A New Dust-Bowl Threat

Little by little the sky was darkened by the mixing dust, and the wind felt over the earth, loosened the dust, and carried it away . . . The finest dust did not settle back to earth now, but disappeared into the darkening sky . . . The corn fought the wind with its weakened leaves until the roots were freed by the prying wind and then each stalk settled wearily sideways toward the earth.

-- The Grapes of Wrath, 1939

For many farmers, John Steinbeck's description of the Dust Bowl is as tragically apt today as it was in the 1930s. The drought and winds that four decades ago turned large parts of the U.S. into an agricultural disaster area have returned to some areas of the Great Plains, parching crops and whipping topsoil into sun-darkening clouds. In the 1930s the victims of the drought--the impoverished Okies memorialized in Steinbeck's novel--were lured westward by California's verdant fruit groves. But this time California is suffering from its most severe drought since 1921 and is in the midst of an agricultural crisis.

Some experts attribute the lack of rain to an absence of sunspots, others to recurring drought cycles. In any event, parts of the Great Plains have received so little rain that they are actually drier than at the onset of the great drought of '34. Starved for moisture, the rich topsoil in hard-hit areas of the Great Plains is turning into a fine brown silt. Winds hurl the dust particles against the still-growing sprouts, until they lose their color and die.

Green Bugs. Colorado expects to lose 70% of its winter wheat crop, and parts of Oklahoma anticipate a two-thirds decline in this year's harvest. Other sections are also suffering. In parts of the once lush wheat-growing belt that extends from New Mexico and Texas into Kansas and Iowa, the wheat shoots are stunted. Many farmers are choosing to sacrifice their crops in an effort to save the topsoil. By plowing their fields to turn the silt beneath less fragile clods and by planting soil-gripping crops, the farmers hope to conserve their valuable topsoil that otherwise may be swept away. Complicating the problem, unseasonably warm weather in some areas has produced an early infestation of cutworms and green bugs that attack the weakened plants.

Despite the impending harvest failures, wheat prices so far have moved upward only slightly. A big crop in other parts of the U.S. could offset the expected losses. Nonetheless, many individual farmers stand to be wiped out by this year's losses. Says Minnesota Agricultural Expert John Wefald: "Some farmers are going to kiss rural America goodbye and good night."

Fresh Sprouts. Much of California was drenched by rain last week, but after almost six months of unrelieved drought, the downpours were too late to be of much help to farmers. As Gordon Snow, an official in the state Department of Food and Agriculture, put it: "It is going to have to rain for 40 days and 40 nights to make any difference." Because of the lack of rain, California's usually green fields are burned brown. Wildlife, starved for fresh sprouts, is migrating to the few irrigated areas. Fruits and vegetables have been withering for lack of moisture. Many cattlemen faced with skyrocketing hay prices are selling their stock for slaughter now at below breakeven prices. So far, California growers and cattlemen estimate their losses at $410 million--and the cost is rising daily. Governor Jerry Brown has declared 29 agricultural counties disaster areas, which will allow the hard-pressed farmers to apply for emergency state and federal aid.

At first, farm experts and weather forecasters had feared that the present drought might be only the start of a cycle. In 1933, the parched earth spread northward from Kansas and Oklahoma until by 1935 most of the Middle West was afflicted. Mercifully, an onset of rain in Iowa and other parts of the Midwest has alleviated that worry. Still, in areas already seriously stricken by drought, it will take several years of normal rainfall and intensive soil husbandry before Dust Bowl conditions are overcome.

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