diff --git a/modules/field/field.api.php b/modules/field/field.api.php
index 1a388272e1f091be15766835c823f6534621221b..a9980118ccd78cda324e8a74b8edd96a687d1ecf 100644
--- a/modules/field/field.api.php
+++ b/modules/field/field.api.php
@@ -701,7 +701,9 @@ function hook_field_attach_pre_update($obj_type, $object, &$skip_fields) {
  *   A storage module that doesn't support querying a given column should raise
  *   a FieldQueryException. Incompatibilities should be mentioned on the module
  *   project page.
- * @param $result_format
+ * @param $count
+ *   See field_attach_query().
+ * @param $cursor
  *   See field_attach_query().
  * @param $age
  *   - FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT: query the most recent revisions for all
@@ -715,7 +717,7 @@ function hook_field_attach_pre_update($obj_type, $object, &$skip_fields) {
  *   The $skip_field parameter should be set to TRUE if the query has been
  *   handled.
  */
-function hook_field_attach_pre_query($field_name, $conditions, $result_format, $age, &$skip_field) {
+function hook_field_attach_pre_query($field_name, $conditions, $count, &$cursor = NULL, $age, &$skip_field) {
 }
 
 /**
@@ -879,14 +881,16 @@ function hook_field_storage_delete_revision($obj_type, $object) {
  *   A storage module that doesn't support querying a given column should raise
  *   a FieldQueryException. Incompatibilities should be mentioned on the module
  *   project page.
- * @param $result_format
+ * @param $count
+ *   See field_attach_query().
+ * @param $cursor
  *   See field_attach_query().
  * @param $age
  *   See field_attach_query().
  * @return
  *   See field_attach_query().
  */
-function hook_field_storage_query($field_name, $conditions, $result_format, $age) {
+function hook_field_storage_query($field_name, $conditions, $count, &$cursor = NULL, $age) {
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/modules/field/field.attach.inc b/modules/field/field.attach.inc
index 564f86524523663a1a74e9acc8621dd911973562..b741798c74e25fe321f745f8a585b233ab14cb7b 100644
--- a/modules/field/field.attach.inc
+++ b/modules/field/field.attach.inc
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ class FieldValidationException extends FieldException {
   *   An array of field validation errors, keyed by field name and
   *   delta that contains two keys:
   *   - 'error': A machine-readable error code string, prefixed by
-  *     the field module name.  A field widget may use this code to decide
+  *     the field module name. A field widget may use this code to decide
   *     how to report the error.
   *   - 'message': A human-readable error message such as to be
   *     passed to form_error() for the appropriate form element.
@@ -106,11 +106,11 @@ class FieldQueryException extends FieldException {}
  *
  * field_attach_load(), field_attach_insert(), and
  * field_attach_update() also define pre-operation hooks,
- * e.g. hook_field_attach_pre_load().  These hooks run before the
+ * e.g. hook_field_attach_pre_load(). These hooks run before the
  * corresponding Field Storage API and Field Type API operations.
  * They allow modules to define additional storage locations
  * (e.g. denormalizing, mirroring) for field data on a per-field
- * basis.  They also allow modules to take over field storage
+ * basis. They also allow modules to take over field storage
  * completely by instructing other implementations of the same hook
  * and the Field Storage API itself not to operate on specified
  * fields.
@@ -382,15 +382,24 @@ function field_attach_form($obj_type, $object, &$form, &$form_state) {
  *   fields, or FIELD_LOAD_REVISION to load the version indicated by
  *   each object. Defaults to FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT; use
  *   field_attach_load_revision() instead of passing FIELD_LOAD_REVISION.
+ * @param $options
+ *   An associative array of additional options, with the following keys:
+ *   - 'field_name'
+ *     The field name that should be loaded, instead of loading all fields, for
+ *     each object. Note that returned objects may contain data for other
+ *     fields, for example if they are read from a cache.
  * @returns
  *   Loaded field values are added to $objects. Fields with no values should be
  *   set as an empty array.
  */
-function field_attach_load($obj_type, $objects, $age = FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT) {
+function field_attach_load($obj_type, $objects, $age = FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT, $options = array()) {
   $load_current = $age == FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT;
 
