Soil Service of Belgium

What Soil Service of Belgium does

Soil Service of Belgium (Bodemkundige Dienst van België vzw / Service Pédologique de Belgique asbl, DBA: BDB) is a Belgian non-profit agricultural and environmental research organization founded in 1945 and headquartered in Heverlee (Leuven), with a secondary office in Roeselare. The organization operates a BELAC-accredited laboratory (127-TEST for testing, 127-PROD for certification) providing accredited analysis of soil, water, manure, fertilizers, compost, animal feed, crops, and environmental samples, including specialized PFAS and pesticide testing. It serves a horizontal customer base of farmers, horticulturists, greenhouse growers, SMEs, larger enterprises, government authorities, schools, and private individuals across all three Belgian regions (Flanders, Brussels, Wallonia). The organization is also accredited as a Type II soil remediation expert (Flanders), soil pollution expert (Brussels), and category 2 expert (Wallonia).

The company monetizes through four primary streams: (1) laboratory analysis services via standard soil and specialized testing packages; (2) agricultural and horticultural advisory services — including EPIPRE crop protection, PWARO parcel-level irrigation/fertigation advisory (co-developed with PCFruit), VERIS MSP3-based soil scanning (with Vantage Agrometius since 2015), vineyard advisory, and soil/water management consulting; (3) Certalent certification audits covering Vegaplan, GlobalG.A.P., KAT, Belplume, Codiplan, GRASP, and sector guides; and (4) consumer-oriented BDB boxes (Garden, Viticulture, Compost, Horse Pasture, Environmental screening) sold at a unit price of €95.59 incl. VAT. Distribution combines a regional field force of samplers and representatives with the BDBnet self-serve customer portal.

Underlying technology comprises domain-specialized predictive tools — the EPIPRE epidemiological expert system, an internally developed soil water balance model with Sentinel-2 NDVI satellite integration since 2017, the CSLIM organic-carbon evolution web application, the BDBrekenmee fertilization calculator, and the Agroforestry Planner (co-developed with the Consortium Agroforestry Vlaanderen). The organization has approximately 30 staff dedicated to its Environment department and is led by Hilde Vandendriessche as Afgevaardigd bestuur. Current initiatives include the HydroSoilWise sustainable-practices project (launched 2025) and a Claire-CO₂ carbon farming collaboration.

Name

Soil Service of Belgium

Legal name

Bodemkundige Dienst van België vzw

Website

https://bdb.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

1945

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Soil Service of Belgium is a 1945-founded Belgian non-profit operating a BELAC-accredited laboratory that provides soil, water, and environmental analysis, agricultural advisory, and third-party certification (Certalent) to farmers, businesses, governments, and private individuals across Belgium.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Soil Testing & Agricultural Advisory Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Crop Production (11511)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYAFACAKAA

Soil Testing & Nutrient Analysis Services

Agriculture & Food Production/Agricultural Services (Custom Farming, Agronomy, Veterinary)/Agricultural Testing & Diagnostics Services (Soil, Plant Tissue, Water)

SECONDARYAFACAKAD

Soil Health & Biological Testing Services (Microbial Activity, Organic Matter, Respiration)

Agriculture & Food Production/Agricultural Services (Custom Farming, Agronomy, Veterinary)/Agricultural Testing & Diagnostics Services (Soil, Plant Tissue, Water)

SECONDARYAFACABAA

Soil Health & Regenerative Agronomy Consulting

Agriculture & Food Production/Agricultural Services (Custom Farming, Agronomy, Veterinary)/Crop Consulting & Agronomy Services (Soil Health, Nutrient Planning, Yield Consulting)

SECONDARYAFAAAHAE

Irrigation, Fertigation & Nutrient Delivery Systems (Dosing, Injectors, Sensors)

Agriculture & Food Production/Agricultural Equipment & Technology/Controlled Environment Agriculture (Greenhouses, Hydroponics/Aeroponics Systems)

SECONDARYIMAFAKAG

Site Remediation & Contaminated Soil Handling

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Construction & Civil Engineering/Earthworks, Site Preparation & Demolition

Keywords

• Soil analysis services
• Agricultural advisory
• Crop protection consulting
• Environmental testing
• Certification services

