What Lies Beneath

“There is a whole world beneath our feet and understanding soil allows us to better understand our natural world around us,” said Kristine Ryan the State Soil Scientist for USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service South Carolina.  

Ryan, with the support of the NRCS South Carolina State Conservationist, made it her goal to design and teach a soil-specific course to NRCS employees face-to-face. She said the course is beneficial because many new NRCS employees manage programs which require soil knowledge and that they need to be able to communicate with South Carolina landowners who already have a deep knowledge base of soil resources.  

“Training is the most important thing you need,” said the Acting State Conservationist for NRCS SC, Odessa Armstrong. “It can make or break you.”  

“Soils [training] was the foundation for my career,” she said. 

Armstrong, a South Carolina native, previously served in various positions and counties around the state to include St. Matthews and Orangeburg. Combined with her decades of service with the NRCS, she emphasized the impact of gaining and applying knowledge about soil to help the landowners and communities in the state. 

While the intent was to provide information to new employees, like Jordan Sanchez from York County, the soil class held in recently in Florence consisted of 27 NRCS employees whose NRCS careers ranged from four months to decades of agency service.  

Ryan collaborated with other soil scientists in NRCS, USDA Agricultural Research Service and US Forest Service at Francis Marion National Forest to develop a curriculum which consisted of hands-on experiences, current data and historical information to empower the attendees regarding the value of soil and its properties.  

“Soil provides us with not only a matrix for crop/food production, but in addition provides important ecosystem functions,” said Paul Shumaker, USDA Agricultural Research Service Soil Scientist.  

He said properly managed soil can help prevent flooding of inhabited areas and protect biodiversity. Conversely, mismanagement of soil resources can lead to non-productive land and eventual civilization collapse. 

“Many believe several of early civilizations failed due to mismanagement of soil resources,” said Shumaker.  

During the 1930s, a persistent drought and farmers who used a combination of destructive farming techniques caused 100 million acres of Great Plains farmland topsoil to blow away over several years and according to experts, created the worst manmade ecological disaster with economic effects in U.S. history – the Dust Bowl. This prompted Congress to create a federal agency, Soil Conservation Service, dedicated to taking care of our nation’s soil. The agency was later renamed Natural Resources Conservation Service. 

Ryan said, “Every [NRCS] conservation practice is based on the suitability of the soil on which it is constructed. Soil is the literal foundation of this agency.” 

For NRCS information on soil conservation basics, visit nrcs.usda.gov/conservation-basics/natural-resource-concerns/soil