Dirt Hog’s Companion

The original Dirt Hog's Companion was organized around a series of technical notes addressing a single topic in agronomy and formed part of a larger opus, the Field Manual for Troubleshooting Soil and Crop Productivity. This manual was prepared for summer interns enrolled in an 8-week field practicum aimed at troubleshooting agronomic problems at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems in Goldsboro, N.C. The purpose of the technical notes was to instill a basic, practical understanding of the soil-water-crop relations underlying a successful farming operation. None of the interns had training in soil science or agronomy, or experience farming, so it was necessary to frame some complex ideas in simple, unambiguous language. In this hyper-specialized epoch, every profession has its coveted jargon to dissuade the uninitiated. The agronomic sciences are no different. Albert Einstein once said that if he couldn't explain quantum physics in language the average person could understand, he was over-complicating things. That may be a stretch, but the point is that successful problem-solving requires careful study, full description, and keen judgment at every point. Interns were encouraged to study the notes and lead a brief discussion of the concepts before each field excursion. Below are selected notes in revised, stand-alone format. Final project reports from the 2003 and 2004 intern sessions are also included. Click the image tiles to open.