Ward Laboratories, Inc.

10/02/2026

This week's grew up in Humphrey, Nebraska - where spending time with family meant biking, playing sports, or playing cards around the table. 🌱

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Meet Alissa Kosch - Sample Receiving Technician at Ward Laboratories!

Alissa didn't come from an ag background, but she loves learning something new every day at Ward. She's one of the first stops for every sample that comes through the door. In sample receiving, she helps customers choose the right testing and ensures that samples are logged quickly so results come back faster.

Her favorite season? Fall. 🍂Off the clock, she'll be the first to tell you she's not the best golfer but she loves to spend as much time on the course as possible!⛳ Coffee, energy drinks and Jimmy Johns get her through the busy season.

And the detail that caught us off guard? Alissa has been skydiving - and would do it again in a heartbeat. 🪂(We'll wait on the ground for her😅)

Stay tuned every Friday for more from the team !

10/01/2026

Building soil quality doesn’t happen overnight - it comes from small changes that compound over time. And some of the most important changes are happening below the soil surface.

In this week’s , we look at practical ways to continue building soil quality and maintaining gains in soil tilth - including reducing tillage, incorporating more diverse crop rotations, and using fall cover crops.

📹 Watch here: https://bit.ly/4AFwjtC

What we cover:
• Reducing tillage to protect soil quality
• Using crop rotation to create different cycles in the soil
• The benefits of fall cover crops
• Why cover crop roots matter more than above-ground biomass
• What happens in the soil during winter
• How small amounts of biological activity compound over time
• Using early spring cover crop growth for biomass, grazing, hay, or w**d suppression

The goal isn’t to make dramatic changes overnight. It’s about recognizing the opportunities we have to keep building on the soil quality we’ve already created.

09/30/2026

Yesterday, our team laid our colleague and friend Terry Buettner to rest.

In the weeks before his passing, Terry was writing about what mattered deeply to him: soil health, regenerative agriculture, and helping producers use testing to understand their soil and track their progress.

Today, we share the last article he wrote. In it, Terry takes readers into his own garden and lawn, bringing the practical perspective and personal experience that made his writing so authentically his.

We’re grateful to share his words and to remember the person behind them.

Improving soil nutrient cycling means building a soil system that can supply what crops need and testing to understand how much.

09/25/2026

This week’s is someone who left an indelible mark on Ward Laboratories, on our customers, and on everyone fortunate enough to know him. 🌱

We are heartbroken to share that our dear friend, colleague, and mentor Terry Buettner passed away earlier this week. Today, we honor him the way he deserved - by sharing a little of who he was.

Meet Terry Buettner, Senior Inside Account Development & Agronomy Support Manager at Ward Laboratories and a proud 9-year member of the team.

Terry grew up in Funk, Nebraska before moving to Kearney and spent 34 years farming and ranching before joining Ward Laboratories. He brought that lifetime of experience to every call he answered, every email he sent, and every grower he guided. At Ward, Terry created new business, managed accounts, and consulted with clients on soil, soil health, plant tissue, water, and manure results - always working to offer real solutions to the real problems producers face.

Terry always liked to joke that he had known Ray Ward longer than Ray’s own grandson, our president Dr. Nick Ward. That says everything about the kind of man he was - deeply rooted, deeply trusted, and deeply connected to this industry.

His favorite quote? One he may have coined himself: “You build a road with dirt. You create life in soil.”

His best career advice: “Don’t worry about things out of your control.” Words we could all use right now.

Off the clock, Terry loved golf, watching documentaries and sports, reading non-fiction, and unwinding in his pool. His radio station could always be found set to hardcore rock or heavy metal. 🤘

His coworkers’ one word for him? Old. - His words, not ours. And said with the kind of humor that made Terry, Terry.

Please join us in honoring Terry’s life and legacy. His full obituary can be found here: https://bit.ly/4hwIO1Z

Ward Laboratories will be closed Tuesday morning to lay our friend, mentor, and colleague to rest. 🤍

09/24/2026

Potassium is easy to overlook - but that might be changing. 🌱

In this week’s , Dr. Nick Ward takes a closer look at soil test potassium and when growers across the Plains should start paying attention.

From declining K trends in certain cropping systems to timing in-season applications and understanding when corn reaches its maximum K uptake, this one is worth a watch heading into fall planning.

📹 Watch the full video: https://bit.ly/3VcSZkK

📕 Download your free WardGuide: https://bit.ly/4yOg1gm

Reach out to our team with questions — we’re happy to help!

09/23/2026

Enhanced reports with visual indicators of soil health are just one more way Ward works to bring you more value from the data produced in lab analysis. Learn more about understanding how radar charts intuitively indicate how soil health parameters are working in your soil.

https://bit.ly/3SPpsMR

09/22/2026

Biodiversity has become synonymous with soil health. But, below ground microbial life often supports above ground diversity as well, both plant and animal life. Check out what Albert Tomechko, president and founder of Vitalize Seed and our own Jon Kerman had to say on the topic in this Nebraska Farmer article.

Digging Deeper: Managing for diversity, whether it is aboveground or belowground, is crucial to building healthy rural landscapes and farms.

09/18/2026

This week’s grew up getting dirty on a farm in western Nebraska —-and never lost that love for agriculture. 🌱

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Meet Sunny Nelson - Login Technician at Ward Laboratories and a nearly 7-year member of the team!

Sunny grew up in Redington and Bridgeport, Nebraska, bottle feeding baby calves and getting a very real education in where food comes from. 🐔 At Ward, she’s one of the first faces our customers see - greeting customers, unloading trucks, and making sure every sample is logged and ready for testing.

Her best career advice? “Use your benefits!”

Off the clock, you’ll find her hiking, kayaking, paddle boarding, or planning her next adventure. She also has an African Fat Tailed Gecko named Lil Mama. 🦎

Sunny says that her coworkers’ one word to describe her would be: Blunt. (We don't disagree - and we still appreciate her for it!😆)

Stay tuned every Friday for more from the team !

09/17/2026

Not all soil sampling strategies give you the same level of information. 🌱

In this week’s , Dr. Nick Ward walks through composite, zone, and grid sampling - and how each approach helps you better understand variability within your fields as you plan for next year’s crop.

The goal isn’t simply to collect more samples, it’s to understand your fields at the right scale for smarter nutrient and lime management.

📹 Watch the full video: https://bit.ly/3UY8lcJ

09/16/2026

Are your collecting soil health spider webs? If you are testing with us you certainly are!

Jonathan Kerman brought this new insightful visual to our soil health reports and in this featured blog he dives in to explain exactly what this chart means for your soil's health. He says this will make your report easier to understand and actionable!


Check it out here:

The Soil Health Radar Chart shows interaction of carbon, nitrogen, microbial activity, and aggregation, indicating resiliency of the soil.