On Wednesday a load of wheat was delivered to an elevator in Moundridge and test cutting is ongoing and the 2017 wheat harvest is underway, depending on the weather. The ninety degree plus temperatures will certainly accelerate wheat maturity. Now on to today’s topic.
The U.S., the United Kingdom and Russia were the three main countries that initiated the serious systematic study of soils in the 19th Century. We will skip the reasons here but suffice it to say they were large countries/empires with vast areas of arable land that varied greatly and presented many challenges. One of these challenges was the loss of topsoil, the A soil horizon. While U.S. scientists were aware of and concerned by erosion, there was no focused effort on addressing this condition until the 1930s. The Dust Bowl, combined with the Great Depression focused the attention of Washington on wind erosion in the Great Plains. Back in the Eastern U.S., erosion was also a major problem but water erosion was the main concern. Alarm over what was happening led to a concerted effort by the Federal Government to stop soil erosion (conserve) and restore productivity. This led to research sites and labs to study the phenomena and determine methods to prevent erosion. And it led to the agency termed the NRCS, the Natural Resources and Conservation Service, today and programs like the Conservation Reserve Program.
Over the last seventy years tremendous progress has been made in cultural practices providing producers with the tools necessary to dramatically and even reduce erosion. More than just planting techniques have played a role. The development of chemical pest control also played a major role as did the development of cultivars allowing for more diversity of crop rotations. However, soil erosion is still a problem today.
Over the last five years Kansas has experienced a drought far worse than the Dust Bowl and swung to extremely wet weather with torrential rains in many spots. The improvement in all aspects of crop production was evident during the drought and the deluges. However, these extremes still resulted in significant water and wind erosion in many areas of not just Kansas but the entire country.
Why does this matter so much considering the progress we have made? Aside from the damage both on-site and off, erosion robs producers of a resource, soil, that they cannot replace in their lifetime. On average, an inch of topsoil takes approximately 500 years to produce, longer in drier areas and less in wetter areas. The most fertile, productive and important part of the soil is the topsoil or A horizon. The A horizon is anywhere from several inches in depth to slightly over a foot typically. Any soil loss is significant but especially so in areas that have already lost soil due to erosion. It isn’t that the subsoil, B horizon can’t be farmed but it is typically less productive and requires significantly increased input costs and management.
Next week, how do wind and water erosion occur.

Dr. Victor L. Martin is the agriculture instructor/coordinator for Barton Community College. He can be reached at 620-792-9207, ext. 207.