The Message of Soils

Remarks delivered by Arlen L. Lancaster, Chief, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, to the 2008 Annual Conference of the Soil and Water Conservation Society.
Tucson, Arizona
July 28, 2008

INTRODUCTION
Thanks, Peggie [James]. Good morning. I really being at SWCS, because it is an opportunity to interact with so many people who are a critical part of the science and art of soil and water conservation.

As was kindly acknowledged a few moments ago, one familiar face we don’t have with us this year is my predecessor at NRCS, Norm Berg. In addition to being Chief Emeritus at the time of his death, Norm was my friend, and a friend to conservationists everywhere.
He is certainly missed.

GETTING THE MESSAGE OUT
Norm never seemed to tire of telling people about the importance of soil, or reminding us of our responsibilities as citizens, and landowners, in caring for it.

He said: “Maintaining the quantity and quality of our soil for the continuing production of food and fiber I feel, is the most important single issue.”

He understood that the payoff for educating farmers and ranchers and planners about the need for soil conservation was change: change in how we manage, improve, and protect our most basic natural resource.

SWCS members understand this as well as anyone, since your mission focuses on fostering soil and water conservation and on promoting sound science to support needed practices.

During an interview late last year, Norm reflected on what he believed to be the incremental nature of conservation; which is to say, he thought that it happened from farm to farm and ranch to ranch, one producer at a time.

And, for most of our existence at NRCS, he was right.

It has been a challenge to reach a “tipping point” to achieve national awareness of the importance of soils—much less to generate positive action in response.

That is why the new Smithsonian soils exhibition, called “Dig It! The Secrets of Soil,” is truly groundbreaking.

It offers us the opportunity to teach literally millions of museum-goers—perhaps as many as 20 million or more over the next five years—a critical lesson about soils:
That soils support life, soils support us, and we must support soils.

“Dig it!” illustrates, and magnifies, Norm’s message in ways that would surprise—and I think, please—him, and perpetuates his work and the legacy of the thousands of soil surveyors, scientists, technicians, and other experts who have devoted their lives to helping the rest of us make a connection with soils.

You are going to hear much more about the exhibition during the Pritchard Lecture which follows my remarks. But at the risk of stealing a bit of my colleagues’ thunder, I want to share some of my perceptions about it with you and recognize some of the contributions and partnerships that made it possible.

NRCS-USDA ROLE IN “DIG IT!”
Five USDA agencies have lent a hand to the exhibition, in one way or another: by providing funding, technical expertise, creative input, or facilitating contacts with outside entities.

In addition to NRCS, those agencies include: the U.S. Forest Service; the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; the Cooperative State, Research, Education and Extension Service; and the Agricultural Research Service.

In one sense, you could say that we began preparing for the exhibition as far back as 1899, when the USDA Division of Soils published its first report on soil surveying with the goal of sharing knowledge about soils to aid agriculture.

In the modern era, this effort got underway at NRCS in 1998 when some of our staff began assembling a U.S. Soil Monolith collection for display on the National Mall, to recognize the 100th anniversary of the National Cooperative Soil Survey in 1999.

It included monoliths for all 50 states, which were viewed by thousands of people.

In the decade since then, and in anticipation of “Dig It!”, the monoliths were stored, maintained, and repaired.

We also added monoliths for the District of Columbia soil—with the nice name of “Sunnyside”—and some U.S. territories.

I can tell you the monoliths are a very attractive and popular part of the exhibition, especially since they are grouped to be aesthetically pleasing, rather than arranged alphabetically or geographically.
This forces most visitors to have to push farther into the exhibit to find their “native” soil, so to speak. And then, we’ve got ‘em!

Something wonderful happens.

Missourians who didn’t know their state had a soil are thrilled to find out it’s called “Menfro.”

My fellow Utahans learn ours is “Mivida.”

And folks from here in Arizona become acquainted with “Casa Grande,” named for the national monument not too far from here.

Thanks to a virtual postcard from each state, they can keep digging to unearth more detail: that, for example, Daniel Boone built his homestead on Menfro soil.

And suddenly—wham!—we’ve made a connection.

The substance formerly known as “dirt” has become “soil,” with ties to their particular state—and state of mind.

