Agricultural Policy - A look back at the beginning.

A compelling historical read is sometimes hard to find, but I found "The Worst Hard Time," by Timothy Egan to be a page-turner. It tells the Depression-era tale of the Dust Bowl and the people that stayed on the High Plains during that hopeless time. Eyewitness accounts and historical records tell a story of unfathomable conditions that reigned from 1931 through 1939 when massive "dusters" choked residents and created such static electricity that barbed-wired fences came alive with sparks. Those that remained on the land as it blew away often developed "dust-pneumonia," a respiratory ailment that caused uncontrollable coughing and never entirely went away. As year after year of drought persisted throughout the High Plains, the homesteaders that settled there saw their farms crushed under overwhelming debt loads, low commodity prices, and ton upon ton of blown dirt. It is truly a wonder that the entire region wasn't abandoned completely - yet at least a few of those early towns are still around today.

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While the book is a compelling historical sketch of Dust Bowl survivors, at various points is takes aim at the various policies that influenced settlement in the region - many of which were tied directly to agriculture. As all native Oklahomans know, a fair portion of the state was given away to homesteaders in "land runs," which literally amounted to a foot race for chunks of real estate. Following the notion that "rains follow the plow," these folks that sought a better way of life took their newly-acquired land and began planting. Thus, vast stretches of grassland were pulled into intensive cropping during a time when the High Plains enjoyed a relatively wet period. Against the backdrop of World War I, greater production was urged from the nation's farms to sustain the war effort. Rational-minded homsteaders sought more acres to plow and plant, concluding that larger harvests resulted in larger incomes. And so the settlement of the Plains went until the relatively abundant rains stopped, and the dry years set in.

This era gave rise to some of the first comprehensive policies directed specifically to the support of agriculture. For example, the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 is typically considered to be the "original" farm bill and introduced the concept of commodity price supports. Congress and the Roosevelt Administration continued to churn out agricultural-specific legislation during the Dust Bowl years, tinkering with price and income support for farmers and eventually creating various conservation programs. Some of this legislation remains relevant to this day, such as the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, a "permanent" Act that has been continually amended to meet the issues of the times.

Aside from being a fascinating tale of incredibly difficult times, it gave me pause to think about the convictions of those settlers and the reasons that they chose to make a go of it on the grassy plains. The individual desire to claim a piece of the American Dream coupled with misinformed agricultural ideology led many folks into a situation that became impossible to escape. Whether or not you agree with Egan's none-to-subtle criticisms of the policies that saw the grasslands of the High Plains turned to crop production, the Dust Bowl exists as a fact in agricultural history. More importantly, this period of American history lives on in the various federal and state farm programs that influence the production of food and fiber.

For many, it has become easy to criticize government support of farmers and ranchers as an expensive welfare system that benefits too few. Yet, this same domestic support system unquestionably sustains one of the most abundant and affordable food supplies in the world. As with any policy, it is subject to change when new information makes older beliefs obsolete. Whether intentional or not, what Egan captured exceedingly well in the book was the adaptation of agricultural policy in the face of better understanding. Would the Dust Bowl have occurred if the High Plains been left in grass for grazing livestock instead of tilled for crops? Maybe or maybe not.

Having traveled extensively throughout the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, I found "The Worst Hard Time" to offer a candid glimpse into the soul of the region - scarred, but resilient. Egan's tale should be required reading for anyone in the position to influence and shape agricultural policy. No view of the future is worthwhile unless it is informed by the experiences of the past. Of course, besides being a fascinating bit of history, this book also makes a fine companion to John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath."