Thomas Mott Osborne: “So, Mr. Speaker, what we are looking at now is the sixth year of severe drought in essentially the same parts of the…”

“So, Mr. Speaker, what we are looking at now is the sixth year of severe drought in essentially the same parts of the United States. So this cumulative drought, in many cases by most estimates surpasses the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s in terms of its severity. We don't have top soil blowing away like we had in 1930s because we put in some conservation practices, we don't have as much exposed ground. But by the same token, the impact on agriculture has been much the same as it was during that devastating period in the 1930s. The precipitation levels over the last several years have been remarkable. These are some cities in the State of Nebraska, and the precipitation you see here, Grand Island, Nebraska minus 27 inches, Hastings minus 27, Carney minus 27, and on and on. And this is true not just of Nebraska, but all of the cities and communities in this area. So we have seen the ground water levels in many cases declining.”