228: Sheri McLane on Soil and Plant Testing. Improving plant yields through expert analysis of growing mediums. In this podcast: Soil scientist Sheri explains how she found her calling in an agronomy and is driven to help farmers and gardeners with their soil questions.  There is a great deal of science in determining the chemical make-up of soil samples and figuring out what is needed for different crops, and she knows how to help explain it for the rest of us.  Sheri also helps by sharing a few tips for some basic soil remediation in this interview. Don’t miss an episode! Click here to sign up for weekly podcast updates Sheri was interested in science and how things worked from a young age. She was fascinated with paleontology in middle school and even participated in archeology digs with the local museum. In high school, she loved geology and marine biology which led her to the University of San Diego where she obtained a major in marine science with an emphasis in biology and a minor in environmental science. Upon graduation, she worked for environmental labs learning new analytical techniques and her thirst for science knowledge grew. She was planning on pursuing a career in marine mammal rescue and habitation, however, her undergrad studies caused a change in her career path. She decided to learn more about soil and plant science, a topic of interest from her undergrad course work. She went to work for IAS Laboratories and studied under Dr. Paul Eberhart for many years. Sheri has been working in the agriculture field for the last fifteen years and is now the president of IAS Laboratories. Her focus on soil and plants has held firm and she’s earned her masters in agronomy through Iowa State and is in the process obtaining her soil scientist and CPAg certification.   Go to www.urbanfarm.org/ias for more information, photos and links on this podcast and to hear from our other great guests.