When we began studying soil testing, we decided that we needed to find out who could benefit from these tests other than just farmers.  Our first step was to talk to our local Agricultural Extensions Office representatives.  Mr. Ransom Goodman came and talked with our class, and Mr. Gene Miles spoke with us on our way to collect our soil samples.  After our discussion with Mr. Goodman, we realized that farmers are not the only people who can benefit from the information gained by soil testing, other people such as gardeners, landscape design professionals, and general homeowners can use this information as well.
 

Gardeners benefit by determining what fertilizers need to be added to help them produce whatever fruits and vegetables they plan to grow in either their personal or professional garden.
	Landscape design professionals use the information gained by soil testing to know what chemicals need to be added to the soil to allow for maximum growth of the shrubs/trees/flowers planted to ensure customer satisfaction.
Homeowners can use this kind of information to help with yearly lawncare maintenance as well as trying to solve small problems such as what could be causing grass to grow poorly in certain areas of their lawn.	Farmers use the results of soil testing to determine what things need to be added to the soil such as fertilizer and lime that will help them to have the highest crop yield with the least amount of money invested as possible.  As Mr. Goodman said, this could mean the difference between whether or not you get a new truck this year, or worse yet, whether or not you stay in business after this year.