necessary to know the details of the soil, crop, climate,
Czymmek, Heather Darby, Addy Elliott, Charles Francis,
machinery, human considerations, and other variable
Tim Griffin, Joel Gruver, Karl Hammer, Jon Hanson,
factors. Good soil management needs to be adaptive and
Ellen Harrison, John Havlin, Robert L. Hill, Bruce
is better achieved through education and understanding
Hoskins, Bill Jokela, Doug Karlen, Ann Kennedy, Charles
than with simple recommendations.
Mitchell, Jr., Tom Morris, John Peters, Stu Pettygrove,
Over many centuries, people have struggled with
Marianne Sarrantonio, John Sawyer, Eric Sideman, Gene
the same issues we struggle with today. We quote some
Stevens, Jeff Strock, and Ray Weil.
of these people in many of the epigraphs at the begin-
We recognize colleagues who provided photos in
ning of each chapter in appreciation for those who have
the figure captions, and we are grateful for their con-
come before. Vermont Agricultural Experiment Station
tribution. All other photos are our own or in the public
Bulletin No. 135, published in 1908, is especially fascinat-
domain. We also acknowledge some of our colleagues—
ing; it contains an article by three scientists about the
Bob Schindelbeck, George Abawi, David Wolfe, Omololu
importance of soil organic matter that is strikingly mod-
(John) Idowu, Ray Weil, and Rich Bartlett (deceased)—
ern in many ways. The message of Edward Faulkner’s
whose ideas and insights have helped shape our under-
Plowman’s Folly—that reduced tillage and increased use
standing of the subject. And we thank our wives, Amy
of organic residues are essential to improving soil—is
Demarest and Cindy van Es, for their patience and
as valid today as in 1943 when it was first published.
encouragement during the writing of this book. Any
And let’s not forget the first textbook of soil manage-
mistakes are, of course, ours alone.
ment, Jethro Tull’s A Horse-Hoeing Husbandry, or an
Essay on the Principles of Tillage and Vegetation, first
— Fred Magdoff
published in 1731. Although it discusses now-refuted con-
Professor Emeritus
cepts, like the need for intensive tillage, it contains the
Department of Plant & Soil Science
blueprints for modern seed drills. The saying is right—
University of Vermont
what goes around comes around. Sources are cited at the
end of each chapter and at the end of the book, although
— Harold van Es
what’s provided is not a comprehensive list of references
Professor and Chair
on the subject.
Department of Crop & Soil Sciences
Many people reviewed individual chapters or the
Cornell University
entire manuscript at one stage or another and made
very useful suggestions. We would like to thank George
June 2009
Abawi, William Brinton, Andy Clark, Bill Cox, Karl
x
Building SoilS for Better CropS: SuStainaBle Soil ManageMent
