Much of the land in the southern Great Plains was controlled by American Indians until 1874. Then, ranching moved into the region. Farming began in the late 1800s but the “Big Plowout” occurred in the early 1900s. These years were wetter than average and the favorable precipitation coupled with the newly plowed grassland soils led to abundant crop yields. As the soil organic matter levels declined rapidly and the years of abundant precipitation turned to years of drought, wind erosion became rampant and led to the infamous Dust Bowl of the 1930s. The popular theories for early-day water conservation were the dust mulch for breaking capillary movement; deep plowing or sub-soiling to permit more water to enter the soil and enhance depth of rooting; and the belief that water rises from the water table or deep subsoil by capillary movement. Slowly but surely, these practices and theories have mostly disappeared. Because growing season precipitation is insufficient in much of the region for growing a crop every year, fallow is widely used to increase plant available water in the soil profile during fallow periods ranging from 11 to 16 months to supplement growing season precipitation to increase yields and reduce risk. Historically, only 15 to 20% of the precipitation occurring during the fallow periods was stored in the soil with the remainder lost by evaporation. Therefore, even though fallow was widely used and considered highly effective, it was not water efficient. In recent years, major advances have emerged in conservation agriculture that minimizes or eliminates tillage and leaves as many crop residues on the soil surface as feasible. These practices minimize wind and water erosion and maximize water infiltration and storage for subsequent use by growing crops.