Dust Bowl

In 1933 a cool and wet summer led to a record harvest of corn. In November of 1933 a series of bad dust storms hit. These winds caused massive dust storms that continued until 1940. The result was a mass migration of people and a disruption in agriculture. What was unusual about 1933 is that the wet and cool weather formed over the Midwest and not the South.

In 2007 we have seen the same weather conditions and another record corn harvest. We have seen a number of wind storms this winter. A couple of trees have fallen in my neighborhood and my backyard is littered with small limbs. It is not unusual to have a front pass through and bring some wind at this time of year. But this year they have been more frequent. The biggest wind storm had only a small amount of dust comparable to the smog on hot summer days. Improvements in crop rotation and ground cover have prevented the wind storm from becoming dust storms.

So it will be interesting to see how 2008 agriculture plays out in the Midwest. The dust bowl has been blamed on farming practices. It appears that it was not an act of God, but an act of man.