[Texas Fossil]

After killing off the buffalo, they killed off the Prairie Dogs, the mesquites began to take hold. Before that the prairie dogs chewed off each small young tree.

I am old enough to remember some large dog towns near by on Flat Top Mountain.

Was not too bad when there was a house on every 1/4 section. Plowed fields assured no Mesquites.

Now the homes are 4 miles apart. Many farmers work 1-3,000 acres. Some 10-12K acres.

The CRP land is gradually turning mesquite, which is hard to kill once established. Tree plowing ground is very expensive and leaves the ground very rough.

[blam]

Most people are unaware that we once had major Grasshopper Plagues like parts of Africa and the Middle East. Below is a plague map from 1874.

Cattle ranching has been credited with disrupting the grass hopper 'cycle' so much that they are no longer a threat.

[nuke rocketeer]

Reasonable too.

Out of the 14 boys in my HS graduating class, 10 were farming by our senior year. At least 7-8 are still farming. Average farm size is 5-7 sections and most have family corporations that hold the equipment.