The Worst of the Worst Dustbowl Areas 75 Years Later.

The Texas Panhandle was considered as the worst of the worst during the Dustbowl era of the 1930s. The future of the area was questioned by all and many concluded that there was no future. The area not only recovered, however, but became one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. Two of the most important factors that led the recovery was a change in tillage practices to control wind erosion and large scale development of irrigation from the Ogallala Aquifer that increased grain yields by about four-fold. These factors will be discussed, but more importantly, the future of the area is again being questioned because of the rapid depletion of the groundwater used for irrigation. The question “Will another Dustbowl occur?” is constantly being asked. The reasons that the answer is most likely a resounding NO will be presented and discussed.