Western Kansas Farmers Face Dwindling Water Supply

Published August 19, 2013 at 12:50 PM EDT

Anthony Stevenson has switched many of his acres to non-irrigated farming with water becoming more scarce, but that has meant taking a financial hit. (Frank Morris/Harvest Public Media)

A drought now in its third year in parts of western Kansas is taxing a resource that has been under pressure for decades: the High Plains Aquifer.

The aquifer is enormous, but it’s running low in places, forcing a move to dryland farming — that is, farming without the aid of irrigation.

And farmers aren’t the only ones affected.

From the Here & Now Contributors Network, Frank Morris of Harvest Public Media reports.

Guest

Frank Morris, founder and executive supervisor of Harvest Public Media and news director for KCUR in Kansas City, Mo.

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