Professional

 On June 11, 2010 Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen signed into law the "Soil Scientists Licensing Act of 2009."  Specifically, the bill creates licensure for the practice of soil science which is defined (in the bill) as, "[the] investigation, inspection, collection, or evaluation of soil as a means to classify soil pursuant to the use and application of the USDA soil taxonomy standard, as revised, or the interpretation,inventory, planning, or mapping resulting from classifying soils."   The passage of this legislation is monumental for the profession of soil science in Tennessee.  

For several years now, I have heard many of our members say that they are locked out of the business of Storm Water and Erosion Control work because their state or local agencies have defined all of that work as “engineering” and they are barred from performing the design of the plans.

Invest in yourself. Invest in your profession.

My career has seen the soil science profession shift from predominantly government employer to mixed private, government and university employers. Until recently, I thought I was witnessing the decline of the profession, but now I believe it is the effect of the diversification that has ultimately broadened the knowledge and application of soil scientists. Today, there are more laws and regulations that pertain to soils than ever before, and states continue to add licensing. So why is the number of soil science students continuing to decrease?

Does your business use independent contractors? Then you need to read this. (via http://www.peoplesmartz.com.au/)

When you decide that it’s necessary to raise your fees you must determine the best way to sell the idea. That is, to inform clients of the new fee structure in the most advantageous way. Here are some ideas:

The Soil Science Society of America's (SSSA) new Scientific Expertise Directory includes a search of 128 areas of scientific expertise, and can include city, state, and country to narrow the results. Members self-identify areas of expertise in agronomy, crops, soils, and environmental sciences.

Received by NSCSS: On behalf of the Officers of the International Union of Soil Science, we are delighted to extend our personal invitation to you to join us in Brisbane, Australia for the 19th World Congress of Soil Science to be held 1-6 August 2010 at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The Consulting Soil Scientists of the Carolinas approached NSCSS with a grand idea: a chapter website as part of the national society website. John Williams (CSSC President), David Crouse (NCSU, soil-science.info webmaster), Philip Small (NSCSS webmaster), and Stuart Gaston (korlon.com, website designer) convened a teleconference August 7 to discuss needs and solutions. Currently, CSSC uses a Yahoo! Group as a website, however, as a private site it doesn't accommodate a public presence. A CSSC website should be able to handle both private and public discussions and host files for download.

Don't miss the NSCSS session when you attend the 2009 SSSA annual meeting in Pittsburg, PA.

In May 2009, NSCSS presented results of a professional practice survey at the National Soil Survey Planning Conference in Las Cruces New Mexico. The study was comprised of 42 questions using online survey software in late spring 2008. Almost half of the NSCSS membership responded.

Highlights:

• 91 percent of the respondents reported that consulting was their full time occupation and 86 percent reported that soil consulting was their primary area of consulting.
• While only 27 percent said they had retired before they began to consult, a significant 59 percent of the respondents were 50 years of age or older, and 28 percent were 60 years of age or older.
• Level of education split the responses nearly in half with 45 percent reporting bachelors level education and 48 percent reporting masters level education. Only 7 percent reported doctorate level education.

First, I want to go back in history. In the late 70's and early 80's I learned that civil engineers were legally licensed as registered engineers. The Florida Department of Health Department (FDOH), including their predecessor agencies, would normally accept the data the engineers submitted for permitted septic tank absorption fields. In very late 1982, the predecessor agency to the FDOH mandated the sole use of USDA SCS methodology.

Well, several rumors have been going around about Florida Senate Bill 1318 that are not correct. As I see it, this will attempt to explain how this transpired.

Our state certification bill (SSB 5698) for soil scientists and wetland scientists is now scheduled for a hearing in the House Commerce and Labor Committee at 10 am on Tuesday March 24th. Please notify interested parties, and encourage them to email our sponsors or committee members (provided below) with words of support prior to the hearing.