WESTERN AG INNOVATIONS INC.

Western Ag Innovations Inc. works alongside research scientists worldwide to gain insight into soil nutrient bioavailability through use of the PRS Technology. Western Ag began in 1994 as a University of Saskatchewan spin-off company in the innovation space. The company develops uses for the Plant Root Simulator (PRS) Probe Technology. The company is a part of the Western Ag Group of Companies, which was established in 1994 and is headquartered in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Western Ag Innovations has always used the same basic methods for measuring nutrients adsorbed on PRS Probes. All PRS Probes in a sample are transferred to Ziploc bags and 17.5 mL of 0.5 mol/L HCl is added per probe. Probes are eluted for one hour. Inorganic N (ammonium and nitrate) in the eluant is then determined colorimetrically using automated flow injection analysis: the SK lab currently uses a Skalar San++ Analyzer (Skalar Inc., Netherlands) while the ID lab uses a FIAlyzer (FIAlab Inc, USA). The remaining elements (P, K, S, Ca, Mg, Al, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, B, Al, Pb, and Cd) are measured using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES): the SK lab uses a SpectroGreen analyzer (SPECTRO Analytical Instruments Inc., USA) and the ID lab uses an Optima ICP-OES 8300 analyzer (PerkinElmer Inc., USA). All standards and controls are prepared in a 0.5 mol/L HCl matrix equivalent to that of the samples High-pressure liquid chromatography can be used to measure herbicide and glucosinolate contents in the PRS probe eluate.