歪歪漫画

One of the mental images from narratives I鈥檝e read about the Dust Bowl years that vividly sticks in my mind is descriptions of the heaps of dirt in farmhouse window sills. Topsoil blown propelled by the wind not only piled up in the sills, but also permeated through cracks of the houses, and farm women continuously were cleaning and dusting to remove the layers of dust covering inside surfaces.

During the winter of 2024-25 I got a real feel for how the must have felt when they dusted one day only to have get up and do it again the next day. The winds that blew soil from bare fields made little drifts in our windowsills and the dust that came through the cracks in our house covered the interior surfaces, including the kitchen table, which we had to wipe off every night before supper.

Outside, of course, there was more stark evidence of the amount of soil that had blown off of the fields in the form of soil that collected in the roadside ditches.

But the effects of the wind erosion are much more than an irritation because they require extra housework or cosmetics because they make the landscape less appealing to view. The displaced and airborne soil is the result of wind erosion that is damaging 鈥� and there鈥檚 evidence it has destroyed 鈥� the topsoil.

Lack of residue on the fields after harvest, removal of shelterbelts and monoculture have contributed to wind erosion in eastern North Dakota, where I live. The fields on what was tall-grass prairie less than 150 years 鈥� four generations 鈥� ago now are depleted or nearly depleted of the topsoil layer.

I come from a family that began tilling the ground near Larimore, North Dakota, 139 years ago, so I know that it鈥檚 a balance to make farming economically viable and, at the same time, be a steward of the land. The federal farm program, federal crop insurance and commodity markets are among the factors that must all be weighed into the decision of what crops to plant and how to plant them.

I do know, though, that it鈥檚 possible to achieve that balance because my dad and brother did that when they were farming from the 1970s to the late 1990s.

I recognize that they planted their last crops nearly 30 years ago and farming radically has changed since then 鈥� fields and equipment have grown exponentially while factors affecting commodity prices also have become greater in an increasingly global market.

However, technology also has made extensive strides and that, combined with the concept of old-fashioned soil stewardship, should reduce soil erosion.

It鈥檚 the latter, that, from my observance as an agricultural reporter and farmers鈥� daughter and sister, is missing from a significant number of producers鈥� operations in 2025. It appears to me that they only see the land from the perspective of how it can be used to make money. While they might say they take care of it, their farming practices indicate otherwise.

I recognize that not everyone has the same farming philosophy that I grew up with, embracing the practice of land stewardship, which was a driving force in the generations of farmers before me.

Their philosophy is evident in the handwork copy of the 鈥淩ural Life Prayer Book,鈥� published in 1956. That prayer, book, one of many that we found in our house when my husband, Brian, and I moved there, begins with a proclamation for 鈥淐ountry People鈥� that in part says, 鈥淲e will regard our land as God鈥檚 land; as stewards of His bounty we will conserve and improve it so that it will increasingly continue to give glory to Him.鈥�

Obviously not everyone does, nor do I expect them to, share my family's farming philosophy. But it seems to me that, if not for philosophical reasons, farmers need to do everything within their power to reduce soil erosion for economic reasons. Research shows that in one place in eastern North Dakota topsoil was reduced by 55% between 1960 and 2014. Eleven years later, it's likely that the percentage is even higher.

That should alarm every farmer because that percentage probably is nearly as high or higher in other places, not only in eastern North Dakota but across the Midwest.

I know that some farmers reading this column will say that they need financial incentives to do practices such as planting cover crops to reduce soil erosion and that funding for the programs is in jeopardy.

I recognize that, but the reality is that if farmers don鈥檛 start reducing soil erosion, not only will crop production suffer, but there will be an outcry from the general public which will result in lawmakers drafting legislation that may very well be punitive.

One only needs to look at the public鈥檚 current conventional wisdom as far as 鈥渃hemicals鈥� that farmers put on their crops and the red dye that food companies use.

Producers should figure out how to reduce soil erosion now before people who don鈥檛 farm do it for them.

Ann Bailey lives on a farmstead near Larimore, North Dakota, that has been in her family since 1911. You can reach her at 218-779-8093 or anntbailey58@gmail.com.