CEMA 216 Soil Testing: What Is It and Who Can Perform It?
- Louisiana GLCI
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Conservation Evaluation and Monitoring Activity (CEMA 216) is defined by USDA-NRCS* as quantitative testing for biological, chemical, and physical characteristics of soil using approved laboratory methods.
CEMA 216 soil testing is a more extensive process vs. a standard soil test. It requires the assessment of five soil indicators: Soil Aggregation, Soil Carbon Cycling, Microbial Activity, Carbon Food Source, and Nitrogen Food Source; as well as Soil pH and texture.*
This testing is a requirement for those participating in the NRCS Regenerative Pilot Program. As part of participating in RPP, producers must do all of the following:
Work with NRCS staff, partners, or technical service providers to conduct a whole-farm assessment
Use at least one primary regenerative management practice
Agree to perform soil health testing, at minimum, in the first and last year of the contract (typically 5 years) to establish a starting baseline and to record the resulting changes. This means that the CEMA 216 test must be taken both at the beginning of the RPP and at the end of the contract
This CEMA 216 testing process cannot be done by the NRCS staff. It must be completed by a technician with specific qualifications, which is referred to as a Qualified Individual, or QI. The Qualified Individual is required to meet with the farmer/rancher, collect soil samples with specific protocols, send the samples to approved laboratories for advanced analysis, and submit detailed documentation.
The cost of CEMA 216 soil testing is eligible for cost-share through the producer’s RPP contract. Importantly, CEMA 216 testing can only be conducted by specific Qualified Individuals, or someone working under an approved QI.* The QI categories include:
Certified Crop Advisor
Technical Service Provider
Someone with an associate degree (or higher) in agriculture and at least two years of experience collecting soil for lab analysis
Someone working under another approved QI.
Numbers 3-4 of QI’s above allows for a large group of people to be able to complete the CEMA 216 test. There is no licensing requirement to become a QI – simply meet one of the four listed requirements.
As this is a quickly expanding need in our state and nation, Louisiana GLCI is offering a CEMA 216 soil test training to anyone who is interested in becoming a CEMA 216 Qualified Individual. Due to the complex nature of the CEMA 216 test, as compared to a standard soil test, this training will go through the process step-by-step to make sure QI’s are confident in the process.
This training will allow attendees to go through the full CEMA 216 soil testing process, in order to equip more individuals with the skills and knowledge needed to offer this testing service to others. The training will focus on test procedure and paperwork, not interpretation of soil test results.
LGLCI will host this 1-day training on Monday, June 8, 2026, at the Rapides Parish Extension Office Alexandria, LA. Attendees will participate in both classroom instruction, and in-field training. The cost of attendance is $50/person. There is a limited quantity of attendees.
Tentative Agenda (subject to change):
8:30 AM – Registration
9:00 AM – Intro to NRCS, Intro to RPP
9:20 AM – Soil health and Intro to CEMA 216; Overview of the goals of CEMA 216
9:30 AM – Requirements and technical aspects of CEMA 216 soil testing
9:45 AM – What does a QI do? (consulting, mapping, recommendations, etc.)
10:00 AM – Break
10:10 AM – The process step-by-step (In-field)
Selecting site
Collecting the sample
Shipping the sample
10:45 AM – Field exercise: hands-on soil testing
12:00 PM – Lunch
12:45 PM – Discussion of soil labs
Shipping the sample - hands-on, actually packaging and doing
1:15 PM – Paperwork and deliverables; walking through the full documentation process together using the collected sample (in-classroom)
2:00 PM – Look at soil test results from the lab
2:30 PM – Q&A
3:00 PM – Training concludes
Comments