Wendell Berry referred to soil as “the great connector of our lives.” I can tell you, you’d have no doubt about the accuracy of that statement while standing in the “All American Soils” room at the Museum.

MORE ON THE EXHIBITION
The exhibition has quite remarkable breadth, ranging from a global perspective to soils issues in the standard suburban backyard.

(As an aside, the global feature boasts an impressive world soils map, courtesy of NRCS Soil Geographer Paul Reich, and some fascinating photos, courtesy of NRCS Soil Scientist Hari Eswaran.)

In many cases, the displays are interactive and some of them feature “Soil Savvy” components to highlight stewardship and conservation.

The exhibition shows visitors how land use and planning are influenced by knowledge of soils and environmental trends of the type derived from the National Cooperative Soil Survey, and other activities.

And the exhibition drives home the idea that we rely on soils for so many things we take for granted in our daily lives, above and beyond food: from antibiotics to kitty litter, and from wool clothes to tiles on the space shuttle.

As Deputy Under Secretary Gary Mast said recently, “It is a world-class exhibit for a world-class museum,” and one that the organizations that helped bring it to life can take pride in.

PARTNERS
I do want to mention a few more of the individuals and groups who made “Dig It!” possible.

The Smithsonian Institution and the National Museum of Natural History first and foremost, for making a subject of true consequence so accessible to so many people. Pat Megonigal, who is going to talk with you in a bit, is the exhibition’s lead curator, and a real champion of healthy soils.

The Soil Science Society of America and The Fertilizer Institute—two entities many of us have worked closely with—are the primary sponsors. Without their vision and, it must be said, funding, there would be no exhibition.

The D.C. Chapter of SWCS has also been involved, as have other federal partners including the Department of the Interior and NASA.

I cannot encourage you strongly enough to get to Our Nation’s Capital to see “Dig It!” for yourself.

THE MORAL OF THE STORY
The moral of the “Dig It!” story is a pretty simple one: the more accessible and user-friendly you make knowledge and information, the more change you can create.

That is a lesson we have to remind ourselves of, day in and day out. Think about the Web Soil Survey and how many people now have access to the critical information it contains, via the Internet.

Users no longer have to trek to their USDA Service Center or the public library to flip through huge, dusty volumes to find what they need. With a couple of clicks they can find, download and print the desired soils information for practically anywhere in the country.

On-demand services like this are gaining in popularity, not decreasing. So, if we want to keep our message front and center, we must constantly strive to improve the user-friendliness and accessibility of our products and services.

That applies to us at NRCS and to the conservation districts with respect to the delivery of technical and financial assistance.

And it applies to SWCS as you work to enhance members’ expertise and find the best ways to meet new and existing challenges relating to soil and water conservation.

I urge all of us to make usability a guidepost if we are to address our conservation goals.

At a recent session in the Chesapeake Bay region, producers all but begged us to keep things simple, to minimize the number of new programs and to make it clear how proposed practices and procedures will help them meet their conservation and business goals. This is because they understand adoption of conservation is as much about the ease of implementation as it is the complexity of the science.

Since becoming Chief of NRCS, making conservation easier has been one of my highest priorities, and that most definitely includes making science and services more accessible to customers and other citizens.

IN CLOSING
In closing, let me say I’m confident we have a lot to look forward to as members of the conservation community, with a new farm bill to implement and plenty of opportunities to get conservation on the ground.

We also know that because of “Dig It!”, multiple millions more citizens of the world will come to care about soils over the next few years, and that is a truly exciting prospect.

Through our work we can help them to help the land and achieve the productive lands and healthy environment we all desire.

Thank you for the opportunity to be with you today, to share my enthusiasm for the new exhibition.

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It is now my pleasure to introduce the President of the Soil Science Society of America, which is Dig It’s Founding Sponsor.

Gary "Pete" Peterson is professor and department head of the Soil and Crop Sciences Department at Colorado State University. Pete’s areas of specialization include: water conservation and tillage, soil-crop management in dryland systems and soil organic matter management.

His Dryland Agroecosystem Project’s research goals were to: increase overall precipitation-use efficiency in dryland systems, decrease soil erosion and reverse the long-term, organic matter loss pattern that has accompanied conventional cropping practices in dryland areas.

Please join me in welcoming the President of the Soil Science Society of America, Dr. Pete Peterson.

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