Abstract
A Presidential Address provides an opportunity for an account of the state of the subject and a reading of the signposts which seem to point to future progress. The broad philosophical aspects of soil science were discussed by E. M. Crowther (1953) a quarter of a century ago in ‘The Sceptical Soil Chemist’, a paper which is worth reading again. This year our Vice‐President, D. J. Greenland (1978) discussed ‘The Responsibilities of Soil Science’. I shall concentrate on discussing some ways in which soil scientists may contribute further to agricultural development.