tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231257453868183589.post6360443787745239178..comments2024-02-22T10:16:38.304-06:00Comments on https://lynfenwick.blogspot.com: Drought on the PrairieLynda Beck Fenwickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12363248580928472769noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231257453868183589.post-7378358746142838372012-07-28T11:38:25.972-05:002012-07-28T11:38:25.972-05:00Thanks, Lyn. Scary way to live ... or die. Our ho...Thanks, Lyn. Scary way to live ... or die. Our homesteaders ate canned gophers on occasion but nothing like that which you describe.The Blog Fodderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11441978691701289074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231257453868183589.post-11584856389869734772012-07-27T17:49:51.736-05:002012-07-27T17:49:51.736-05:00While in northwest Kansas and northeast Colorado a...While in northwest Kansas and northeast Colorado about a week ago we observed corn on dry land fields was short and turning yellow. It looked very sad. I wonder what my corn in Stafford County looks like right now or if it is still upright.Anne Currentnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231257453868183589.post-50737486506296149922012-07-27T13:06:49.733-05:002012-07-27T13:06:49.733-05:00We are in much better times now even tho this is a...We are in much better times now even tho this is a terrible year. In 1980 no one had crop insurance and interest rates went up to 18%. A year we will never forget. In 2012 most farmers have crop insurance and interest rates are very low. Farmers who have cattle are in a very bad spot now as the pastures are dried up and hay is very high if there is any for sale. As always in farming it will be better next year and we pray not another dry year.Donnanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231257453868183589.post-9708008632410228702012-07-27T08:07:15.054-05:002012-07-27T08:07:15.054-05:00To answer your question--1. Debt, and while the a...To answer your question--1. Debt, and while the amounts seem small, they were just as impossible to repay in that economy as they are today; 2. Starvation, quite literally they lived on ground wheat mixed with water and had no seed wheat the following season, or potatoes, meal after meal; 3. Relocation, moving on further West or returning to family in the East; 4. Assistance, Isaac sought help via the Farmers' Alliance for neighbors with the ability to borrow to join in loans for "food and blacksmithing" for other members who had no hope of getting through winter without help. Only 40% of those staking claims managed to stick it out and get a patent, so many claims were abandoned. The question of "no crop/no money?" that you asked was quite literally a matter of life or death for many, with many children dying during those times, and life expectancy for adults a much younger age.Lynda Beck Fenwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12363248580928472769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231257453868183589.post-72596306083386426412012-07-27T06:32:00.544-05:002012-07-27T06:32:00.544-05:00This is a good reminder that life is cyclical - wh...This is a good reminder that life is cyclical - whether we're talking weather or the human condition. It's hard to live through drought times - whether we're talking the lack of rain or life experiences. But I guess the message found in Isaac's diaries is that we need to persevere. Thanks for sharing.Kimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03030884632849692028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231257453868183589.post-47708130098773794012012-07-27T02:48:49.577-05:002012-07-27T02:48:49.577-05:00One difference between today and over a hundred ye...One difference between today and over a hundred years ago is cash inputs per acre of crop. Far higher yields, even with some drought but if it doesn't rain, all the high tech is still for nothing and the operating expenses are gone, leaving the farmer in huge debt.<br />How did Isaac and his neighbours cope with no crop/no money?The Blog Fodderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11441978691701289074noreply@blogger.com