   $info = field_info_fieldable_types($obj_type);
-  $cacheable = $load_current && $info['cacheable'];
+  // Only the most current revision of cacheable fieldable types can be cached.
+  $cache_read = $load_current && $info['cacheable'];
+  // In addition, do not write to the cache when loading a single field.
+  $cache_write = $cache_read && !isset($options['field_name']);
 
   if (empty($objects)) {
     return;
@@ -401,7 +410,7 @@ function field_attach_load($obj_type, $objects, $age = FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT) {
   $queried_objects = $objects;
 
   // Fetch available objects from cache, if applicable.
-  if ($cacheable) {
+  if ($cache_read) {
     // Build the list of cache entries to retrieve.
     $cids = array();
     foreach ($objects as $id => $object) {
@@ -434,25 +443,25 @@ function field_attach_load($obj_type, $objects, $age = FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT) {
     $skip_fields = array();
     foreach (module_implements('field_attach_pre_load') as $module) {
       $function = $module . '_field_attach_pre_load';
-      $function($obj_type, $queried_objects, $age, $skip_fields);
+      $function($obj_type, $queried_objects, $age, $skip_fields, $options);
     }
 
     // Invoke the storage engine's hook_field_storage_load(): the field storage
     // engine loads the rest.
-    module_invoke(variable_get('field_storage_module', 'field_sql_storage'), 'field_storage_load', $obj_type, $queried_objects, $age, $skip_fields);
+    module_invoke(variable_get('field_storage_module', 'field_sql_storage'), 'field_storage_load', $obj_type, $queried_objects, $age, $skip_fields, $options);
 
     // Invoke field-type module's hook_field_load().
-    _field_invoke_multiple('load', $obj_type, $queried_objects, $age);
+    _field_invoke_multiple('load', $obj_type, $queried_objects, $age, $options);
 
     // Invoke hook_field_attach_load(): let other modules act on loading the
     // object.
     foreach (module_implements('field_attach_load') as $module) {
       $function = $module . '_field_attach_load';
-      $function($obj_type, $queried_objects, $age);
+      $function($obj_type, $queried_objects, $age, $options);
     }
 
     // Build cache data.
-    if ($cacheable) {
+    if ($cache_write) {
       foreach ($queried_objects as $id => $object) {
         $data = array();
         list($id, $vid, $bundle) = field_attach_extract_ids($obj_type, $object);
@@ -480,12 +489,18 @@ function field_attach_load($obj_type, $objects, $age = FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT) {
  *   An array of objects for which to load fields, keyed by object id.
  *   Each object needs to have its 'bundle', 'id' and (if applicable)
  *   'revision' keys filled.
+ * @param $options
+ *   An associative array of additional options, with the following keys:
+ *   - 'field_name'
+ *     The field name that should be loaded, instead of loading all fields, for
+ *     each object. Note that returned objects may contain data for other
+ *     fields, for example if they are read from a cache.
  * @returns
  *   On return, the objects in $objects are modified by having the
  *   appropriate set of fields added.
  */
-function field_attach_load_revision($obj_type, $objects) {
-  return field_attach_load($obj_type, $objects, FIELD_LOAD_REVISION);
+function field_attach_load_revision($obj_type, $objects, $options = array()) {
+  return field_attach_load($obj_type, $objects, FIELD_LOAD_REVISION, $options);
 }
 
