TY - JOUR T1 - Building our science base JF - Journal of Soil and Water Conservation SP - 4A LP - 4A VL - 62 IS - 1 AU - Craig A. Cox Y1 - 2007/01/01 UR - http://www.jswconline.org/content/62/1/4A.abstract N2 - Thanks to the leadership and hard work of Max Schnepf, we are celebrating 2007 with a new book entitled Environmental Benefits of Conservation Practices on Cropland: The Status of Our Knowledge. The book is a comprehensive literature review documenting the environmental effects of incorporating conservation practices into agricultural operations. The immediate objective of this effort was to construct a scientific foundation for the USDA Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) initiative by documenting what we know and don't know about the environmental effects of putting individual conservation practices on the land. In the big picture, however, I think this book—and CEAP itself—is a product of two important changes in U.S. agricultural conservation policy: (1) the advent of the environmental movement and (2) major increases in funding for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation programs. For decades, the primary purpose of agricultural conservation programs … ER -