Page 244 - Environment: The Science Behind the Stories

Figure 9.13 Drought and poor agricultural practices devas-
tated millions of U.S. farmers in the 1930s in the Dust Bowl.
The photo (a) shows towering clouds of dust approaching homes Montana North Minnesota
near Dodge City, Kansas. The map (b) shows the Dust Bowl Dakota
region. Eroded soil from this region blew eastward all the way to
South
the Atlantic Ocean. Dakota Wisconsin
Wyoming
Iowa
Nebraska
Utah Illinois
Colorado Kansas
Missouri
Arizona
Oklahoma
New
Mexico Arkansas

Texas
Louisiana

Severity of Erosion

Severe Most severe
(a) Kansas dust storm, 1930s (b) Dust Bowl region

The Soil Conservation Service pioneered Arliss Nielsen determine how best to implement conservation
measures to address soil degradation measures on their land (Figure 9.14).
In Sioux County, Iowa, Nate and Rachel Ronsiek are
In response to the devastation in the Dust Bowl, the U.S. among the farmers who are taking advantage of the expertise
government, along with state and local governments, and resources these experts offer. When Nate took charge of
increased support for research into soil conservation. The the family farm at age 26 after his father’s death, he wanted
U.S. Congress passed the Soil Conservation Act of 1935, to put into practice the strategies for conservation that his
establishing the Soil Conservation Service (SCS). This new father had taught him, as well as those he learned as a student
agency worked closely with farmers to develop conservation
plans for individual farms, using science to assess the land’s
resources and problems, and collaborating with landown-
ers to ensure that the plans harmonized with landowners’
objectives.
The teams formed by the SCS to combat erosion included
soil scientists, forestry experts, engineers, economists, and
biologists. These teams were among the earliest examples
of interdisciplinary environmental problem solving. The first
director of the SCS, Hugh Hammond Bennett, was an innova-
tor and evangelist for soil conservation. Under his dynamic
leadership, the agency promoted soil conservation practices
through county-based conservation districts. Organized by
the states but operating with federal direction, authorization,
and funding, these districts continue today to implement soil CHAPTER 9 • So I l AN d A gr I culT ure
conservation programs and empower local residents to plan
and set priorities. In 1994 the SCS was renamed the Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and its responsibili-
ties were expanded to include water quality protection and
pollution control.
Today most state universities employ agricultural exten-
sion agents, experts who assist farmers by providing infor- Figure 9.14 Agricultural extension agents assist farmers by
mation on new research and by helping them apply this providing information on new research and techniques. In
knowledge with new techniques. Extension agents from uni- Iowa, NRCS extension agent Greg Mathis (left) helps farmer Lowell
versities and government agencies help farmers like Todd and Forristall implement cover crops around his radishes. 243

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