MissGoddess wrote:Another thing that was so interesting was the documentation of how a combination of mechanized tractors and the economic pressure had led farmers during the 1920s and early 30s to plow more and more grassland for planting. In the process, they removed the native buffalo grass that had become a native plant on the relatively dry prairies, with roots that could go five feet down to the moist clay under the turf. This buffalo grass had been ideal for grazing herds of buffalo supporting relatively sparse Native American tribes. Yet, the "beef bonanza" that developed on the plains in the 1880s and went bust after drought and blizzards wiped out the massive cattle herds that over-grazed on the land left things pretty sparse. Then, the mechanization of the farm with the new types of plows that pulverized the soil came along just at the time of the loss of worldwide access to the wheat that had been provided by Russia once WWI & the Revolution eliminated them. The money to be made by unscrupulous speculators with no commitment to their community or the land and hard-working farmers as well in wheat, created a "perfect storm" of conditions out in the area around the Oklahoma panhandle.
Gee...all that has an awfully familiar ring to it...
I know that Moira written the above paragraph ... It's makes perfect sense. Well Written Moira!
I enjoyed reading it.