1. How Did Drought, and Dust Storms Compound Depression Era Problems for Farmers?
THE DUST BOWL

2. Where was the Dust Bowl?

3. The Great Plains
Buffalo grass roots are 5 feet deep. The ground is moist at 1 foot deep. Sometimes there are droughts. There is always a breeze.

4. Wheat fields
Farmers grew wheat, a lot of wheat. They also raised cattle.

5. What caused the Dust Bowl disaster?
Severe drought (no rain)
Overgrazing by cattle
Over plowing by farmers
High winds
All these conditions destroyed the grasses that held the soil in place
These storms were called “Black Blizzards”
Parts of the Great Plains became known as the Dust Bowl

6. Farmers plow more land
World War I came. Europe needed wheat. American farmers sold it for $2.00 a bushel. After the war, the price dropped to $1.00 a bushel. Farmers still needed to pay their bills, so they plowed more land.

7. Farmers plowing at night
They worked day and night to grow more wheat and pay their bills.
Mechanized Agriculture sets the stage for Dust Bowl

8. 1929 The Great Depression The stock market crashed. Banks failed.
Companies failed.
People lost their jobs.
People lost their homes.
Prices dropped.
Farmers still had the same debt.
No longer $2.00 a bushel for wheat.
No longer $1.00 a bushel for wheat.
At one point, wheat dropped to 17 cents a bushel.

9. Buffalo grass helps keep moisture in the ground
Wait, let’s think! What happens if there is a drought and continuous wind?
BUFFALO GRASS ROOTS GROW 5 FEET DEEP
WHEAT ROOTS GROW 8 INCHES IN 2 MONTHS
Buffalo grass helps keep moisture in the ground
Roots are already very deep
Protects the soil from erosion
Planted in freshly plowed soil
Takes months for roots to grow deep
Plowing loosens the soil

10. The Dust Bowl
What is this?
5min

11. Scenes from the Dust Bowl Dust Storm over Oklahoma

12. Scenes from the Dust Bowl Dust Storm over Texas

13. Scenes from the Dust Bowl Dust Storm over Kansas

14. Who did the drought hit the hardest?
Migrant workers
Poor farmers from Oklahoma and Arkansas headed west to escape the Dust Bowl
Many moved to the west coast to find jobs on farms
They were not welcomed by locals
Locals feared that the migrants would take local jobs
Migrant workers lived in poor conditions (tents, no water or electricity)

15. Dust Bowl Refugees

16. Lessons we have learned

17. Lack of rain and the overuse of land made farmers problems worse
Conclusion: How did drought, and dust storms compound depression era problems for farmers?
Farmers were already struggling through the economic depression (due to overproduction of crops)
Lack of rain and the overuse of land made farmers problems worse
Conditions forced farmers of the Great Plains to migrate west where they were unwelcome and faced an even harder life
Many were left displaced/homeless as farm land became useless

18. Future of Farming