The drought monitor report as of Tuesday, May 13th shows a little progress with Severe drought at less than 2% and we are up to 18% totally out of dry conditions (mostly Southeast Kansas and a sliver of the Northwest. Our entire area is still in moderate drought. This doesn’t include the Wednesday precipitation. The six to ten-day outlook (May 20 to 24) indicates near normal temperatures and a 33 to 40% chance of leaning above normal for precipitation. The eight to fourteen-day outlook (May 22 to 28) indicates normal to a 33 to 40% chance of leaning above normal for temperatures and normal for precipitation. A decent forecast for the wheat crop and for our summer crops.
There are many parts of the USDA. While producers may be familiar with them and most have heard of them, many are unfamiliar with their importance. Last week we discussed in broad terms what the USDA does. Today, as there is continuing discussion of streamlining and cost cutting for efficiency in the Federal government, many wonder what these agencies and departments really do. Today, what the National resource Conservation Service (NRCS) does and has done.
The NRCS was originally the Soil Conservation Service (SCS). If you live in this part of the world, you have heard of the “Dirty Thirties” or “The Dust Bowl.” This was a devastating period of severe drought in the Central Great Plains, from Texas up through South Dakota from around 1935 through 1940. Combined with the Great Depression, it caused great social and economic upheaval for those living there. In terms of the land. It caused tremendous wind erosion with soil from here travelling eastward as far as into the Atlantic Ocean. It degraded land, ruined crops and structures, affected livestock and human health, and resulted in a significant depopulation of many parts of the region. In the Eastern US, water erosion was destroying soil quality, especially on sloping land. To address this, in 1935, the SCS was formed to study the problem, develop management solutions, and help producers implement them. Over the next several decades, in concert with land grant institutions and others to develop soil and water conservation techniques from windbreaks to conservation tillage. It morphed into the NRCS to better reflect its mission in 1994.
They still provide technical assistance, primarily for producers, in conserving soil and water resources; restoring highly erodible land; helping implement cost sharing to protect natural resources; assisting in developing conservation plans; aid wildlife conservation; and the list goes on. The money invested in the NRCS and its programs is returned many times over through improved crop and livestock production, cleaner air and water, and decreased pollution.