Plowing: Dust storms, Conservation Agriculture, and need for a “Soil Health Act”

T he dust storm tragedy on I-55 in central Illinois on May 1, 2023, a reminder of the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s, necessitates urgent policy intervention to replace plow tillage with Conservation Agriculture (CA) involving no-tillage with crop biomass mulch, cover cropping, and complex crop rotations. System-based CA has co-benefits including control of soil erosion by wind (dust storm) and water, low risks of nonpoint source pollution including algal bloom, adaptation and mitigation of climate change, reduced incidence of drought-flood syndrome, sustained productivity, high farm income, and improved soil health. The current farm bill already contains a Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and Growing Climate Solutions Act that can all be complemented and more effective with a healthy soil. The forthcoming farm bill should have provision to reward farmers for ecosystem services at a nominal rate, e.g., US$50 ac–1 yr–1 (~US$123.46 ha–1 y–1), through a proposed “Soil Health Act” to further CA as a solution to climate change and other environmental issues. Restoring soil health through CA is a win-win option and a major contribution to mitigating future climate extremes and food security. Ninety years after the Dust Bowl we should not need reminding that agriculture’s job is to feed people without degrading the environment, not create chaotic catastrophic events due to poor utilization and resource management. Unfortunately, the recent I-55 dust storm catastrophe in central Illinois, United States, in May of 2023 did just that and caused the loss of 8 lives, hospitalization of 37 others, loss or damage to 72 vehicles, and triggered associated environmental degradation (figure 1). This disaster was caused by low April rainfall—roughly half of normal amounts—and high winds that blew across freshly tilled fields and lofted Don Reicosky is a retired soil scientist for USDA Agricultural Research Service, North Central Soil Conservation Research Laboratory, Morris, Minnesota, and adjunct professor in the Soil Science Department, University of Minnesota. Randall Reeder is a retired agricultural engineer for Ohio State University, serves as executive director of the Ohio No-till Council, and coordinates programs for the Conservation Tillage and Technology Conference in Ada, Ohio. Rattan Lal is a distinguished professor of soil science at Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. David R. Montgomery is a professor of earth and space sciences at the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. David Brandt, known as the “Godfather of Soil Health,” was a conservation farmer from Carroll, Ohio, who was recognized internationally as a leader in no-till, cover crops, soil health, and regenerative agriculture. Received June 19, 2023. loosened topsoil into the air. The tragedy captures one of the more visible unintended consequences of frequent intensive tillage when farmers plow in the fall, and till again one or two times before spring planting. Less visible consequences include soil erosion by runoff, as well as decreased soil, water, and air quality—and the loss of the soil organic matter that is at the heart of soil health. Soil dust from both tilled and bare fallow farmlands pose severe risks to public health and transportation safety, and this recent catastrophe illustrates the unintended consequences of soil mismanagement and the need for both farmer education and farm policy reform. Dust storms are a major catastrophe; they degrade the local soil and surrounding environmental quality and the health and well-being of humans and ecosystems. The increased frequency and intensity of dust storms associated with climate extremes and the associated deaths has become alarming. Tong et al. (2023) report that in most years windblown dust causes loss of life comparable to hurricanes, thunderstorms, and wildfires, with a total of 232 deaths from windblown dust events in the United States from 2007 to 2017. On November 29, 1991, the largest single dust-related highway incident in US history occurred on Interstate 5 in the San Joaquin Valley, California, where 164 vehicles collided, resulting in 17 deaths and injuring 151 additional people (Tong et al. 2023; Pauley et al. 1996). In most cases, similar crash sites are “situated near farmland, which constitutes a major dust source across the United States” (Tong et al. 2023; Lambert et al. 2020). Enhanced soil management will be required with widespread adoption of CA practices that preserve, protect, and restore our soil. Enhanced management of our agricultural soils will contribute to the welfare of humanity along with environmental quality and food security.