Hello and welcome to the August 2026 edition of Solid Ground! This month I’m excited to introduce you to Clint Shock, a groundbreaking scientist whose work on water and food production in the Amazon Rainforest and here in Oregon revolutionized modern farming for the better. Clint is featured in my forthcoming book, Buried: The Toxic Truth About Our Soil and Groundwater and I’m delighted to share portions of our conversation and elements of his important work that I wasn’t able to include in the book.
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Essay: The Drought, Driplines, and a Man Named Clint Shock
“Ruby,
Recently I had the opportunity to go back over my notes on the problems encountered, approaches taken, and successes achieved in reducing both groundwater DCPA residues and groundwater nitrate in our region. A copy of my revised summary is attached. Our intentionally valuing all parties and the achievement of broad cooperation led to success. I trust that you made our positive story an integral part of ... and a highlight in your publication.
Kind regards,
Clint”
Clint Shock, PhD.
Professor Emeritus of Crop and Soil Science, Oregon State University
Certified Professional Horticulturist
Scientific Ecological Services
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My next book, Buried: The Toxic Truth About Our Soil and Groundwater comes out next April. In it, I tell the story of how Clint Shock, along with colleagues for several organizations, took a region with crisis-level groundwater contamination and hardscrabble farming and increased crop yields while decreasing water use AND addressing the contamination problem. It’s a barn burner.
Books are cumbersome journeys filled with rabbit holes and sidebars. In my experience, each book takes about ten years to move from concept to publication day and the first half of that time is spent accumulating a mountain of material: academic and archival research, literature reviews, field work, and interviews. Buried was no exception; there were plenty of things, both anecdotal and analytical that, despite being important or shocking, didn’t make it into the final draft. Unfortunately, a lot of what could have and should be said about Shock and his cohort’s work was cut in the editorial process as we worked to craft a balanced narrative. And the problem is, that’s been the standard across his career. The kind of work he was doing, in the places it was being done (long-form agricultural systems science in Eastern Oregon) meant that even though it was important and ahead of its time, it wasn’t given a platform.
Here’s the thing: it’s not just that the work is interesting or important. Clint Shock is good people. And when good people devote their lives to a particular and focused kind of work that centers on the greater good, we need to pay attention.
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