Thursday, April 5, 2018

International Soil and Water Conservation Society

This is the "home" of the International Soil and Water Conservation Society near Ankeny, Iowa. I have been a Life Member for a number of Years and served in this facility as Executive Director from the fall of 1989 through 1991. It was my last 8:00-5:00 job though I did a lot of traveling and was virtually "on duty" during much of the time while in the position.
The Society is dedicated to the sustainable use of our Soil and Water Resources. It is a Membership Organization with some 7,000 members around the World. The "refereed" Journal of Soil and Water Conservation is its "Hallmark" publication. The March/April 2018 issue is Volume 73, Number 2. The Journal has a Research section as well as a less technical feature. I plan to report on a "Viewpoint" article from this current issue tonight at our Magazine Club meeting. The article was written by B. A. Stewart and Rattan Lai and titled, "Managing water to enhance global cereal yields". The article considers the soil and water management systems that will be necessary to feed an increasing world population beyond our current 7.6 billion. It is projected to increase to 9.7 by 2050 and 11.2 by 2100. The rate of population growth has decreased to 1.09%/yr recently compared to over 2% during the 1960's, It is also anticipated that the urban population will continue to increase its majority. Soil Health and Water management techniques will be necessary to meet demand.

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