2018 SWCS International Annual Conference July 29-August 1, 2018 Albuquerque Convention Center

1. Enhancing Value-Based Adoption of Soil
and Water Conservation Practices
Tom Sauer
USDA-ARS-NLAE
Ames, IA
1
Chair, Commission on the History, Philosophy
and Sociology of Soil Science (C4.5)
International Union of Soil Science

2. 2

3. The 68th UN General Assembly declared 2015 the International Year of
Soils (IYS) (A/RES/68/232).
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has been
nominated to implement the IYS 2015, within the framework of the
Global Soil Partnership and in collaboration with Governments and the
secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
The IYS 2015 aims to increase awareness and understanding of the
importance of soil for food security and essential ecosystem functions.
http://www.iuss.org/index.php?article_id=588
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4. Soil in Film
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5. 5
Top Programs in the United States, 1995-2016
Rank Program
Number of Recipients
1995-2016
Subsidy Total
1995-2016
1 Corn Subsidies 1,841,844 $105,985,590,547
2 Wheat Subsidies 1,552,872 $43,273,694,413
3 Conservation Reserve Program 1,005,459 $38,601,861,405
4 Cotton Subsidies 304,269 $37,651,250,394
5 Soybean Subsidies 1,204,610 $35,632,310,883
6 Disaster Payments 1,490,024 $30,998,612,599
7 Rice Subsidies 82,728 $15,343,046,136
8 Livestock Subsidies 916,705 $10,332,892,544
9 Sorghum Subsidies 694,687 $7,871,924,419
10 Dairy Program Subsidies 163,022 $5,582,092,050
11 Env. Quality Incentive Program 279,783 $4,236,241,343
12 Peanut Subsidies 96,523 $4,013,055,193
13 Barley Subsidies 388,012 $3,051,949,503
14 Tobacco Subsidies 405,070 $1,895,469,609
15 Sunflower Subsidies 74,584 $1,207,879,941
16 Canola Subsidies 26,045 $766,680,347
17 Wetlands Reserve Program 6,491 $532,964,046
18 Price Loss Coverage - Wheat 173,045 $499,187,771
19 Oat Subsidies 706,374 $332,620,252
20 Apple Subsidies 8,586 $261,540,987
https://farm.ewg.org/region.php?fips=00000

6. 6https://farm.ewg.org/region.php?fips=00000
USDA Conservation Programs
$2.31 billion/year
$6.3 million/day
$264,000/hour
$4,400/minute
TJS’ 20 min talk:
$88,000
22%
9%
13%
56%
~ 20/yr C-130J
Super Hercules
($100+ million each)

7. https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/
technical/nra/nri/?cid=stelprdb1041887
Blue dot = 100,000 tons erosion by water
Red dot = 100,000 tons erosion by wind
http://www.gulfhypoxia.net/news/default.asp?XML
Filename=201106211203.xml 7
Soil and Water

8. 8
Soil and Trouble
Science 11 Jun 2004:
Vol. 304, Issue 5677,
pp. 1614-1615
DOI:
10.1126/science.304.56
77.1614

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10. 10
Neglect
Erosion
Degradation
Respect
Conservation
Restoration
The Fate of Soil and Water
yin yang

11. 11
If we value the many functions of soils and really
appreciate their importance for food production and other
ecosystem services, why do we, like past generations, not
manage them in a more sustainable fashion?
Or
Do soil erosion/degradation really matter?
The Question(s)
Some Responses
 It’s too risky or expensive to change practices
 My erosion is low and yields are still increasing anyway
 I only rent the land so it’s not up to me
 Reduced or no-tillage may reduce erosion but it lowers yield
 Surface crop residue increases disease and insect pressure
 “Conservation doesn’t pay” or “Erosion/degradation don’t matter

12. How Important are Economic Considerations?
12https://www.cnpp.usda.gov/sites/default/files/crc2015.pdf
Many things
that are very
important to
us have
economic
value that is
difficult to
quantify.

