The problem is we try and grow crops in places like Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma (corn, soybeans) that have no business being grown there. There production could

The problem is we try and grow crops in places like Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma (corn, soybeans) that have no business being grown there. There production could disappear overnight and no one would notice. Problem is what are you replacing the economic activity with? Ideally it would be pasture fed cattle, but again that's 'inefficient' compared to other production tactics. I'd rather people in Nebraska/high Plains use the Ogallala aquifer than California residents.