The Ogallala Aquifer and why its getting overused

An explanation

I have wondered for decades the thinking behind this. Some of the most productive and fertile soil on the planet sitting on atop a giant underground reservoir of water and we use it to mass produce ethanol, corn syrup, animal feed and soybeans to export.

Mind boggling!

It is not just that aquifer being effected.

My aquifer is being effect by folks drilling wells to fill big ponds.

Every now and then my neighbor's well goes dry.  Luckily this has nor affected mine.

Water conservation would be a good habit for folks to think about.

The problem with AI-generated graphics is that they totally miss the picture. That farmer should be a multinational corporation, and the above ground scene should be huge pivot irrigators, not bucolic barns.

I am not sure Phil, in the 70,s when the Stones were forming, the World Bank helped Indian farmers in the green desert install pumps to grow cash crops.
Over a relatively short time, the wells had to be lowered and eventually dried out.
- The farmers all grew the same crop so the prices dropped.
- The farmers now had a debt
- It was a great example of a good idea not being one.
But you are correct in the sense big corporations use huge volumes of water.
Living in Australia, we are born with a water conservation gene, so many people are aware.
But some still do not care. As I have often said,'water conservation is for other people to practise"!