American Farmland Trust economist warns of forces that could create 'a new Dust Bowl'

Former USDA Economic Research Service Administrator Katherine Smith warned in Washington Wednesday that political and market forces could combine to create a “perfect storm” of elements that could contribute to a new Dust Bowl in parts of the Great Plains. Jim Webster, writing for Agri-Pulse, notes that Smith, who is now chief economist for the American Farmland Trust, pointed to three principal elements as harbingers for the coming storm: "an increase in tillage of cropland to combat herbicide-resistant weeds, the economic incentives of high market prices for major program crops and the likely cutback in USDA conservation program payments to farmer's after budget cuts in the next Farm Bill." (Read more)