This article is about the Agronomist. For the economist and financial regulator, see William P. Albrecht. For the Vietnam War veteran and author, see William Albracht.
William Albert Albrecht (September 12, 1888 – May 19, 1974)[1][2] chairman of the Department of Soils at the University of Missouri, was the foremost authority on the relation of soil fertility to human health and earned four degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. As emeritus professor of soils at the University of Missouri, he saw a direct link between soil quality, food quality and human health. He drew direct connections between poor quality forage crops, and ill health in livestock and from this developed a formula for ideal ratios of cations in the soil, the Base Cation Saturation Ratio. While he did not discover cation exchange in the soil as is sometimes supposed, he may have been the first to associate it with colloidal clay particles. He served as 1939 President of the Soil Science Society of America.[3]
Twenty years before the phrase 'environmental concern' crept into the national consciousness, he was lecturing from coast to coast on the broad topic of agricultural ecology. (C. Edmund Marshall, In Memoriam, 'Plant and Soil' vol 48.)[1]
" The soil is the ‘creative material’ of most of the basic needs of life. Creation starts with a handful of dust.” Dr. William A. Abrecht.[2]
Early life
William Albrecht was born of German ancestry on a farm on the prairie of north central Illinois in the Mid-West United States. After attending the local school he progressed via preparatory school to the University of Illinois where he obtained a B.A. degree in liberal arts. This led to a position teaching Latin and other subjects at Bluffton University, Ohio.[1]
Albrecht later returned to Illinois to gain a B.S. degree in biology and agricultural science. He then started graduate research in Botany whilst also teaching in the department of botany. This period was key to his lifelong devotion to scientific study of plant physiology and agriculture. It enabled him to take a microbiological view of plant structure whilst addressing the soil as a variable environment (either favourable or unsuitable). He presented his doctoral research in 1919, and it was published in the journal Soil Science in 1920 titled 'Symbiotic nitrogen fixation as influenced by nitrogen in the soil' His paper concluded that the nitrogen level in soil had no significant effect on fixation by legumes.[1]
Career
Albrecht was a devout agronomist,[4] the foremost authority on the relation of soil fertility to human health and earned four degrees from the University of Illinois. He became emeritus professor of soils at the University of Missouri. Dr. Albrecht saw a direct link between soil quality and food quality, drawing direct connection between poor quality forage crops, and ill health in livestock.[2]
From the late 1930s, as chairman of the Department of Soils at the University of Missouri, he began work at the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station investigating cation ratios and the growth of legumes. He had been investigating cattle nutrition, having observed that certain pastures seemed conducive to good health, and at some point he came to the conclusion that the ideal balance of cations in the soil was "H, 10%; Ca, 60 to 75% optimal 69%; Mg, 10 to 20% optimal 12%; K, 2 to 5%; Na, 0.5 to 5.0%; and other cations, 5%".[5]
While Albrecht was a highly respected soil scientist,[6][7] he discounted soil pH, stating that "plants are not sensitive to, or limited by, a particular pH value of the soil." Instead, he believed that the benefit of liming soil stems from the additional calcium available to the plant, not the increase in pH. This belief has continued to be held by followers to this day, despite opinions to the contrary.[8][9][10][11] Like much of the early research into BCSR where soil pH was not controlled, it is difficult to draw solid conclusions from Albrecht's research in support of BCSR.
"..."You have to have a vision. Unless you do, nature will never reveal herself." Dr William A Albrecht.[12]
Throughout his life, Albrecht looked to nature to learn what optimizes soil, and attributing many common livestock diseases directly to those animals being fed poor quality feeds. He observed that :
Albrecht was a prolific author of reports, books and articles that span several decades, starting with his reports on nitrogen fixation and soil inoculation in 1919. MVG[13]
Soil depletion
Albrecht was outspoken on matters of declining soil fertility, having identified that it was due to a lack of organic material, major elements, and trace minerals, and was thus responsible for poor crops and in turn for pathological conditions in animals fed deficient foods from such soils.[14]
He laid the blame as:
"NPK formulas, (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) as legislated and enforced by State Departments of Agriculture, mean malnutrition, attack by insects, bacteria and fungi, weed takeover, crop loss in dry weather, and general loss of mental acuity in the population, leading to degenerative metabolic disease and early death".[14]
Death and commemoration
On his death he left his research papers to his friend Charles Walters who promoted the ideas by founding the magazine Acres USA, which continues to be at the centre of the ideal soil movement, and is the current owner of the research papers.[2][12]
List of publications
Albrecht published widely from 1918 through 1970:
[15]
Variable Levels of Biological Activity in Sanborn Field After Fifty Years of Treatment, Soil Science, 1938
Animals Recognize Good Soil Treatment, Better Crops With Plant Food Magazine, 1940
Organic Matter – The Life of the Soil, Farmer's Week, Ohio State University, 1940
Good Horses Require Good Soils, Horse and Mule Association of America, 1940
