Nebraska: From dust bowl to farmland
A party of 25 farmers and irrigation experts has returned from Nebraska, United States, with some fresh ideas about how to improve environmental management in New Zealand.
‘‘Nebraska was one of the states that were devastated by the dust bowl storms during the depression and farming families had to leave the land,’’ outgoing Irrigationnz chief executive Andrew Curtis said, who was part of the group.
‘‘By 1932, 750,000 acres [300,000 hectares] of farmland had been abandoned in Nebraska due to soil erosion and dust storms.
‘‘One of the worst dust storms occurred in 1935 on Black Sunday when strong winds blew an estimated 300 million tonnes of topsoil from the prairie states as far as the east coast, turning the sky black in its path,’’ Curtis said.
After the Great Depression, Nebraskans started to adopt better land-management practices. They also invested in irrigation systems and the state is now productive.
However, Nebraska shared some of New Zealand’s problems. Nitrates in groundwater were a significant concern. Historic poor nutrient management and poor irrigation practice had resulted in nitrate concentrations well over the US drinking water standard of 10 parts per million.
‘‘They have a water supply issue as well. There are allocation issues that need resolving and other places where there is enough water to go around, it just requires reconfiguring. Their overallocation of water is far more challenging than ours,’’ Curtis said.
By 1932, 750,000 acres [300,000 hectares] of farmland had been abandoned in Nebraska.