Headquarters

HQ city

Heverlee

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Laboratory Analysis Services: Accredited laboratory analyses for soil, water, manure, fertilizers, compost, animal feed, crops, and other matrices. Services include standard soil analysis, specialized testing (PFAS, pesticides), and environmental testing.
2. Advisory Services: Consulting services including irrigation management, soil management, crop protection (EPIPRE), vineyard advisory, and environmental consulting. Provided as service packages with ongoing support.
3. Certification Services (Certalent): Independent certification services for agricultural and horticultural businesses including Vegaplan, GlobalG.A.P., KAT, Belplume, and other quality standards audits.
4. Consumer Products (BDB Boxes): Pre-packaged analysis kits for private individuals including garden box, compost box, horse pasture box, viticulture box, and environmental screening boxes. Price point of €95.59 per box.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Soil Service of Belgium (Bodemkundige Dienst van België vzw) is a non-profit organization combining research, advisory services, laboratory analyses, and certification under one roof. It operates a BELAC-accredited laboratory that analyzes soil, water, manure, fertilizers, compost, animal feed, crops, and environmental samples, and delivers parcel-specific fertilization, irrigation, and crop protection advice to farmers, horticulturists, companies, and governments across Belgium.

Product overview

The Soil Service of Belgium (Bodemkundige Dienst van België / Service Pédologique de Belgique) is a non-profit organization combining research, advice, analyses, and certification under one roof with its own accredited laboratory. The company offers a multi-layered portfolio organized around three core service areas: (1) Sampling & Analysis — including soil, water, manure, fertilizer, sludge, compost, animal feed, and crop analysis through standardized packages and BDB 'boxes' (convenience kits for homeowners: Tuindoosje/Garden Box, Druivendoosje/Viticulture Box, Compostdoosje/Compost Box, Paardendoosje/Horse Box, and Milieudoosje/Environmental Screening Kits); (2) Agricultural & Horticultural Advisory Services — including EPIPRE crop protection, PWARO irrigation management for pears, irrigation control, soil scanning, sustainable drainage/irrigation advice, sustainable soil management, vineyard planting advice, Carbon Farming, and DRIP soil sensors; and (3) Certalent Certification — a BELAC-accredited (127-PROD) certification brand offering audits for GlobalG.A.P., Vegaplan (all sectors), Belplume, KAT, Codiplan (Bovins, Parkkonijnen, Animal Welfare), GRASP, and sector guides. Supporting tools include BDBrekenmee (fertilization calculator), CSLIM (long-term organic carbon estimation), the Agroforestry Planner (interactive agroforestry planning), and Track & Trace (sample status tracking).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PWARO Irrigation Management Parcel-level irrigation and fertigation advisory service for pear growers, jointly developed with PCFruit, combining proprietary soil water balance modeling with satellite imagery to optimize water use.
• Garden Box (Tuindoosje) A soil fertility test kit for homeowners including analysis with liming and fertilization advice for lawns, ornamental gardens, and vegetable gardens, priced at €95.59 including VAT.
• Viticulture Box (Druivendoosje) A soil analysis and fertilization advice kit for table and wine grape growers, including a viticulture booklet with sampling instructions and rootstock recommendations.
• Compost Box (Compostdoosje) A soil analysis kit for testing compost quality with tailored advice, priced at €95.59 including VAT.
• Horse Pasture Box (Paardendoosje) A soil fertility test kit for horse pastures, analyzing acidity, soil type, humus content, and nutrients (P, K, Mg, Ca, Na, Cu, Co), with optional heavy metal testing, priced at €95.59 including VAT.
• Environmental Screening Kits (Milieudoosje) Environmental screening kits for testing soil contamination in gardens and chicken runs, addressing former industrial or waste sites; includes PFAS analysis options for water, soil, eggs, and compost.
• Standard Soil Analysis (Standaardgrondontleding) Standard accredited soil analysis from either the arable layer (23 cm) or grass sod (6 cm) with liming and fertilization advice tailored to three specific crops.
• Certalent Certification Services Independent BELAC-accredited (127-PROD) certification audits for agricultural and horticultural businesses, including GlobalG.A.P., Vegaplan (all sectors), Belplume, KAT, Codiplan, GRASP, and sector guides.
• EPIPRE Crop Protection Advisory Expert system for disease and pest control in winter wheat, using epidemiological computer modeling to simulate disease development on each plot and provide spraying recommendations.
• Environmental Consulting Services BELAC-accredited environmental consulting services including environmental impact assessments, soil contamination studies, infiltration studies, soil/water sampling and analysis, emission measurements, and pesticide analysis.
