Old Business:
Glendon Gee, the ASA-SSSA Board Representative of S-1, introduced David Nofziger as the incoming Board Representative. Glendon reported on the ASA and SSSA board meetings. Included in the report was the financial status of the three societies. He emphasized outreach efforts through the Agronomic Science Foundation (ASF) in promoting agronomy, as can be achieved through the ASF (e.g., through position papers and the Bouyoucus and the Kirkham conferences).

Wilford Gardner provided detailed information on the U. S. National Committee in Soil Science (USNC/SS). He informed the meeting that it is important to get involved in the organization of the 18th Congress of IUSS in 2006 that will be held in Philadelphia. He also encouraged the membership to be involved in the newly reorganized committees of IUSS.

Glendon Gee presented a detailed report on the proposed Vadose Zone Hydrology Journal. A discussion of the proposed journal was followed by strong support. It was noted that the emphasis of the journal will not be limited to hydrology, but will focus on physical, chemical and biological processes. Likely, the name of the journal will be changed to Vadose Zone or Vadose Zone Research. The editorial board should also be reflective of that change. Glendon expects that the journal proposal will be passed by the SSSA Board.

David Radcliffe, Technical Editor of S-1, reported on the SSSA Journal editorial board meeting. He reported that of the 433 submitted to SSSAJ, 71 papers were handled by the S-1 Division. David also reported on the journal acceptance rate of manuscripts and on future efforts in developing a tracking system for authors. There was a discussion on electronic submission of manuscripts, such as through PDF format files, and how soon this will be implemented by SSSAJ.

Jacob Dane reported on the progress of the new monograph on Methods of Soil Analysis. He stated that the project is 60-80% complete. Jacob was optimistic that the entire task will be completed by January 2001.

New Business:
Jan Hopmans reported that S-1 organized two symposia: the past, present and future of soil physics and the vadose zone processes symposium. The number of S-1 papers decreased slightly from previous years. A discussion followed on the need for strong support of the soil physics data base. There is a web site available through the soil physics division in the SSSA home page (www.soils.org). Glenn Wilson and Robert Luxmoore presented a restructuring proposal for the tri-societies. They discussed the concept of the Institute for Agricultural, Genetics, and Environmental Sciences (NIAGES). Glenn Wilson emphasized that a true federated structure is needed so that the ASA is at the same hierarchical level as SSSA and CSSA. Both resolutions concerning the consideration of this proposal by the respective societies (ASA and SSSA) were passed without much discussion.

Don Nielsen reported on the Kirkham 2000 Conference, which was held the previous week (2-3 November 2000) in Ames, Iowa to honor the legacy of Dr. Don Kirkham. He acknowledged the efforts of the conference organizers; Larry Boersma and Toby Ewing. The conference is being planned for 2004 and likely will be held in the Netherlands. He also discussed opportunities for funds and long-term finances for the Kirkham Conference series. Don Nielsen also recognized Brent Clothier as this year’s recipient of the Don and Betty Kirkham Soil Physics Award.

Jan Hopmans announced the award winners from S-1 for SSSA and ASA, including the 2000 fellows. He introduced the incoming officers and board member. The meeting was adjourned by H. Magdi Selim, incoming S-1 Chair.