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From a Farm on Loess—Emil Truog

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Abstract

Emil Truog was born in 1884 in Independence, Wisconsin. He grew up on a farm, milked Guernsey cows, and from an early age on was interested in chemistry and the maintenance of soil fertility. In 1905, he enrolled at the University of Wisconsin in Madison where he took soil courses from Franklin King and Andrew Whitson. After his BS degree in Soils, he obtained a MS in chemistry and was hired in 1912 in the Department of Soils. Emil Truog worked on pH measurements, plant nutrients and exchange properties. He was an agronomist at heart and regarded deep soil understanding as essential for the maintenance of soil fertility, and an increase in agricultural production. He officially retired in 1954, and had supervised 175 MS and Ph.D. students. Emil Truog was the congress organizer for the Seventh International Congress of Soil Science held in Madison in 1960, and died in 1969.

“While the metal of our minds is still hot and pliable, let us forge or hammer out something that is both good and acceptable.”

Emil Truog

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil Science, FD Hole Soils Lab, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA

    Alfred E. Hartemink

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  1. Alfred E. Hartemink
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Correspondence to Alfred E. Hartemink .

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Hartemink, A.E. (2021). From a Farm on Loess—Emil Truog. In: Soil Science Americana. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71135-1_3

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