Soil Conservation Service
The Soil Conservation Service (SCS) was established by the U.S. Congress in 1935 through the Soil Conservation Act, evolving from the earlier Soil Erosion Service. Its primary aim was to create and support soil conservation districts across the United States, facilitating improved land-use practices for farmers to combat soil erosion while maintaining agricultural productivity. By 1937, numerous states had enacted laws to support these districts. The SCS collaborated with various federal agencies, such as the Rural Electrification Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps, to implement effective erosion control measures, including innovative farming methods like crop rotation and terracing. Hugh Hammond Bennett, recognized as the pioneer of soil conservation, played a crucial role in launching demonstration projects that promoted these practices. In 1994, the SCS was reorganized and renamed the Natural Resources Conservation Service, reflecting its broader mission that now includes the conservation of soil, plants, and wildlife. This agency continues to play a vital role in supporting environmental stewardship and sustainable land management practices.
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Soil Conservation Service
Identification Federal government agency established to improve cropland
Date Formed on April 27, 1935
The Soil Conservation Service (SCS) played a major role during the 1930’s in helping farmers improve cropland destroyed by the drought in the United States that became known as the Dust Bowl. The SCS worked with farmers on their own land by implementing conservation plans and reducing erosion.
Congress adopted the Soil Conservation Act in 1935 and created the SCS as a permanent agency within the Department of Agriculture. The SCS assumed the responsibilities of its predecessor, the Soil Erosion Service. Under the 1935 act, the SCS was charged with establishing soil-conservation districts throughout the United States, which were formed in 1936; twenty-three states had passed soil-conservation-district laws by 1937.
In conjunction with other federal agencies, such as the Rural Electrification Administration, the SCS helped improve the plight of farmers through better land-use practices, while enabling them to continue deriving an income from their land. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) also worked with the SCS during the 1930’s to control erosion on state and federal properties. Hugh Hammond Bennett, considered the father of soil conservation and the first chief of the SCS, directed the establishment of demonstration projects in conjunction with the CCC. These demonstration projects showed how cropland could be saved from erosion through the use of new farming and soil-erosion-control practices, including terracing and rotating crops.
Impact
Bennett believed in the scientific approach to reducing soil erosion and commenced the long history of technical assistance provided by the SCS to farmers and other private land owners during the 1930’s. In 1994, the SCS was reorganized and its name was changed to the Natural Resources Conservation Service to better express the expanded roles of the agency, which range from conservation of soil to preservation of plants and wildlife.
Bibliography
Helms, Douglas. Readings in the History of the Soil Conservation Service. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, 1992.
Pasquill, Robert G., Jr. Planting Hope on Worn-out Land: History of the Tuskegee Land Utilization Project—Macon County, Alabama, 1935-1959. Montgomery, Ala.: NewSouth Books, 2009.
Philips, Sarah T. This Land, This Nation: Conservation, Rural America, and the New Deal. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007.