 A huge cloud of dust blew through Lubbock, Texas in October after months of heat and drought. To some people, it brought back memories of the dust bowl in the 1930s. That was when dust storms repeatedly struck the Great Plains. Texas state official Salvador Salinas says a return to dust bowl conditions is unlikely. We have come a long way from those days where we had these occurrences as a common occurrence. Experts say one reason for the storms 80 years ago is that plowing was more common back then. In areas where the soil was broken up, it often was blown or washed away. Ram Hovertz has seen the effects of such erosion. He is with the International Maze and Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico. There is a percentage of areas in certain states of Mexico where farming is no longer possible because we already eroded those areas. He suggests a different method. Throwing away the plow, no longer plowing, no movement of soil. In the Texas high plains, that means farmers cut just a thin strip of soil where the seed and fertilizer go. The rest of the field is left alone, says farmer David Ford. Everything in between these rows is the organic matter left from the wheat straw, which helps keep the ground covered, reduces soil erosion. Plowing the ground covered helps to protect the land from wind and sun. It also keeps the soil from drying out. Bryant Underwood works with the United States Department of Agriculture. I think it made a huge difference. It's my opinion that the strip-till system right here and the residue management is what's enabled David to produce this kind of corn crop in this drought type here. David Ford says plowing less saves him money. We don't have to burn the fuel that we used to burn. Our equipment will last longer. Bram Hovert says his center is designing equipment like this hand-operated tiller for farmers. We want to have machines locally built so that the local small businesses also get better from the improved technologies. Which has shown that farmers get as good or better crop production using these methods. They also can save money on production costs. That means, with the age-old tradition of plowing, less really is more. I'm Steve Ember.