The 1920s brought an increasing demand for tillable land. Extension county agents taught farmers to clear land of stumps and rocks with low-powered war surplus explosives and to drain poorly drained flatlands.

In the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s, more than half of the state's windbreaks and shelterbelts were destroyed. In response, Extension promoted shelterbelt plantings. 4-H youth conservation programs enlisted 10,000 boys and girls to plant trees and begin community-landscaping projects.