Calcium-Potassium-Phosphorus Relation as a Possible Factor in Ecological Array of Plants, Journal of the American Society of Agronomy, 1940
Making Organic Matter Effective in Soil, The Ohio Vegetable and Potato Growers Association, 1940
Calcium as a Factor in Seed Germination, Journal of the American Society of Agronomy, 1941
The Soil as a Farm Commodity or a Factory, Journal of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, 1941
Soil Organic Matter and Ion Availability for Plants, Soil Science, 1941
Biological Assays of Soil Fertility, Soil Science Society of America, 1941
Potassium in the Soil Colloid Complex and Plant Nutrition, Soil Science, 1941
Feed Efficiency in Terms of Biological Assays of Soil Treatments, Soil Science Society of America, 1942
Health Depends on Soil, The Land, 1942
Soil Management By Nature or By Man?, Western Soils Co., 1942
Soil Fertility and the Human Species, American Chemical Society, Chemical and Engineering News, 1942
We Are What We Eat - St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 1943
Why Do Farmers Plow?, Better Crops With Plant Food Magazine, 1943
Magnesium Depletion in Relation to Some Cropping Systems and Soil Treatments, Soil Science, 1943
We Are What We Eat, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 1943
Make the Grass Greener on Your Side of the Fence, The Business of Farming, 1943
Soil and Livestock, The Land, 1943
Fertilize the Soil Then the Crop, University of Missouri, 1943
Soil Fertility and National Nutrition, Journal of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, 1944
Better Pastures Depend on Soil Fertility, The Fertilizer Review, 1944
Taking Our Soil for Granted, The Ranchman, 1944
Soil Fertility, Food Source, The Technology Review, 1944
Mobilizing the Fertilizer Resources of Our Nation's Soil, 28th Annual Convention of the National Crushed Stone Association, 1945
How Long Do the Effects from Fertilizer Last?, Better Crops With Plant Food Magazine, 1945
Food Quality from the Soil, Consumer's Research, Inc., 1945
Vegetable Crops in Relation to Soil Fertility, Food Research, 1945
Discrimination in Food Selection by Animals, The Scientific Monthly, 1945
Vegetable Crops in Relation to Soil Fertility-V. Calcium contents of Green Leafy Vegetable, Food Research, 1945
By Soil Treatments on Pastures, Guernsey Breeders' Journal, 1946
Extra Soil Fertility Lengthens Grazing Season!, Guernsey Breeders' Journal, 1946
Why Be a Friend of the Land?, Land Letter, 1946
The Soil as the Basis of Wildlife, Management University of Missouri, 1946
Soil and Livestock Work Together, 42nd Annual Meeting-American Meat Institute, 1947
Soil Fertility - The Basis of Agricultural Production, 4th Annual Meeting of the Western Colorado Horticultural Society, 1947
Soil Fertility and Animal Production, 58th Annual Meeting of the Indiana State Dairy Association, 1947
Our Teeth and our Soils, Annals of Dentistry, 1947
Hidden Hungers Point to Soil Fertility, Chilean Nitrate Educational Bureau, Inc., 1947
Use Extra Soil Fertility to Provide Protein, Guernsey Breeders' Journal, 1947
Better Soils Make Better Hogs, Hampshire Herdsman, 1947
Limestone—The Foremost of Natural Fertilizer, Pit and Quarry, 1947
Soil Fertility and Nutritive Value of Foods, Agricultural Leaders' Digest, 1948
Some Rates of Fertility Decline, Better Crops With Plant Food Magazine, 1948
There is No Substitute for Soil Fertility, Better Crops With Plant Food Magazine, 1948
Quality of Crops also Depends on Soil Fertility, Chilean Nitrate Educational Bureau, Inc., 1948
Potassium Helps Put More Nitrogen into Sweetclover, Journal of the American Society of Agronomy, 1948
National Pattern of Tooth Troubles Points to Pattern of Soil Fertility, Journal of the Missouri State Dental Association, 1948
Climate, Soil, and Health. I. Climatic Soil Pattern and Food Composition, Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, and Oral Pathology, 1948
Building Soils for Better Herds, Polled Hereford World, 1948
Diversity of Amino Acids in Legumes According to the Soil Fertility, Science, 1948
Carbohydrate-Protein Ratio of Peas in Relation to Fertilization with Potassium, Calcium, and Nitrogen, Soil Science of America Proceedings, 1948
Is the Cure in the Soil?, The Furrow, 1948
Soil and Protein, The Land, 1948
Our Soils Our Food and Ourselves, The Mennonite Community, 1948
Declining Soil Fertility - Its National and International Implications, 4th Annual Convention of National Agricultural Limestone Association, 1949
Nutrition Via Soil Fertility According to the Climatic Pattern, British Commonwealth Scientific Official Conference, 1949
Plant and Animal Nutrition in Relation to Soil and Climatic Factors, British Commonwealth Scientific Official Conference, 1949
Nitrogen for Proteins and Protection Against Disease, Chilean Nitrate Educational Bureau, Inc., 1949
Cows are Capable Soil Chemists, Guernsey Breeders' Journal, 1949
Diseases as Deficiencies Via the Soil, Iowa State College Veterinarian, 1950
Too Much Nitrogen or Not Enough Else?, National Live Stock Producer, 1950
^Bruce, R.C., Warrell, Edwards and Bell. 1988. Effects of aluminium and calcium in the soil solution of acid soils on root elongation of Glycine max cv. Forrest. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 39:319–338.
^Alva, A.K., Edwards, Asher and Suthipradit. 1987. Effects of acid soil infertility factors on growth and nodulation of soybean. Agron. J. 79:302–306.
^Foy, C.D. 1984. Physiological effects of hydrogen, aluminium, and manganese toxicities in acid soil. p. 57–97. In F. Adams (ed.) Soil acidity and liming. Agron. Monogr. 12. 2nd ed. ASA, CSSA, and SSSA, Madison, WI.
^Liebhardt, W.C. 1981. The basic cation saturation ratio concept and lime and potassium recommendations on Delaware's Coastal Plain soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 45:544–549.
