barrier Reef catchment (GBRC) areas of Queensland and northern NSW. These include analytes such as BSES Silicon, Phosphorus, Nitric-K, CaCl₂-Si, and soil texture.

We now offer a full range of analytes under our Soil Response brand, giving accredited advisors all the information they need to plan soil amendments in this sensitive region.

 

Prices remaining unchanged for the 2024/25 financial year

Good news! We’re holding our prices steady at 2022/23 levels for another year. While many others in the industry are raising their prices, we’re doing our best to help growers manage ever-rising input costs in their business. Our internal prices will remain fixed at these current prices until at least the end of the 2024/25 financial year.

Unfortunately, we’ve seen some significant increases in the cost of outsourced analyses (e.g. microbiology), which is beyond our control. If you’d like more details or an updated price list, please get in touch.