 /**
@@ -778,7 +793,9 @@ function field_attach_delete_revision($obj_type, $object) {
  * @param &$cursor
  *   An opaque cursor that allows a caller to iterate through multiple
  *   result sets. On the first call, pass 0; the correct value to pass
- *   on the next call will be written into $cursor on return. If NULL,
+ *   on the next call will be written into $cursor on return. When
+ *   there is no more query data available, $cursor will be filled in
+ *   with FIELD_QUERY_COMPLETE. If $cursor is passed as NULL,
  *   the first result set is returned and no next cursor is returned.
  * @param $age
  *   Internal use only. Use field_attach_query_revisions() instead of passing
@@ -814,7 +831,8 @@ function field_attach_query($field_name, $conditions, $count, &$cursor = NULL, $
   }
   // If the request hasn't been handled, let the storage engine handle it.
   if (!$skip_field) {
-    $results = module_invoke(variable_get('field_storage_module', 'field_sql_storage'), 'field_storage_query', $field_name, $conditions, $count, $cursor, $age);
+    $function = variable_get('field_storage_module', 'field_sql_storage') . '_field_storage_query';
+    $results = $function($field_name, $conditions, $count, $cursor, $age);
   }
 
   return $results;
diff --git a/modules/field/field.module b/modules/field/field.module
index 9b8ddbead4168008a50e6ea37c5dea105682d1db..1396e2283a0579065431ab6bde0adab9e66bc50f 100644
--- a/modules/field/field.module
+++ b/modules/field/field.module
@@ -100,14 +100,10 @@
 define('FIELD_QUERY_NO_LIMIT', 'FIELD_QUERY_NO_LIMIT');
 
 /**
- * Result format argument for field_attach_query().
+ * Cursor return value for field_attach_query() to indicate that no
+ * more data is available.
  */
-define('FIELD_QUERY_RETURN_VALUES', 'FIELD_QUERY_RETURN_VALUES');
-
-/**
- * Result format argument for field_attach_query().
- */
-define('FIELD_QUERY_RETURN_IDS', 'FIELD_QUERY_RETURN_IDS');
+define('FIELD_QUERY_COMPLETE', 'FIELD_QUERY_COMPLETE');
 
 /**
  * @} End of "Field query flags".
diff --git a/modules/field/field.test b/modules/field/field.test
index f71b24c9fb511ca0eea0e9dc1077fd5984390186..84853b715cd3eefaebfddfedf1b1b1452138e317 100644
--- a/modules/field/field.test
+++ b/modules/field/field.test
@@ -173,6 +173,14 @@ class FieldAttachTestCase extends DrupalWebTestCase {
         $this->assertEqual($entity->{$field_name}[0]['additional_key'], 'additional_value', t('Entity %index: extra information was found', array('%index' => $index)));
       }
     }
+
+    // Check that the single-field load option works.
+    $entity = field_test_create_stub_entity(1, 1, $bundles[1]);
+    field_attach_load($entity_type, array(1 => $entity), FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT, array('field_name' => $field_names[1]));
+    $this->assertEqual($entity->{$field_names[1]}[0]['value'], $values[1][$field_names[1]], t('Entity %index: expected value was found.', array('%index' => 1)));
+    $this->assertEqual($entity->{$field_names[1]}[0]['additional_key'], 'additional_value', t('Entity %index: extra information was found', array('%index' => 1)));
+    $this->assert(!isset($entity->{$field_names[2]}), t('Entity %index: field %field_name is not loaded.', array('%index' => 2, '%field_name' => $field_names[2])));
+    $this->assert(!isset($entity->{$field_names[3]}), t('Entity %index: field %field_name is not loaded.', array('%index' => 3, '%field_name' => $field_names[3])));
   }
 
   /**
@@ -328,7 +336,7 @@ class FieldAttachTestCase extends DrupalWebTestCase {
     $result = field_attach_query($this->field_name, $conditions, FIELD_QUERY_NO_LIMIT);
     $this->assertTrue(isset($result[$entity_types[1]][1]) && !isset($result[$entity_types[2]][2]), t("Query on a value common to both objects and an 'entity_id' condition only returns the relevant object"));
 
