Sun, soil, and stock: Agroecosystem resilience in the Southern Great Plains

Keywords: Agriculture, water, land use, food security
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

Global climate change has intensified weather and climatic events in the last few years. Rapid adaptations need to occur in order to secure livelihoods. These variations are an ongoing struggle for agriculturalists to remain in business; this is especially true for the southern Great Plains, where cyclical droughts and highly erodible soils add to the current challenge. Indeed, there are recent events that are putting an extra burden on agriculturalists, such as the past COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions, and staggering increases in fuel prices. Through a study of two counties, Cimarron County, OK, and Union County, NM, we show the last decades' trends in drought and soil characteristics to illustrate how farmers and ranchers try to adapt and build resilience. Using a mixed methods approach, we use geographic information systems to analyze drought monitor data, subsidy information from The Environmental Working Group, and soil assessments from the National Cooperative Soil Survey, along with ethnographic studies in the area, to describe these counties' last two decades trends, current struggles, and future ordeals. Our research shows that not only have they experimented with one of the worst droughts since the frontier times, but traditional agricultural practices have also been tested. This area is essential for crops and cattle production; therefore, the farmers' and ranchers' stories are more relevant than ever to securing food sources.