An analytical method based on centrifugation is presented for reliably measuring the TSS (total suspended solids) and VSS (volatile suspended solids) of livestock slurries and other agricultural effluents. When compared with an existing procedure based on filtration, VSS measurements made using the proposed method were more reproducible (i.e. in terms of standard deviation). However; there was little difference in reproducibility between the two methods in measuring TSS. The proposed centrifuge-based method was less susceptible to error than the filtration technique but more time- consuming (although some simplification may be possible). Hence for measuring TSS alone, the existing standard filtration method remains the most appropriate. However; if TSS and VSS are to be measured as a pair; then the proposed method represents the more satisfactory approach. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.