SASKATOON (Staff) — A decline in the agriculture industry has shifted the focus of one business from soil testing to oilfield reclamation.
Plains Innovative Laboratory Services will still offer soil testing services for farmers, but has a greater emphasis on environmental reclamation, said general manager Rigas Karamonos.
The new service is a combination of the University of Saskatchewan college of agriculture, Ag-Spec Analytical Services Ltd. of Saskatoon and Enviro-Test Laboratories of Edmonton.
Traditionally agriculture made up 65 to 75 percent of soil testing work. Lately the income from agriculture services has dropped to 40 percent.
Karamonos said with the steady drop in agriculture work the lab was searching for other industries to fill the void. Because of new environmental regulations it has shifted emphasis to oilfield work. The company now does soil testing of the areas around wellsites or areas where drilling mud was spread.
The new technology will also allow testing soil for herbicides.
