Lessons from the archives: The importance of understanding historical agriculture and change in the Southern Great Plains

Keywords: Archive, agriculture, Southern Great Plains, resilience
Session Type: Virtual Poster Abstract
Day: Sunday
Session Start / End Time: 2/27/2022 02:00 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/27/2022 03:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 38

Abstract

The history of agriculture in the Southern Great Plains (SGP) reveals stories of adaptation, ingenuity, and grit. New settlers, farmers, and ranchers learned quickly about hard work, extreme weather, strong winds, and the use of promising technologies to harness water from the Ogalla Aquifer. During the 1900s, farmers started to populate the area taking advantage of the Santa Fe Trail and land claims made available through the Homestead Act (1862), etc. This region quickly became known as the “bread basket of the United States.” However, environmental stressors, agricultural practices, and technology use in the Plains contributed to environmental disasters such as the Dust Bowl (i.e. “The Dirty 30s”). We argue that understanding past land use is important to increase the efficacy of current agroecological resilience studies. Using data from the USDA’s Census of Agriculture Historical Archive, along with agricultural policy and technological development histories, we analyze the highly dynamic and shifting land and water uses in a tri-state area of the SGP (Cimarron County, Oklahoma; Union County, New Mexico; and Las Animas County, Colorado) before, during, and after the Dust Bowl. Further, we draw upon 10 years of ethnographic fieldwork in the region to provide social and cultural context. Results illustrate the dynamic and shifting nature of agriculture in the region over the past 100 years. They also highlight the role of technology and agricultural policies in influencing land use practices. Lastly, the results show the importance of understanding past changes when thinking about current land use and future sustainability.