Drought hit hard here in 1934

The drought we are currently experiencing has been tough on everyone, especially farmers. But Minneota experienced an even worse drought in 1934, according to stories in the Mascot.
The 1934 drought wasn't just confined to this area. According to scientists from NASA and Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the drought that year was the worst there has been in the U.S. over the past 1,000 years.
The scientists concluded that during the "Dust Bowl" years, 1934 was 30 percent more severe than the next worst, which occurred in 1580.
Scientists used tree-ring records from 1000 to the present to determine the severity of droughts. They found two main reasons for the drought: a winter high-pressure system over the West Coast that blocked precipitation and spring dust storms that suppresses rainfall.
In Minneota, weather records show that extreme heat began with a 109-degree reading on May 25, 1934. The heat continued through June.
The Mascot reported that the corn crop report dated Aug. 28, 1934 showed this area's to be the poorest since 1881.
The Mascot reported that no appreciable moisture had fallen from May through August, causing fields to dry up rapidly. Farmers were forced to herd their cattle along roadsides and elsewhere as pastures generally were dried up.
Many head of livestock were dead from having consumed Russian thistle that summer.
Finally, in late September, a three-day rain fell over Minneota and broke the drought. But by then it was too little too late for the farmers to salvage much of anything.
In 1935, precipitation amounts were better than the previous year, but all wheat varieties with the exception of Marquillo were destroyed by rust, a blow to farmers as wheat was a vital cash crop in those days. The farmers were relieved that Marquillo generally yielded around 20 bushels an acre and paid around $1 per bushel.