-    // Test FIELD_QUERY_RETURN_IDS result format.
+    // Test result format.
     $conditions = array(array('value', $values[0]));
     $result = field_attach_query($this->field_name, $conditions, FIELD_QUERY_NO_LIMIT);
     $expected = array(
@@ -336,7 +344,47 @@ class FieldAttachTestCase extends DrupalWebTestCase {
         $entities[1]->ftid => field_test_create_stub_entity($entities[1]->ftid, $entities[1]->ftvid),
       )
     );
-    $this->assertEqual($result, $expected, t('FIELD_QUERY_RETURN_IDS result format returns the expect result'));
+    $this->assertEqual($result, $expected, t('Result format is correct.'));
+
+    // Now test the count/offset paging capability.
+
+    // Create a new bundle with an instance of the field.
+    field_test_create_bundle('offset_bundle', 'Offset Test Bundle');
+    $this->instance2 = $this->instance;
+    $this->instance2['bundle'] = 'offset_bundle';
+    field_create_instance($this->instance2);
+
+    // Create 20 test objects, using the new bundle, but with
+    // non-sequential ids so we can tell we are getting the right ones
+    // back. We do not need unique values since field_attach_query()
+    // won't return them anyway.
+    $offset_entities = array();
+    $offset_id = mt_rand(1, 3);
+    for ($i = 0; $i < 20; ++$i) {
+      $offset_id += mt_rand(2, 5);
+      $offset_entities[$offset_id] = field_test_create_stub_entity($offset_id, $offset_id, 'offset_bundle');
+      $offset_entities[$offset_id]->{$this->field_name}[0] = array('value' => $offset_id);
+      field_attach_insert('test_entity', $offset_entities[$offset_id]);
+    }
+
+    // Query for the offset entities in batches, making sure we get
+    // back the right ones.
+    $cursor = 0;
+    foreach (array(1 => 1, 3 => 3, 5 => 5, 8 => 8, 13 => 3) as $count => $expect) {
+      $found = field_attach_query($this->field_name, array(array('bundle', 'offset_bundle')), $count, $cursor);
+      if (isset($found['test_entity'])) {
+        $this->assertEqual(count($found['test_entity']), $expect, t('Requested @count, expected @expect, got @found, cursor @cursor', array('@count' => $count, '@expect' => $expect, '@found' => count($found['test_entity']), '@cursor' => $cursor)));
+        foreach ($found['test_entity'] as $id => $entity) {
+          $this->assert(isset($offset_entities[$id]), "Entity $id found");
+          unset($offset_entities[$id]);
+        }
+      }
+      else {
+        $this->assertEqual(0, $expect, t('Requested @count, expected @expect, got @found, cursor @cursor', array('@count' => $count, '@expect' => $expect, '@found' => 0, '@cursor' => $cursor)));
+      }
+    }
+    $this->assertEqual(count($offset_entities), 0, "All entities found");
+    $this->assertEqual($cursor, FIELD_QUERY_COMPLETE, "Cursor is FIELD_QUERY_COMPLETE");
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/modules/field/modules/field_sql_storage/field_sql_storage.module b/modules/field/modules/field_sql_storage/field_sql_storage.module
index 3ce99136aade1d45dbed8d547d5f5c41cb3fcb24..df2fa40bb55d26ee52bb8d2fc8422e36eb3fe181 100644
--- a/modules/field/modules/field_sql_storage/field_sql_storage.module
+++ b/modules/field/modules/field_sql_storage/field_sql_storage.module
@@ -202,7 +202,7 @@ function field_sql_storage_field_storage_delete_field($field_name) {
 /**
  * Implement hook_field_storage_load().
  */
-function field_sql_storage_field_storage_load($obj_type, $objects, $age, $skip_fields = array()) {
+function field_sql_storage_field_storage_load($obj_type, $objects, $age, $skip_fields, $options) {
   $etid = _field_sql_storage_etid($obj_type);
   $load_current = $age == FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT;
 
