"The Great Plains’ Invisible Water Crisis"

"JOHNSON, Kan. -- The prairie wind buffeted Brant Peterson as he stood in a half-dead field of winter wheat.

In front of him, a red-winged blackbird darted in and out of a rippling green sea of healthy wheat.

Behind him, yellowed stalks rotted in the ground.

The reason for the stark contrast was buried 600 feet under Peterson’s dusty boots: Only part of the field – the thriving part – had been irrigated by water pumped at that depth from the ancient Ogallala Aquifer, one of the largest underground sources of fresh water in the world."

Lindsay Wise reports for McClatchy July 24, 2015.

SEE ALSO:

"5 Reasons Farmers Grow Thirsty Crops in Dry Climates" (McClatchy)