One of the most notable events in U.S history, the Dust Bowl, has common contributing factors to modern day farming practices. The Dust Bowl caused violent dust storms and high wind gusts that plagued the Midwest and Southwestern United States. People in the affected areas endured these storms for six long years, from 1930-1936. The big question about the strange event is; how did this happen? To answer the question, we must go back to World War 1.

During World War 1, the demand and price for wheat and other valuable crops such as corn skyrocketed. This demand for such large amounts of produce came from the need to feed an army and civilians throughout Europe. Production and cultivation of these vital crops led to farmers growing their operations to meet the demand. This boom in price and production that lasted throughout the 1920s into early 1930, finally crashed along with the stock market during the Great Depression.

One key factor that contributed to the fall in price of crops during the Depression, was that now the once abundant farmlands were left barren. Dry land farming, a process that relied on pre-existing moisture and nutrients in the soil, was one of the largest contributors to the Dust Bowl. With the farmland being overworked, there was not enough moisture or nutrients left in the soil for newly planted crops to survive. Overgrazing also destroyed anchoring plants and root systems. With nothing to keep the soil in place, and very dry sand-like soil condition, the soil began to erode and blow away with the wind. This was especially devastating in the Great Plains area due to the flat nature of the area and most of the prairie grass being stripped away. The result of these conditions led to large dust storms forming by wind picking up loose soil and creating large, fast moving dust clouds. The dust storms and soil that was impossible to farm on led to mass migrations to escape the storms and inhabitable conditions.

Over-farming was a very large contributor to the Dust Bowl, but it begs the question; what could have been done to prevent the damage?

The answer to this question is one that is not very hard to find, but is somewhat difficult to implement; soil health. Having healthy soil is the crucial foundation to ensure that we have healthy crops to harvest, and to ensure that another Dust Bowl incident does not happen again. Healthy soil is defined as soil that is rich with elements such as carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, organic matter being present in the soil, having the right amount of water, and it being physically strengthened by plant growth. Without these key ingredients, soil erosion could revert back to conditions similar to the Dust Bowl. The U.S has lost an estimated 57.6 billion metric tons of soil since the late 19th century. It is estimated that prairie lands lose about 1.9 millimeters of top soil every year.

After the Dust Bowl period ended, new farming practices were put into place to protect and promote soil health. These practices have been effective in slowing down the rate of soil erosion. To solve these problems and enforce regulations, the National Natural Resource Conservation Service, or NRCS, was created under the Department of Agriculture in 1933, later renamed the Soil Conservation Service or, SCS, in 1935 as direct response to the Dust Bowl. The main goal of the NRCS and SCS is to protect soil health and prevent conditions from ever being similar to cause another Dust Bowl. One organization here in  New Mexico, the NM Healthy Soil Working Group, is in the fight against soil erosion.  They have many resources to help people learn about healthy soil practices and conservation methods to consider when planting crops.

There are practices that both help the problem of soil erosion, but also have the chance to increase its rate and make the problem worse. Some of these practices include crop rotation in fields, no-till farming, and crop covering. These methods have been very effective at reducing erosion. No-till farming for example has been able to reduce the amount of soil lost to just 0.1 tons per acre a year. This is a large saving compared to losing 5.2 tons per acre a year in a conventional till operation. The process works by not digging into the Earth when planting (here is a video of a no-till operation). It helps keep the vegetation and root systems intact, strengthening the soil. This process also includes covering farmland that is not in use to protect it from erosion by wind. Crop rotation is another viable option by switching out which crops are planted in the same fields so that the nutrients can be utilized for specific crops. With these methods in place, we still cannot stop erosion, but we will be able to slow its effects.

We have come a long way since the Dust Bowl. We have learned about the importance of soil health and just how crucial it is to our own health, and the health of our Earth. We will always have the threat of a Dust Bowl like incident looming over us, and a few of the practices are still in place. Even though we have changed our ways, we will always have the parallels to the conditions of the past.

–Posted by John