While serving as a college instructor in north central Montana it became apparent that an opportunity existed where Brian could employ his experience as both a field researcher and laboratory chemist for the technical needs of northern Montana. While working on his M.S. and Ph.D at Illinois State University, Brian developed an applied skillset to address large scale agricultural and watershed questions, coupled with the ability to apply analytical chemistry techniques to answer complex questions impacting soil productivity and watershed health. To address a clear need to the agriculture industry and beyond, he decided to dedicate his time to open a laboratory that is focused on the analysis of soil, water, and crops/forage. Opening North Border Analytics in Chinook, MT will give customers access to a regional laboratory that provides accurate and high throughput results, while avoiding the wait times associated with shipping samples out of state.
When not in the laboratory or working in the field, Brian can be found fishing, hunting, or wandering the prairie . Opening the laboratory has been a labor of love and has allowed him to merge his passion for the outdoors with his professional interests to serve the region he calls home.
North Border Analytics, LLC Description
The goal of North Border Analytics, LLC is to provide a variety of technical and analytical services to the farm and ranch industries, agribusiness organizations as well as residential customers’ located throughout north central Montana and beyond. As the principle, founder and manager of North Border Analytics, Brian Grebliunas, has extensive professional background and experience in research based analytics and laboratory testing processes that focus on multidisciplinary approaches (ecological, hydrogeology, biogeochemistry, agricultural/agronomy, and policy) to understanding changes in agricultural practices and the subsequent improvements that are achievable in soil health and water chemistry throughout agricultural watersheds with the proper analysis and technical support. Incorporating internal testing and assessment controls in the field of analytical chemistry, method development, along with the ability to recognize, interpret and make informed recommendations regarding regional issues make North Border Analytics’ scope of services unique to the area.
By establishing North Border Analytics in north central Montana, the services offered are catered to the region we are there to serve. Offering analytical services in rural Montana affords producers the opportunity to avoid submitting samples to out-of-state laboratories. North Border Analytics offers the collection of soil, water, and plant tissue samples as a complementary service, however samples can be picked up at pre-determined locations per customer request, or mailed directly to the laboratory, ensuring a rapid turn-around of analytical results during periods of time when data are needed during critical times of the year.
The location of North Border Analytics affords customers the ability to build a personal relationship with the laboratory. Brian will provide in-person meetings to discuss customer needs, operational goals, and develop sampling and analytical schedules to ensure that North Border Analytics is meeting the technical needs of it’s customer base. The laboratory has an open door policy, meaning that when a current or interested customer is traveling on the Hi-Line, they can stop by the laboratory to chat with Brian to become familiar with the business and discuss how the laboratory and field services can be incorporated into their operational management.
