"The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.” 

That wisdom was stated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1937, 2 years after he signed the bill creating the Soil Conservation Service, which is now the Natural Resources Conservation Service and is celebrating its 90th birthday

Last month I wrote about wind erosion. And right on cue, Illinois suffered a major dust storm in May for the third straight year, losing several tons per acre of topsoil from tilled ground. 

Instead of blowing due East, where Indiana and Ohio farmers might have welcomed some of that rich Drummer silty clay loam, it went Northeast and landed in Lake Michigan. 

In a technical report, the National Weather Service in Chicago said gusty winds from storms, “moved across rural, agricultural areas that were recently tilled and planted for the spring, with soil moisture values below average for May. A significant amount of dirt and dust was lofted, leading to a rare dust storm for the area.”

Water vs. Wind Erosion

For the Corn Belt and most of the country, erosion from water destroys more soil than wind erosion. A…