The concept of Permanent Agriculture predates Organic Agriculture by thirty years. Following a clash with the USDA over the theory of soil fertility, American soil scientist Franklin King wrote "Farmers of Forty Centuries or Permanent Agriculture in China, Korea and Japan" (1911). Permanent Agriculture and Organic Agriculture share many ideas. The founder of Organic Agriculture described Franklin's work as a "classic" which "no student of farming or social science can afford to ignore"