@@ -212,7 +212,7 @@ function field_sql_storage_field_storage_load($obj_type, $objects, $age, $skip_f
   foreach ($objects as $obj) {
     list($id, $vid, $bundle) = field_attach_extract_ids($obj_type, $obj);
     foreach (field_info_instances($bundle) as $field_name => $instance) {
-      if (!isset($skip_fields[$field_name])) {
+      if (!isset($skip_fields[$field_name]) && (!isset($options['field_name']) || $options['field_name'] == $instance['field_name'])) {
         $objects[$id]->{$field_name} = array();
         $field_ids[$field_name][] = $load_current ? $id : $vid;
         $delta_count[$id][$field_name] = 0;
@@ -224,13 +224,14 @@ function field_sql_storage_field_storage_load($obj_type, $objects, $age, $skip_f
     $field = field_info_field($field_name);
     $table = $load_current ? _field_sql_storage_tablename($field) : _field_sql_storage_revision_tablename($field);
 
-    $results = db_select($table, 't')
+    $query = db_select($table, 't')
       ->fields('t')
       ->condition('etid', $etid)
       ->condition($load_current ? 'entity_id' : 'revision_id', $ids, 'IN')
       ->condition('deleted', 0)
-      ->orderBy('delta')
-      ->execute();
+      ->orderBy('delta');
+
+    $results = $query->execute();
 
     foreach ($results as $row) {
       if ($field['cardinality'] == FIELD_CARDINALITY_UNLIMITED || $delta_count[$row->entity_id][$field_name] < $field['cardinality']) {
@@ -404,35 +405,39 @@ function field_sql_storage_field_storage_query($field_name, $conditions, $count,
   // Initialize results array
   $return = array();
 
-  // Query for batches of rows until we've read $count objects or
-  // until we get no new rows.
-  $limit = $count;
+  // Getting $count objects possibly requires reading more than $count rows
+  // since fields with multiple values span over several rows. We query for
+  // batches of $count rows until we've either read $count objects or received
+  // less rows than asked for.
+  $obj_count = 0;
   do {
-    if ($limit != FIELD_QUERY_NO_LIMIT) {
-      $query->range($cursor, $limit);
+    if ($count != FIELD_QUERY_NO_LIMIT) {
+      $query->range($cursor, $count);
     }
     $results = $query->execute();
 
-    $found = FALSE;
+    $row_count = 0;
     foreach ($results as $row) {
-      $found = TRUE;
-      ++$cursor;
+      $row_count++;
+      $cursor++;
 
-      // If querying all revisions and the entity type has revisions, we need to
-      // key the results by revision_ids.
+      // If querying all revisions and the entity type has revisions, we need
+      // to key the results by revision_ids.
       $entity_type = field_info_fieldable_types($row->type);
       $id = ($load_current || empty($entity_type['object keys']['revision'])) ? $row->entity_id : $row->revision_id;
 
-      // We get multiple rows if the field has multiple deltas.  Only
-      // count the first one.
-      if (isset($return[$row->type][$id])) {
-        continue;
+      if (!isset($return[$row->type][$id])) {
+        $return[$row->type][$id] = field_attach_create_stub_object($row->type, array($row->entity_id, $row->revision_id, $row->bundle));
+        $obj_count++;
       }
-
-      $return[$row->type][$id] = field_attach_create_stub_object($row->type, array($row->entity_id, $row->revision_id, $row->bundle));
-      --$count;
     }
-  } while ($found && ($limit != FIELD_QUERY_NO_LIMIT || $count > 0));
+  } while ($count != FIELD_QUERY_NO_LIMIT && $row_count == $count && $obj_count < $count);
+
+  // The query is complete when the last batch returns less rows than asked
+  // for.
+  if ($row_count < $count) {
+    $cursor = FIELD_QUERY_COMPLETE;
+  }
 
   return $return;
 }