A Menace to National Welfare Reconsidered, Part 1: Reviewing the Costs of Erosion

Shae Ruppert, Jonathan Coppess, Will Fathauer and Marin Skidmore

farmdoc daily, 2025, vol. 14, issue 52

Abstract: In 1935, as dust storms carried topsoil from the Oklahoma panhandle to the Atlantic Ocean, Congress declared soil erosion to be a “menace to national welfare” and took tentative first legislative steps to address the problem. American agriculture was being consumed by the Great Depression; in the southern Great Plains, multi-year drought and catastrophic soil erosion known as the Dust Bowl compounded the misery (P.L. 74-46; Coppess, 2024; farmdoc daily, November 7, 2019; NRCS, History). Nearly ninety years removed, soil erosion remains a challenge central to agricultural resiliency and the overall health of farm fields. It is historically among farming’s most prominent natural resource and environmental challenges. Eroding soils are also associated with lost nutrients and pesticides, resulting in water quality degradation. Combined, the losses contribute to damage that extends far beyond the farm gate (see e.g., Bullington, June 19, 2023; farmdoc daily, February 8, 2024; INLRS, 2023 Biennial Report; Illinois Department of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Agency, December 1, 2023; Jones, December 11, 2023; Haynes, January 5, 2024; Atkins, January 28, 2024). This article opens a series reviewing research on soil erosion and conservation with a focus on the economic implications and policy analysis.

Keywords: Agribusiness; Gardner Policy Series (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:illufd:358554

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.358554

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