b'This is difficult to achieve and maintain via science, religion, politics and consumer brands. It seems that the more we have of each, the more elusive trust becomes. It is awfully elusive at the level of far-flung corporations and colossal institutions, no matter who certifies what or who accounts for what or how many management teams commit to reading Trust, Inc. 7A multinational corporation is a blunt instrument when it comes to trust.Where does that leave us? It leaves us right here, in the places where we live. Counties, cities, towns, plateaus, foothills, prairies, watersheds, river basins, fisheries, forests, glacial moraines, fruited plains, foodsheds, from a grain mill in Skowhegan to a food forest in eastern Virginia, from the black gold of Iowa 8to the Mattole River in northern California. And the great good news is were not here, in these places, alone, as if dropped by a mythical stork. Were here amidst farmers and ranchers and others who are working the land, cheek-to-jowl with natural neighbors, seen and unseen, managing an interplay of economics and ecology that shapes the future. To the extent that we do not know these stewards, do not recognize the economic value, ecological complexity and cultural significance of what they are doing, we are, as a people, impoverished, malnourished and befuddled. 7 Trust, Inc.: How to Create a Business Culture That Will Ignite Passion, Engagement, and Innovation, by Nan S. Russell, is one of a spate of management books about leadership, trust and corporate culture.8 Iowa has 450 different types of soil. Twelve thousand years of prairie grass had seeded, sprouted and withered on these poorly drained plains, laying down a thick layer of black organic matter that extended two feet deep. . . Its difficult to pinpoint the most fertile place on earth. Some have suggested that the Pampas of Argentina have soil of especial richness. Others posit certain areas of the Ukraine, where the fecundity of the soil has led to a $900 million black market in chernozem (black dirt). However, the National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment. . .has declared Conrad, Iowas soil among the richest farmland in the world. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-iowa-town-famous-for-its-dirt 127'