Cumberland Valley Analytical Services

What Cumberland Valley Analytical Services does

Cumberland Valley Analytical Services (CVAS), operating as Foragelab, is a privately held U.S. agricultural laboratory founded in 1992 by Ralph Ward and headquartered in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. The company provides forage, feed, water, manure, and plant tissue analytical services primarily to the dairy industry — including nutritionists, veterinarians, feed manufacturers, animal production facilities, and agricultural researchers — and serves an international client base across Ukraine, South Africa, Russia, and China. CVAS operates four U.S. laboratory facilities (Waynesboro, PA; Batavia, NY; Madison, WI; Zumbrota, MN; with an additional Ohio processing site) plus a multi-state drop box network and an online AgriLIMS client portal with mobile sample submission.

CVAS's core technology stack combines wet chemistry, Near Infrared Reflectance (NIR) spectroscopy supported by one of the industry's most extensive proprietary calibration libraries, invitro and insitu digestibility methods (with capacity for 1,800+ concurrent incubations at Waynesboro), and fermentation analysis — a service category the company first commercialized in the U.S. forage industry. Supporting capabilities include a Portable NIR instrument, mycotoxin evaluation via a partnership with Trilogy Analytical Laboratory, certified manure testing, and web-based data management software that supports feedstuff variability tracking and process control analysis. CVAS has maintained NFTA certification for over 20 years and participates in multiple industry check-sample programs (AAFCO, BIPEA, AOCS).

The business model is per-test or package-based laboratory testing revenue, billed on a pay-as-you-go cadence with recurring relationships across nutrition and research professionals. Supplemental revenue streams include shipping supplies and labels, drop box sample handling fees (introduced post-2025), NIR laboratory support and consulting for affiliate labs, and custom reporting services. The company is founder-owned, operates as CVAS, Inc., and employs 100+ staff at peak season with no disclosed external investment.

Name

Cumberland Valley Analytical Services

Legal name

CVAS, Inc.

Website

https://foragelab.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Cumberland Valley Analytical Services is a U.S. agricultural laboratory founded in 1992 that provides forage, feed, water, manure, and plant tissue analytical testing to dairy nutritionists, veterinarians, feed manufacturers, and researchers via four U.S. labs and a multi-state drop box network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Laboratory Services

NAICS

Testing Laboratories and Services (54138), Testing Laboratories and Services (541380)

SIC

Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Safety Certification Bodies (ISO 22000, FSSC 22000, BRCGS, SQF) (AFALAAAC)

Keywords

• Forage analysis laboratory
• Feed nutrient testing
• Dairy nutrition analysis
• Agricultural sample testing
• Wet chemistry services

Headquarters

HQ city

Waynesboro

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Laboratory Testing Services: CVAS generates revenue primarily through providing laboratory testing services for forage, feed, water, manure, and plant tissue analysis. Services are priced per test or as packages, with various analysis options including chemistry, NIR, fermentation, invitro digestibility, mycotoxin evaluation, and more.
2. Shipping and Handling Services: Revenue from shipping supplies (poly bags) and shipping label services, with complimentary drop box service transitioning to a per-sample handling fee
3. NIR Laboratory Support Services: Technical operations support and consulting for other NIR labs in U.S. and international markets, including feasibility assessments and lab specifications

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cumberland Valley Analytical Services (CVAS) is an independent agricultural analytical laboratory that performs chemical and nutritional testing of forages, feeds, water, manure, and plant tissue. The lab supports dairy nutritionists, veterinarians, feed manufacturers, and researchers with NIR spectroscopy, wet chemistry, and in vitro/in situ digestibility analyses used for ration formulation and herd management decisions. Samples are submitted by mail or dropped off at one of multiple regional laboratory locations.

Product overview

Cumberland Valley Analytical Services (CVAS) operates a multi-service agricultural laboratory focused on feed and forage analysis for the dairy industry, supporting animal production, feed manufacturing, agronomy, biofuel production, water quality, and manure management. The portfolio is anchored by two core service lines: (1) Forage and Feed Analysis — encompassing NIR (Near Infrared Reflectance) Services, Chemistry Services, Fermentation Analysis, Invitro Digestibility Services, In situ Analysis, Amino Acid Analysis, Mycotoxin Evaluation, Mold and Yeast Evaluation, and Process Control Analysis; and (2) Water Analysis and Manure Analysis — providing livestock suitability evaluations and certified nutrient management planning. Supporting modules include a Web Data Access/Reporting Portal for result retrieval and custom reporting, a Drop Box Sample Collection Network spanning multiple U.S. states, Research Support Services, and NIR Laboratory Support Services for affiliate labs. The company was founded in 1992 and operates from a headquarters in Waynesboro, PA with satellite locations in Batavia, NY; Madison, WI; Zumbrota, MN; and Fort Loramie, OH.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Forage Analysis
• Feed Analysis
• Water Analysis
• Manure Analysis
• Plant Tissue Analysis
• NIR Forage and Feed Analysis
• In Vitro and In Situ Digestibility Analysis

Quantifiable outcome

• First commercial fermentation analysis provider in U.S. forage industry
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Trilogy Analytical LaboratorycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Trilogy Analytical Laboratory, one of the top mycotoxin testing labs in the U.S., to provide extensive mycotoxin reference testing services at competitive rates. This partnership enhances CVAS's mycotoxin evaluation capabilities.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Rock River Laboratory: Rock River Laboratory is a direct competitor offering forage, feed, soil, and water analysis for the dairy and livestock industries, with multiple U.S. locations and NIR + wet chemistry capabilities that closely mirror CVAS's service portfolio.
• Dairyland Laboratories: Dairyland Laboratories provides forage and feed nutritional analysis serving dairy and livestock producers, with NIR and wet chemistry services that directly overlap with CVAS's core offerings and target customer base.
• Midwest Laboratories: Midwest Laboratories offers feed, forage, soil, water, and plant tissue testing for agricultural clients, with comparable analytical capabilities and a similar focus on the agricultural testing market.
• SDK Laboratories: SDK Laboratories provides agricultural testing services including forage, feed, and water analysis, competing with CVAS in the same agricultural testing category with similar laboratory capabilities.
• Holmes Laboratory: Holmes Laboratory provides forage, feed, and water testing services for dairy and livestock producers with NIR and wet chemistry capabilities, competing directly with CVAS in similar regional markets.

Emerging players

• Agri-King: Agri-King offers forage analysis and animal nutrition consulting, partially overlapping with CVAS's services but with a stronger emphasis on nutrition consulting and feed program management rather than pure laboratory testing.

Broad incumbents

• Eurofins Scientific: Eurofins is a global testing services conglomerate with broad agricultural and food testing capabilities, providing potential competitive overlap at scale and offering a possible strategic acquirer for CVAS.
• SGS Agricultural Services: SGS is a global testing, inspection, and certification company with agricultural and feed testing services that overlap with CVAS at the margin, though SGS focuses on broader commodity testing rather than specialized dairy forage analysis.
• Bureau Veritas Agricultural Testing: Bureau Veritas provides agricultural and food testing services globally, offering broader testing capabilities that could compete with or complement CVAS's specialized forage and feed analysis.

Others

• Trilogy Analytical Laboratory: Trilogy Analytical Laboratory is CVAS's strategic partner for mycotoxin testing, providing specialized mycotoxin reference testing services that complement CVAS's broader forage/feed analysis portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/foragelab

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cumberland Valley Analytical Services