Kansas farmers are harvesting millions of acres of corn that power the state’s economy — but as the Ogallala Aquifer shrinks, its future looks uncertain. It’s harvest time in Kansas. Across the state, combines have begun shaving down and chopping up over 6 million acres of corn. Isaac Yara is a truck driver, so he sees almost nothing but those corn fields hauling grain across the high plains. This season is a busy one for him. Why are those signature corn fields so ubiquitous in rural America, including western Kansas where the crop relies on the shrinking Ogallala Aquifer to thrive? That’s because in western Kansas, there is a huge demand for it. The major corn industry is connected to most of the jobs, like truck driving, the cattle industry and farming. But the problem is, corn is not as well suited as other crops to this region. All of the economic infrastructure and pressure makes growing corn a simple choice for now, but in the long term it might not be a sustainable option.
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