Repeated applications of composted agricultural and municipal by-products onto cropland can improve soil chemical and physical properties and increase crop yield potential; however, little is known of the long term benefits of such practices after applications cease. We applied commercial fertilizer, poultry litter, and various rates and sources (yard trimmings + poultry litter, biosolids + wood chips) of compost to a Fauquier silty clay loam (Ultic Hapludalf) from 2000 to 2004 for the production of vegetable and agronomic crops. An un-amended control treatment was included, and all treatments were replicated 4x. Corn (Zea mays L.) was grown after the last by-product application in 2004, and soybean (Glycine max L.) was grown in 2005. Soil was sampled regularly for pH, C, N, P, cation exchange capacity, base saturation, water-holding capacity, and bulk density. Crop yields and plant physiological functions were measured to further assess soil benefits. The highest compost rate treatments elicited the greatest soil quality improvements, but 2004 corn yields were largely dependent on rates of plant available N supplied by soil amendments. Soil quality attributes and soybean physiological variables (i.e., leaf photosynthetic efficiency and antioxidant activity) will be measured in 2005 to determine the resilience of such compost-induced benefits.