Last Lecture Speaker Talks About How to Grow in Good Soil

Managing Editor

Photo by Douglas Boultinghouse

From the Field to the Store- Paul Francis explains how a loaf of bread affects more than the lives of a farmer and the consumer as it makes it journey from the farmer's field to a stores shelves at the Last Lecture Series, Nov. 19.

   Professor of Agriculture Paul Francis lectured how a person can grow in good soil in addition to soil conservation at the Journalism Club’s seventh Last Lecture Series Nov. 19.

    He decided to talk about soil and tie that into life. He said he was passionate about soil and agriculture. He titles his topic “Why we are ‘People of the Earth.”

   “I got to thinking about it, we are people of the earth.” Francis said. “By the time I finish this talk, I hope you have an appreciation of yourself and of soils and of agriculture and of other people.

    He asked how the audience cultivates their lives. He described good soil and management as being faithful to friends and family, getting an education, learning about the world around you and gaining wisdom and understanding. He said theses qualities are good fertilizers for a person’s life. Other qualities include: honesty, integrity, serving others, helping others, having a curiosity and “sharing that with others that cultivates good plants.”

   He described how the body was made up of different part of the soil like phosphorous, magnesium, calcium, sulfur, carbon and other minerals, which come from the soils, plants and the food we eat.

   He quoted from the scriptures about how humans were formed from the dust of the earth. He said we have a kindred connection to the soil and we are all people of the earth, so in a way it makes us in touch with nature whether we realize it or not.

   In the United States, he said we have three valuable resources we have our soils, water and people. We need to respect our soil. We need to respect our water resources and we need to respect each other, because we need each other. We need each other, our soil and our water.

   He described how the best soils were possible being lost at the rate of 200 acres a day. An acre is 43,560 square-feet or 1/640 square-miles. He saw this in Iowa and now some the best land has been developed for houses, subdivisions and businesses and as a nation, we are having to grow more with less and less.

   “He brought example soil found around campus and explained the different levels of dirt. He described the best soil as the topsoil. He said UAM had very shallow topsoil and if it washes away we will lose our topsoil.

   “If this washes away, and a lot soil around here is eroded, there goes your soil and you don’t have much underneath it. We have to manage this topsoil to conserve it and keep it in good health, just like our lives.

   He described soils as dynamic and living entities. Soil has all kinds of microorganisms, it shifts organic matter from season to season and it’s ever changing. Soil has a function of five factors including; parent material, the effect of plants on it, the climate and microorganisms in the soil.

   He talked about soils, because he thinks our society underestimates the value of soils. He brought a sample of a rare soil found in Arkansas. The soil can be found on less than two acres

   He talked about the philosophies of soils. He feels we all have a kindred connection to the soil.

   “I hope when you leave here tonight, I hope you not only appreciate nature and farming and agriculture,” Francis said. “I hope that you appreciate other people in addition to that.”

   He brought a loaf of bread to demonstrate how farming affects everyone from the farmer to the consumer. We have 16 billion dollars in Ag income last year. Farming and indirect farming was the largest employer in Arkansas.

   He broke down how a loaf of bread affects a many as 100 people. A consumer buys $1.97 loaf of bread. The farmer gets nine cents and the state receives 18 cents. In the process of the wheat coming from the farmer’s field to the store shelves many people benefited from it. These people include the workers at the grain elevator, the people who hauled to the mill and the company who made the bread.

   Francis was born in Memphis, Tenn. in 1957. His father worked for International Harvester. His family moved when he was 11-years-old to Iowa.

   He described his childhood as wonderful and said he was spoiled by his family on his mother’s side.

   He told some of his family history and talked about the development of Strike-King Lure Company and how his father got out of the business because it wasn’t going to make any money. He advised the members of the audience to pursue their dreams, but because they may turn out to be successful. 

Photo by Douglas Boutlinghouse

Top Soil- Francis explains about the different layers of soil. He brought a sample of the soil found on campus.

   After moving to Iowa, he became interested in farming after working on local farms. Surrounded by agriculture, he started doing odd jobs around the 7th grade in Bettendorf, Iowa, whenever a farmer needed help doing something. Then he started working full time and he really loved being in agriculture. He loved the soil, he loved growing things and his favorite show on TV was “Green Acres.”

    He told the story of his father and the reason why he is here today. He didn’t know his story until 8-years-ago. He learned about his father serving in World War II and how the GI Bill helped his father and uncles have the chance to go to college.

   Francis’s father was the youngest of five children, who grew up on a 380-acre farm. He described his grandparent’s farm as self- sufficient and having their own chickens and dairy cow. They made things they grew things and they lived off the land. They didn’t have any money when his father was a child. When World War II started, his father’s three older brothers were drafted into the army and he was drafted into the army his senior year in 1944. He served in Northern France after the invasion of Normandy. Because Francis' father served in the military, his father was able to go to college on the GI Bill.

   “That’s why I here today, because of my dad.  I had good soil to grow in. I had good people around me, that loved me,” he said. “I was in good soil to start my life with. I am very fortunate and humbled by all that.”

   All of his family worked in agriculture starting with his great, great Grandfather who settled the land in Kansas as a part of the Homestead Act of 1862.

    His family worked in the area of agriculture in some way. His father was an Agriculture Engineer, one uncle worked on the farm, his Uncle Lloyd became a soil conservationists and Uncle Jean was in Animal Science.

   He attended a high school, which cultivated his interest in science. His teachers enjoyed their jobs and they tried to stir up intellectual curiosity. Francis said that is what he has tried to carry on in his career, because that is what you need to be a good learner.

   “You got to have intellectual curiosity not matter what you are studying,” he said.

   He described himself as an average guy, but all the people in his life instilled in him an above average intellectual curiosity.

    He joked about different parts of his life and childhood experiences.

   “I’ve had some good people who loved me, cared about me, even though I didn’t appreciate it. Now the older I get the more appreciative I am of my life,” he said. “They cultivated me just like a crop and that’s what has stirred me in my career in the teaching field. That is what I want to do is cultivate learning in students and try to get them curious about the world they live in. “

   Francis said it’s always important to know a little bit about somebody to know where they are coming from and the four agriculture professors try to get know their students. Francis said he wanted to know his students, where they are from, where did you go to high school, and other background information to help him understand who they are and where they are coming from.

   “I meet some really interesting people, everybody’s got a story and once you understand where people are coming from, you can really learn to respect them as individuals. So that is kind of what my talk is all about tonight,” he said.  

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