Food Grows Where Water Flows: Agriculture and Drought in Southern Wisconsin

Abstract

Since the 1930s, the farming industry of southern Wisconsin has endured many droughts. New farming practices, market structures, and government policies have been implemented to combat the effects of drought in the area. In our research we have found which of these have worked, which have not, and what needs to be done in the future to maintain a stable and lucrative farming industry in southern Wisconsin. By collecting historical data through archives, past reports, and historical photographs, we have compared the effects of past droughts to those of modern times. The years of focus have been the droughts of the 1930?s, 1988, and 2012. We conducted interviews and surveys at present time to understand how the effects of current droughts compared to those of past droughts. We have concluded that advances in practice, policy, and market structure have maintained a stable and thriving economy in the region. Yet, the future hold much uncertainty as to how drought should be dealt with in the future when the country as a whole has been met with economic crisis. The debate rages on.