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What were the causes of the 1930s Dust Bowl?

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The Dust Bowl of the 1930s was caused by a combination of severe drought and poor farming practices. Farmers did not rotate crops, depleting soil nutrients and eroding topsoil by continuous planting. Deep plowing removed native grasses that held the soil, exacerbating the problem. The drought dried the soil, turning it to dust, and strong winds, known as "dusters," blew the topsoil away, devastating agriculture in the region.

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There were two main causes that created the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.  First, there was a drought that lasted several years, but that alone did not cause the Dust Bowl.  In addition to the lack of precipitation were the farming techniques used at the time.  Today, farmers rotate crops.  This means they will plant one type of crop for a few years, which will eventually deplete the soil.  Farmers will then allow the soil and nutrients to rebuild by not farming on that land for another year or two, or by changing the crop, thereby "rotating".  Farmers in the 20s and 30s did not rotate crops.  Instead, they planted on the land until it the top layer of soil (top soil) was completely depleted, along with most of the nutrients.  Basically, they farmed the land to death, and eroded away the top layers.  Draught, windy conditions, and the leftover dust...

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created the horrendous time period in our history called The Dust Bowl.

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What caused the Dust Bowl?

The dust bowl was the result of a "perfect storm" of events, all of which served to obliterate the soil in Midwestern and western farms. A substantial factor was poor farming practices. Farmers consistently planted hard red wheat in straight rows with no consideration for crop rotation, cover crops, etc. Fields were planted continuously and never allowed to remain fallow, as a result of which the soil was soon exhausted. Deep plowing removed the native prairie grass which had held the soil in place, and also allowed moisture in the soil to dissipate quickly. All this was followed by an unusually severe drought which reduced the topsoil to dust. Farmers continued to plant; but with no moisture, the seeds would not germinate. Then strong winds, often called "dusters" blew in and blew away tons of topsoil and the seeds farmers had planted. With no crops, farmers in the area lost everything.

John Steinbeck offers a compelling story of life for those displaced by the Dust bowl in The Grapes of Wrath.

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