TY - JOUR T1 - Soil loss: A question of values JF - Journal of Soil and Water Conservation SP - 89 LP - 92 VL - 37 IS - 2 AU - Ken Cook Y1 - 1982/03/01 UR - http://www.jswconline.org/content/37/2/89.abstract N2 - HOW Much More Topsoil Can Farmers Lose? “blared the six-column headline in the November 12, 1978, Des Moines Sunday Register. The emphatic answer was “none,” as Iowa academics and soil conservation officials registered strong opposition to a Soil Conservation Service (SCS) proposal to raise soil loss tolerances—T values—for selected soils. It was meant to be an internal matter. “We were airing some ideas,” one participant recalled. Early in 1976, SCS officials in Washington, D.C., began a review of T Values, in particular the values assigned to deep loess soils. Two years of committee meetings and draft documents culminated in a set of suggested revisions in the agency's National Soils Handbook. In August 1978, these revisions were sent out for review to SCS state office personnel, who were asked to solicit the views of knowledgable peo- ple in their states. That is when the uproar began. What caused the most consternation was the document's suggestion that “there is good evidence today that if long-term productivity is considered apart from sediment influences, soil loss tolerances of 5 tom per acre per year overprotect a … ER -