13. Conservation
“a careful preservation and protection of something;
especially : planned management of a natural resource to
prevent exploitation, destruction, or neglect”
(Meriam Webster)
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“The outcome is a tribute
to the wisdom, courage
and foresight of the farm
families who adopted the
modern methods of
conservation farming
illustrated here.”
Aldo Leopold (1887-1948)

14. Aldo Leopold
• Wrote but never submitted “Some
Fundamentals of Conservation in the
Southwest – Conservation as a Moral Issue”
in 1923 (Published in 1979: Environmental
Ethics 1:131-141)
“If there be, indeed, a special nobility inherent in the human race – a
special cosmic value, distinctive from and superior to all other life – by
what token shall it be manifest? By a society decently respectful of its
own and all other life, capable of inhabiting the earth without defiling it?”
• Americans: “…self-imposed doctrine of
ruthless utilitarianism.” 1935. Am. Forests
41:205-208.
• 3 motives for soil conservation – self interest, legislation, & ethics
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“The landscape of any farm is the farmer’s portrait of himself. Conservation
implies self-expression in that landscape, rather than blind compliance with
economic dogma.”
Aldo Leopold Forest

15. Leopold’s “The Land Ethic”
• Essay in “A Sand County Almanac” (1949)
“The case for a land ethic would appear hopeless but for the
minority which is in obvious revolt against these ‘modern’
trends.”
“Despite nearly a century of propaganda, conservation still
proceeds at a snail’s pace; …”
“It is inconceivable to me that an ethical relation to land can
exist without love, respect, and admiration for land, and a high
regard for its value. By value, I of course mean something far
broader than mere economic value; I mean value in the
philosophical sense.”
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16. “White”
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Lecture delivered to the American
Association for the Advancement
of Science December 26, 1966 in
Washington, DC.

17. Lynn White, Jr. 1967. The historical roots of our
ecologic crisis. Science. 155:1203-1207.
“… no item in the physical creation had any purpose save to serve
man’s purposes.”
“science and technology … joined to give mankind power which, to
judge by many of the ecological effects, are out of control. If so,
Christianity bears a huge burden of guilt.”
“… our present science and technology are so tinctured with
Orthodox Christian arrogance toward nature that no solution for
our ecologic crisis can be expected from them alone.”
https://natureecoevocommunity.nature.com/users/24738-michael-paul-
nelson/posts/14041-the-long-reach-of-lynn-white-jr-s-the-historical-roots-of-our-ecologic-
crisis
Michael Paul Nelson
Ruth H. Spaniol Chair of Renewable Resources and Professor of
Environmental Ethics and Philosophy, Oregon State University
17

18. White - Continuing the Conversation
“Men commit their lives to what they consider good.”
White, L., Jr. 1973. Continuing the conversation. pp. 55-64 In: I.. Barbour (ed.)
Western Man and Environmental Ethics – Attitudes Toward Nature and
and Technology. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA. 276 pp.
“The artifacts of society, including its political,
social and economic patterns, are shaped
primarily by what the mass of individuals in that
society believe, at the sub-verbal level, about who
they are, about their relation to other people and
to the natural environment, and about their own
destiny.”
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TJS 2018: “Farm landowners and operators commit
their resources to what they value.”

19. Wisdom
1a : accumulated philosophic or scientific learning
: knowledge
b : ability to discern inner qualities and relationships
: insight
c : good sense : judgment
d : generally accepted belief
2 : a wise attitude, belief, or course of action
m-w.com
Star Wars: Episode II. Attack of the Clones
2002
Dexter Jettster: “I should think you Jedi
would have more respect for the difference
between knowledge and wisdom.”
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Developing Good Practices

20. East / Pre-19th
Century West
Modern West
KnowledgeUnderstanding
Science
Philosophy
Religion
Religion
Philosophy
Science
Value
Structures
Practice
Wisdom?
P. Khan, 1999
Science and Culture
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21. 21
“Because it’s essential to connect the impacts of
a changing climate directly to what’s already
meaningful in one’s life, and for many people,
faith is central to who they are.”
Katharine Hayhoe

22. Going Forward
• The focus of science is on data, in pursuit of knowledge.
Methods and protocols for collecting, interpreting, and
reporting are well established and widely accepted.
• The development of equitable/sound management
practices requires accurate interpretation and application of
information (i.e. wisdom). Methods and protocols are not as
well established or widely accepted.
• In order to improve soil and water conservation in the 21st
century, agricultural management must move beyond
economics as the primary determinant of good practice.
• To achieve the full benefit of science’s contributions,
greater appreciation of ethical perspectives is needed to
assure wise use of resources.
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23. Benedictine Stewardship
St. Benedict of Nursia (c.480-543)
Vow of Stability
“The vow of stability concerns the
commitment of the monks to stay
long periods of time in the same
place, utilizing the same space,
buildings and tools, and
ultimately passing something on
to yet another generation.”
D. M. Nothwehr, 2002
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24. How Important are Economic Considerations?
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If you find a wallet on the sidewalk on a deserted street
with $1000 of cash and ID inside, do you
1) take the money (economic decision) or
2) find the owner?
If you chose #2, why?
Personal values do
enter into your decisions
- When?
- Why?
- How?