• BDBrekenmee Fertilization Calculator Web tool for easily calculating customized fertilization advice based on soil analysis results.
• CSLIM Web Application Proprietary web application that estimates the long-term evolution of organic carbon content in agricultural parcels.
• Agroforestry Planner Web tool that helps farmers and advisors create concrete plans for agroforestry plot layout, guiding users through objectives, tree species selection, effective planting, and maintenance considerations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Specific nitrogen fertilization recommendations based on INDEX-AZOTE analysis
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Vantage AgrometiuscoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2015Partnership since 2015 offering site-specific soil advice based on VERIS MSP3 soil scanner technology. Vantage provides scanner equipment and GPS/machinery integration expertise while BDB provides soil analysis and prescription mapping.
• PCFruitcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation between Service Pédologique de Belgique and PCFruit for PWARO (irrigation management for pears). Provides expert irrigation and fertigation advice at the parcel level. PCFruit contributes fertigation expertise while BDB provides soil moisture modeling.
• Consortium Agroforestry VlaanderencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBDB is a partner in the Consortium Agroforestry Vlaanderen, which developed the Agroforestry Planner tool. The consortium includes multiple agricultural organizations working together to promote agroforestry in Flanders.
• Claire-CO₂minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Carbon Farming project where farmers extract CO₂ from the air and store carbon in the soil.
• Landbouwcentrum Granen (LCG)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgricultural center for cereals of which the Service Pédologique de Belgique is a partner. LCG monitors disease pressure on several plots across Flanders for EPIPRE system.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Eurofins Scientific: Global leader in food, environmental, and agro-testing with accredited laboratories. Comparable because Eurofins operates the same kind of accredited soil, water, and contaminant testing (including PFAS) that BDB performs, just at much greater geographic scale.
• SGS: Switzerland-based testing, inspection, and certification giant with agricultural and environmental service lines. Comparable because SGS competes in the same accredited agricultural testing and certification markets that BDB and Certalent serve.
• Bureau Veritas: Global TIC player with agricultural commodity inspection and food certification offerings (e.g., GlobalG.A.P. affiliate scopes). Comparable because Bureau Veritas competes for certification and audit mandates that overlap with Certalent's portfolio.
• ALS Limited: Australia-headquartered laboratory services group with strong environmental and agricultural testing lines. Comparable because ALS provides accredited soil, water, and contaminant analysis services overlapping directly with BDB's laboratory offerings.
• Yara International: Global fertilizer manufacturer with growing digital agronomy (e.g., Atfarm, N-Sensor) and crop nutrition advisory lines. Comparable because Yara sells fertilizer decision-support and agronomy tools to the same Belgian farmer base that BDB advises through its N-INDEX and BDBrekenmee products.
• TÜV NORD Group: German-headquartered TIC organization with agricultural and food certification offerings. Comparable because TÜV NORD competes in third-party certification audits (including agricultural sustainability schemes) that overlap with Certalent's BELAC-accredited audits.

Regional players

• Inagro: Belgian (Roeselare-region) agricultural research and advisory center serving Flemish farmers. Comparable because Inagro performs applied agronomy research, field trials, and crop advice in the same Belgian agricultural ecosystem where BDB operates.
• Boerenbond: Largest Belgian farmers' union providing agronomic advice, compliance support, and farmer services. Comparable because Boerenbond serves overlapping Belgian farmer and horticulturist segments with bundled advisory and compliance support analogous to BDB's offering.

Emerging players

• SoilCares (part of AgroCares): Agtech company offering portable/handheld soil analysis and precision agronomy recommendations. Comparable because SoilCares competes for soil testing and advisory decisions, particularly in private/agritech channels that could overlap with BDB's consumer boxes and digital tools.
• CropX: Israeli soil-sensing and precision irrigation analytics provider with EU presence. Comparable because CropX provides parcel-level irrigation and soil-data analytics that overlap with BDB's PWARO soil water balance model and DRIP soil sensors.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SoilScienceBelgium
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bodemkundige-dienst-van-belgi-vzw

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Soil Service of Belgium