Inside This Issue

ISTRO Conference                                     2 USCSSA                                                       _____       4 Farm Progress Show                                8  AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 914       11

 ISCA Summer Meeting Update

 

You’ve probably been wondering why there hasn’t been any notice about the summer meeting so far.  As a quick update, the Program Committee has been hard at work trying to set up a meeting between the ISCA and the Golf Superintendents of Northern Illinois (thanks Don!).  The Superintendents gave a tentative commitment to do a joint meeting earlier this summer, but they have not been responding to further inquiries since then.  Blame it on a busy summer golfing season I guess.  Either way we hope to be able to hold such a joint meeting with the superintendents next year.

 

We will be sending out a separate notice as to details of the “Summer Meeting” probably to be held in October in Northern Illinois. 

 

Regards,

 

Sam Indorante

ISCA Program Chair

 

August 16, 2003

 

President’s Column

 

Greetings from Northern Illinois!  I hope that you are having a productive summer.  In July I had the opportunity to attend the International Soil & Tillage Research Organization Triennial Conference in Brisbane, Australia.  Efforts to improve our understanding of soil response to different crop management systems are generating a lot of interest.  One of the things that made a deep impression on me was the state of soil mapping in other parts of the world.  The international delegation included representatives from over 30 different countries and it was educational to learn about the state of soil information transfer to the various user communities.  Many countries have coarse country-wide soil information, but there seems to be a lack of more detailed 2^nd order soil survey information.  Increasing the resolution of soil information is a focus of several select efforts.  Examples of this are the detailed soil mapping for wine vineyard layout (one backhoe pit characterized per acre) and Graham Shepherd’s work in New Zealand to help growers do visual soil assessment to determine limitations for crop growth.  Digital penetrometers continue to be an area of study as soil scientists try to quantify the impact of field operations on crop growth conditions.

 

Lots of interesting things are happening in soil science from agriculture to urban land use issues.  Our discipline continues to evolve, along with the rest of the scientific community, to address more real-world challenges, many which are global in nature.  The applications of soil information seem to increase with time.  Soil scientists are being called upon not only to help in matters of landuse planning (e.g., 2^nd order soil survey updates, wetland delineations, septic field sitings) but new application areas as well (e.g., impact of tillage equipment on soil conditions, golf course layout, non-invasive drain tile detection).  New methods for sensing soil attributes may enable soil scientists to increase the spatial resolution of their observations, focus more on soil attribute mapping, and help provide more interpretations of potential impact of soil properties on different applications.  It is an exciting time to be in soil science!

 

Feel free to contact me if you have any suggestions, questions, or concerns.

 

Regards,

Mark

Mark Stelford

815.761.0220

mark.stelford@EarthAgConsulting.com

 

International Soil & Tillage Research Organization (ISTRO)

http://www.istro.org

 

2003 Conference (16^th Triennial): Soil Management for Sustainability

13-18 July 2003

The University of Queensland

Brisbane, Australia

 

Meeting Highlights:

 

1. Controlled Traffic Farming (CTF)

·         Reduction of field area trafficked from 20-30% to 15% when CTF is employed

·         Increase in Plant Available Water Holding Capacity (PAWHC) in soil and better seedbeds resulting in better crop production

·         Several documented yield increases overall (including wheel tracks) using CTF and direct seeding techniques.

·         30% cost reduction (large part from reduced horsepower requirements)

·         Improved timeliness of field operations

·         One major challenge with CTF: establishment/maintenance of traffic alleys (potential for severe erosion and/or too wet to access).

·         Significant trend toward CTF in Australia: 5% of growers representing approximately 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres).

·         Typical dryland rotation: summer crop (rainy season) grain sorghum or mung beans; winter crop (dry season) wheat or chick peas

·         Unique soils of Australian agricultural production (Vertisols) & dryland environment of Queensland both accentuate the benefits of controlled traffic farming.  Several growers noted that soil moisture is the most important thing to monitor/manage on their farm.

 

 

2.       Conference field trip included a demonstration of a 3-point mounted Rimik penetrometer system (can be moved across the back of the tractor and the push rate is controlled by a hydraulic cylinder)

 

 

3.       Limited field level soil information in New Zealand has predicated the development of a soil physical assessment method used by growers to determine any physical soil limitations for crops at a site.

 

The United States Consortium of Soil Science Associations (USCSSA) is a new framework established to promote national communication and coordination between soils societies / associations. There are currently 48 individual state soil societies / associations. The ultimate goal is for all soil societies/associations to excel in sharing information and working together in promoting common goals, objectives, and activities. USCSSA can be found on the web at: http://soilsassociation.org/uscssa/search.htm The USCSSA includes the following organizations (official contact, addresses, and email for each organization are included under Membership): Professional Soil Classifiers Association of Alabama State Board of Registration for Professional Soil Classifiers - Alabama Alaska/Yukon Society of Professional Soil Scientists Soil Science Society of America Arkansas Association of Professional Soil Classifiers Arkansas State Board for Registration of Professional Soil Classifiers Professional Soil Scientists Association of California Florida Association of Environmental Soil Scientists Soil Science Society of Georgia Idaho Soil Scientists Association Illinois Soil Classifiers Association Indiana Association of Professional Soil Classifiers Indiana Registry of Soil Scientists Board Professional Soil Classifiers of Iowa Kansas Association of Professional Soil Classifiers Kentucky Association of Soil Classifiers Maine Association of Professional Soil Scientists Mid-Atlantic Association of Professional Soil Scientists Soil Classifiers Association of Michigan Minnesota Association of Professional Soil Scientists Professional Soil Classifiers Association of Mississippi Missouri Association of Professional Soil Scientists National Society of Consulting Soil Scientists Nebraska Society of Professional Soil Scientists New Hampshire Association of Natural Resource Scientists Society of Soil Scientists of Northern New England New Jersey Association of Professional Soil Scientists New Mexico Soil Science Society Empire State (New York) Pedologists Soil Science Society of North Carolina North Carolina Board for Licensing Soil Scientists Professional Soil Classifiers Association of North Dakota Association of Ohio Pedologists Professional Soil Scientists Association of Oklahoma Oregon Society of Soil Scientists Pennsylvania Association of Professional Soil Scientists Soil Science Society of South Carolina South Carolina Land Resources Commission Professional Soil Scientists Association of South Dakota Society of Soil Scientists of Southern New England Soil Scientists Association of Tennessee