The Back 40

A recent study in the journal, Water Policy, compares the water supply histories of four major cities: San Diego, Phoenix, San Antonio, and Adelaide, Australia. The major conclusion of the report was that urban water conservation, recycling, and desalination can’t nearly come close to the level of water conservation that can be provided by upstream farmers. [...]

As technology continues to play an increasing role in agricultural operations, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) launched the Water Quality Index for Agricultural Runoff (WQIag), which helps producers calculate how much impact their agricultural and conservation practices are having on water quality. Producers input information about a given field, such as slope and soil characteristics. They [...]

A recent report states that agricultural producers in the United States are capable of meeting the world’s growing need for food, as well as enhance natural resources, by 2050. But, the authors stress that changes must be made in our nation’s approach to land management. The report, titled Developing a New Vision for United States [...]

Texas ranchers Gary and Sue Price have been named the recipients of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s (NCBA) Environmental Stewardship Award. The Prices own and operate 77 Ranch, located near Blooming Grove. Gary and Sue have a long tradition of enhancing land, water, and wildlife habitat on their ranch. Their efforts on and off of [...]

U.S. House Minority Leader Mitch McConnell made an 11th hour inclusion of a 9-month extension of the 2008 Farm Bill into the “fiscal cliff bill.” This move gives Congress until the end of September 2013 to get a new bill in place, but many individuals and organizations are not pleased with this outcome. The extension continues the [...]

Ken Burns’ new documentary, The Dust Bowl, focuses on a period of the 1930s that consisted of severe dust storms that caused agricultural and ecological damage to prairie lands in the United States and Canada. The often cited reason for the dust storms is the lack of conservation practices in use at the time. More specifically, land [...]