Here a real farmer speculating that the recent mob of drones seen methodically mapping something near Colorado / Kansas might be looking at water use due to western water wars being the usual big deal. He also touches on soil health and ground water recharge issues.
In particular, he cites real world experience where grazing captures more water into ground water while till farming loses a lot more.
This has implication for the aquifer as well as surface temperatures. So the next time someone complains about meat eating and water use for cattle, point out it takes less than till farming and builds up soil instead of degrading it. Cows are good for the land AND the water table. 30 minutes.
I don’t know if his ideas on the drones are right, but it sounds a lot more likely to me than most other speculation.
I do know his statements about rotational grazing as restorative are correct as it has been physically demonstrated.
Musings from the Chiefio 
I don’t know about the drones but, he is right about grass lands and grazing building up the underground water table. Farming tends to limit the soil moisture buildup. Brush and trees go deep in their search for water and will dry up all the local springs. Grazing tends to reduce the brush and tree regrowth and will in time convert the land to grassland as well as renewing the undergroung water and local springs…pg
Many thanks EM – important and informative film …
Yup – aquifer recharge is the issue, over the Ogallala and much of the planet now. Ruminants and even pigs can all help this, very quickly; because temperature regulated capillary action is the key to switching recharge back on; determined by soil type, surface cropping and most of all : humus/carbon content provided by animals.
Either mob grazed on pasture, or strictly only as compost from winter housing (see why in my film below, 20 mins 2015, on a near zero input yet prolific intensified farm, based on trad Middle European ‘woo-woo’ methods, that really work; ie no agrochemicals or pharmaceuticals, just sea weed and some diesel). Here, the soil carbon accumulation is just another undeniable (yet we have huge denial from UK academia) mass balance exercise. Sunlight -> cellulose -> ruminants -> huge nutrient/right microbiology -> soil carbon/healthy animals … In UK we have communities supporting this approach because of the relentless opposition from AgroChem interests and Govt obfuscation (now changing https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-51128709 ):
2013 presentation that covers much of this (6 – 14 & 30 – 39); should have credited Viktor Schauberger, who warned of all this early last century, his ‘half water cycle’ :
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B22I7EPwHUYTZVBlV3dvSF9RZjQ/view?usp=sharing
We need review the compromised down wind transpiration effects; the decline of snow pack/melt mostly on Western Greenland; the vicious aridified scar that stretches across from Sahara into Central Asia (and consequent social effects here).
And so much more leading on from this. Not so smart of Bayer to buy Monsanto – the effects of Glyphosate on soil microbiology (and apparently the Ogallala) are catastrophic.