Customer Reviews

Plowed Under: Agriculture & Environment in the Palouse (Weyerhaeuser Environmental Books)

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This book covers the history of soil conservation (or lack thereof) in the Palouse, an agricultural area in eastern Washington state which is mainly dedicated to growing wheat. The book covers the time period from pre-settlement to the present, of farming practices in the Palouse region. It is especially concerned with the issues of erosion and soil conservation. Especially during the period from shortly after settlement to the present, it uses a wide range of historical sources to highlight in detail the ongoing efforts of experts to stop soil erosion. The pre-settlement and the settlement itself are somewhat pre-historic in the sense that they were poorly documented at the time. An expanding mechanization and scale, increase of monoculture and use of chemicals characterize the successive periods that follow. For more than a century experts have warned of the dangers of soil erosion while farmers have ignored these warnings with impunity.

Despite its focus on soil conservation, the book never really explains the issue. For instance, it does not describe in a systematic way what soil is, how it is formed, and what its role in farming is. What there is, is mostly scattered throughout the book, where here and there a few lines are spent making some assertion about soil, often in the form of a quote. Similarly, the book falls short in explaining why Palouse farmers insist on using summer fallow. It is also short on practical recommendations for soil conservation (other than contour plowing) and fails to discuss the benefits of no-till chemical farming. It is difficult to determine where the author exactly stands on the issue, as he mostly uses quotes and only in the epilogue speaks for himself. The intention of the book appears to be to promote the need for soil conservation, but it fails to make the case. After reading the book, the conclusion could easily be the opposite: For a century farmers have produced ever-increasing yields while consistently ignoring calls for soil conservation, so perhaps the experts were wrong and soil conservation does not matter after all.