Displaying items by tag: dust bowl

Erich Henry and Julia Konkel of the Blount County Soil Conservation District pose by a recent project.  Blount County Soil Conservation District

Erich Henry and Julia Konkel anchor East Tennessee soil

MARYVILLE — The Dust Bowl was a time of extreme drought in the Southern Plains in the 1930s. The dry topsoil whipped by winds created  the infamous “bowl of dust.” It polluted the air and made it nearly impossible to grow crops or maintain livestock.

East Tennessee gets more rain than the Southern Plains but regional farmers to this day unknowingly use bad agricultural practices.

Blount County Soil Conservation District’s Director Erich Henry doesn’t want history to repeat itself.