[Upbeat music.]
[Upbeat music.]
Female narrator:  Then.  Farmers used a mouldboard plough to turn the soil over, making it loose…
…and airy for good root growth. It was a popular farming practice but made soil less fertile over time.
Top soil could be washed away by rain or blown away by the wind...
...creating the perfect conditions for disasters such as the prairie dust bowl of the 1930s.
Now.  Thanks to research in farming practices, much fewer farmers till the soil.  
Leaving stalks and roots from last year’s crop on the soil surface. 
This keeps water organic matter, and nutrients in the soil and reduces erosion. 
It’s better for crops and the environment. 
We’ve come a long way.
[Upbeat music fades out.]
[Upbeat music fades out.]
