Utilizing Our Soil Resources For 

 Greater Production^ 



By Robert M. Salter 



[With 1 plate] 



In some quarters there is concern as to whether the nation's soil 

 resources can support the United States in a position of world leader- 

 ship. Our soils are capable. We can be confident of that. The prob- 

 lem is to manage our soils so as (1) to yield enough crops to meet 

 current increasing demands, (2) while doing it, to increase soil pro- 

 ductivity enough to support even higher production on a sustained 

 basis, and (3) to provide farm families with a high standard of living. 



Some popular opinion holds these to be conflicting objectives. I 

 do not. There is an abundance of scientific evidence, backed by prac- 

 tical application on farms, to conclude that we can make our soils 

 produce enough to meet current needs and also to provide for the long 

 pull. Modern measures for improved soils management contribute 

 toward both goals simultaneously. The job is to get such measures 

 into general use on farms — a job that will take much "doing." 



As a backdrop for discussing the various factors involved in this 

 concept of soil utilization, we need to consider the size of the produc- 

 tion job, trends in crop production, and the nature of our soil resources. 



HOW MUCH PRODUCTION? 



No one can predict accurately the production requirements for world 

 leadership. We do know that the demand for agricultural products 

 has been increasing at a rapid rate since the summer of 1950 when the 

 free world took a firm stand in resisting Red aggression. We also 

 know that food is a potent instrument for winning and retaining 

 friendship with other free nations. In many instances, food can do 

 wdiat bombs and bullets cannot accomplish. 



1 Reprinted by permission from the Annals of the American Academy of Political and 

 Social Science, November 1051. 



»At the time this article was written, Dr. Salter was Chief of the Bureau of Plant 

 Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engineering, U. S. Department of Agriculture. He is 

 now Chief of the Soil Conservation Service in the same department. 



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