What regions of the US have been affected the most by the great recession?

Answer 1

have or had? The Great Plains region, places like Oklahoma where many left for California and were referred to collectively as "Okies" and settled in camps in places like Bakersfield, Merced and I believe LA and elsewhere. But basically most of the Midwestern states were affected by the drought and dust that lasted many years. This was caused by prolonged drought but mainly due to the removal or break up of sod (grass covered soil) and the lack of trees and exposed soil to wind. Farmers back then didn't irrigate for the most part and relied on rain. Many farmers now use trees or hedges to edge fields to break up the wind and catch flyaway dirt and/or follow the terrain of the land when planting crops to reduce erosion, they also mix crops and leave fields fallow so they grow grasses, flowers, "weeds"--this helps hold the soil in place and keep organic matter in the soil; certain plants like clover, alfalfa and crops like legumes (beans, peas) or trees like acacia actually add nitrogen to the soil indirectly through nitrogen fixing bacteria that live on their roots and exchange plant sugars for nitrogen which they store in nodules on the roots.