When our forefathers crossed the Mighty Mississippi and ventured west, they came upon a vast rolling prairie full of potential for farming and ranching. Traveling by covered wagon, it would take months to cross the Great Plains, from the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains. Many people viewed this land as endless and as land to be conquered. Unfortunately, our federal policies haven’t always evolved much from frontier thought.
Decades of poor soil management combined with a severe drought caused the terrible Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Terrifying clouds of dirt traveled great distances, destroyed family farms, ruined crops for years and forced people to move. View real video footage or listen to a survivor to experience a tiny bit of what they might have felt.
In the past, we farmed marginal arid prairie lands, thinking it was the best use for the land. Now we know these areas are not best utilized as farmland, but as ranch lands with native grasses that hold topsoil in place and provide important habitats essential for the survival of entire ecosystems.
People from a variety of backgrounds agree. In a guest blog in the Advocate Tribune from last month, John Crabtree from the Center for Rural Affairs noted, “Prairie and native grasslands are disappearing rapidly, taking soil and habitat as well as hunting, ranching and other economic opportunities with them. Congress should ensure that federal farm and crop insurance subsidies don’t exacerbate the loss of these vital natural resources.”
The Protect Our Prairies Act intends to do just that.
One of the most famous images from the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, “Migrant Mother” still invokes sadness and despair.
The country can save nearly $200 million from the federal budget over the next ten years by adjusting crop insurance subsides. The Protect Our Prairies Act does not prohibit farmers from breaking ground on new land, it simply ensures tax payer dollars are not used to support planting on risky marginal lands that are not beneficial in the long-term. An excellent National Wildlife Federation Factsheet says it best, “Bringing native lands into production provides little benefit to consumers, increases long-term costs due to erosion and nutrient loss, and ultimately leads to lower water quality, reduced flood mitigation capacity, and lost outdoor recreation activity. We are in danger of repeating the conditions that created the Dust Bowl if we do not act soon.”
Cattle Business Weekly, a publication for cattlemen by cattlemen, explains the Protect Our Prairie Act in a bit more detail, elaborating on how the bill would close loop holes and prevent big agribusiness from playing the system.
The American Farmland Trust also supports the Protect Our Prairies Act saying, “This bill curbs incentives to convert native grasslands into crop production by appropriately bringing crop insurance subsidies in line with the actual productive capacity of newly converted lands.”
We can all lend our voice to the choir and
support the Protect Our Prairies Act. Visit our Action Center now.
Answer to Newsletter Trivia Question:
A lot of weird things happened during the Dust Bowl. Which of the following weird things was also reported?
a. A huge dust cloud traveled all the way to the Statue of Liberty.
b. Grasshoppers descended in clouds of up to 23,000 insects per acre.
c. Blue flames of static electricity lept from barb wire fences.
d. All of the above.