Brown Bag History Series

Dr. David Vail (UNK)

• Wednesday, July 13, 2022
• Noon–1:00 pm
• Kearney Public Library

Vulnerable Harvests: Risk and Resiliency in the Cold War Great Plains

Vulnerable Harvests will examine the shifting roles of agricultural scientists, government policymakers, and farmers in the midst of increasing ecological risks to the North American Grasslands in the 1950s. As highlighted in President Eisenhower's 1957 Drought Inspection Tour, the Great Plains Agricultural Council's efforts to investigate climate changes, crop disease, chemical toxicity, and drought connected to earlier ideas about the conservation of natural resources before the Rachel Carson / Silent Spring era, offering solutions to make the Great Plains' agricultural lands more protected and secure in the early Cold War era.

David Vail is an associate professor of history at UNK. He grew up in Southern Oregon's Rogue Valley and spent much of his youth exploring the state's mountains and wilderness areas. He is a first-generation student that holds a BA from Southern Oregon University, an MA from Utah State University, and a Ph.D. from Kansas State University. Dr. Vail’s specializations include Environmental and Agricultural History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine, and Public History. He has published articles in academic journals such as Agricultural History, Endeavour (History of Science), Great Plains Quarterly, Great Plains Research, Middle West Review, and Kansas History.