Rain on the Plains, released in 1938 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is a short film that promotes the importance of soil conservation through rain conservation to avoid the effects caused by erosion, such as dust storms. The film opens with a shot of a cattle herd grazing out on the plains. A man operates a horse-drawn plow (01:07); after farming and grazing the land without proper rain conservation, the plains are dry and dusty. The film shows footage from the 12 May 1934 dust bowl: a dust storm approaches a farmhouse (01:28), city streets are darkened by dust, and a man sweeps the sidewalk in front of his business. Winds blow across the plains, sending clouds of dust and sand with it (02:00). Fields on the plains are covered with sand (02:24); sand drifts cover farming equipment and fences. There is a good shot of a farmstead out on the plains (03:16). A man uses a tractor for contour tillage, a form of soil conservation (03:55). Another farmer terrace farms, while another is shown strip cropping (04:50). Men ride in a truck, sodding the field by dropping clumps of grass sod to prevent wind erosion (05:24). A line of trees serves as a wind barrier on a farm (06:24). Two farmers make an earth dam to store water and block wind. The film shows a field with mature wheat to show how the plains can look when farmed in a healthy manner (07:02). A harvester is pulled by a tractor (07:40). The film closes with a shot of a tractor pulling a harvester in a field with the farmhouse off in the background.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
