The Stewardship of the Soil / Baccalaureate Address by John Henry Worst, President, North Dakota Agricultural College

An address arguing that stewardship of the soil is a moral and social obligation, warning that fertility can be depleted by extensive exploitation while emphasizing that productivity can be greatly raised by scientific methods. It contrasts nature's blind tendency toward sheer endurance with the human capacity to improve plants and animals through selection, tillage, breeding, research, and education, citing European examples of intensified agriculture. The speaker calls for agricultural education, laboratory investigation, and public support to secure permanent, progressive farming that enhances yield quality, sustains soil fertility, and fulfills the farmer's responsibility to society and future generations.