Millions of ha of sodic soils exist around the world and the movement of water through these soils is most directly dictated by the concentration of Na and overall electrical conductivity of the soil, and minerology of the clay. Helping farmers, land managers, crop advisors, and students better understand why water moves or does not move in these…

As our population continues to grow, the demand of a more efficient agriculture system heightens. We work to produce the highest yield possible to cover demands. Are we compromising our water quality for mass food production? In past years, the West Coast growers had been facing increasing struggles to farm with their allotted water often turning…

Agriculture in much of Uganda is struggling, especially in Soroti District. Many of the issues are linked to the poor soils that are present in this region. Farmers in Soroti District will need to adopt various soil conservation techniques and practices to improve their soils over time and increase production.

Enrollment in soil science courses at land grant universities in the United States has been stagnant or declining for the last 20 years and this trend is expected to continue in the foreseeable future. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate a newly developed course in drinking water and human health (DWHH) that was designed to widen soil science…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, preexisting soil science laboratories were redesigned for self-guided learning (SGL). The SGL laboratories occurred on-campus during the fall 2020 semester in two introductory soil science courses at the University of Tennessee at Martin and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Students carried out the…

Programs that emphasize the important, multifaceted roles that soils play as the interfaces between humanity and the earth are needed to attract new students from diverse backgrounds. The Basic and Environmental Soil Science Training Research Experience for Undergraduates (BESST REU) site aims to provide undergraduates from a variety of science,…

A dynamic and diverse workforce of agricultural professionals and scientists is needed to develop sustainable and innovative solutions for the challenges of food production for a growing population under the threat of climate extremes. One path to developing workforce talent is through summer research and extension experiences. The Applied Plant…

Student-student interactions are influential parts of field experiences. While competitive judging events are a fun way to engage students in field-based learning, the focus on competition leads to an atmosphere that discourages collaboration between students. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cognitive and affective learning…

Soil knowledge is essential to address modern global challenges. Soil science education began with soil survey and agricultural activities, with a focus on the traditional subdisciplines of soil chemistry, soil physics, pedology, soil mineralogy, and soil biology. Soil education has evolved to address the needs of an increasing variety of fields…

In spring 2016, a course at Ohio State University (OSU) was introduced to teach advanced agronomic concepts and included the option to prepare students for the Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) exams offered by the American Society of Agronomy. From 2019 to 2021, revisions in instructional methods were implemented that introduced the use of pretests…

Soil judging contests are important activities to explore the soil science and its relation to the natural world. They have been held for many years and proved to be very efficient for the student's engagement, field practice, and learning. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the soil science societies worldwide had to adapt this activity to the virtual…

In the early 2000s some were concerned that few soil science graduate students were receiving their bachelor's degrees in soil science. However, no studies were conducted to investigate this or how it may have changed over time. Information available on university webpages for faculty in the United States was used to determine the faculty's…

As with many aspects of teaching, the COVID-19 pandemic forced soil judging teams to attempt new strategies towards achieving student learning outcomes. Soil judging Regions IV and V hosted remote regional contests in October 2020 in place of traditional, in-person contests typically held each fall. We conducted pre- and post-contest surveys to…

As the use of online education increases, technologies to improve the quality of learning have been improving alongside it. One method of information dissemination is virtual learning environments (VLE), in which educators can tailor digital lessons according to their subject and the needs of their students. For soil science, and field-based…

Concern over the status of soil science education in the United States has led to a number of publications in recent years that track trends in student enrollment and offer suggestions for attracting more students to soil science. However, there is little information about changes in the number of degree programs that prepare students for careers…