Los Angeles herald., 1909-08-23
DRY FARMING IS
GREAT PROBLEM
MEANS MORE PROSPERITY IN
ARID REGIONS
GOVERNOR OF MONTANA OUT
LINES POSSIBILITIES
Says There Are Twenty Million Acres
in State Which Can Be Made
Productive by scien-
tfic Methods


of the biggest the present generation
will be called on to consider. 1t means
an increased prosperity to arid regions,
rural homes for those in congested
centers occupation for the unem-
ployed, food for the hungry. 1t means
wealth and happiness for thousands
now living and millions yet unborn
This significant statement was made
by Coy. Edwin L. Norris of Montana,
president of the dry farming congress,
during an address before the national
irrigation congress at Spokane. in
which the governor extended an Otii-
Cial invitation TO those present at that
convention TO attend the fourth dry
farming congress at Billings, Mont,
October 26-2S, 1909. In the course of
his address Governor Norris said:
Il am not unmindful of the fact that
to those not familiar with conditions
in the semi-arid west 1t may \appear
that dry farming is entirely foreign to
the subjects under consideration here.
Such. however, is not the fact. Dry
farming is becoming one of the most
important and far-reaching questions
the west will be called on to consider.
Familiarity with conditions brings the
conviction that irrigation and dry
farming will be twin factors in pro-
noting development in all sections
where the natural rainfall is not suf-
ficient to produce crops.
Favors irrigation
1T is not my purpose to minimize
the importance of irrigation. | would
rather exalt its Importance and an
nounce myself as most willing to
aid and assist in its extension in every
way at my command. | fully realize
that irrigated lands do now and will
ever produce the surest and most
profitable results. The irrigation,
therefore, of every acre of land possi-
BILE should be encouraged, and state
and national aid to reclamation should
be freely given. The amount of land
which may be irrigated is. however,
limited by the water supply and the
cost of reclamation.
when every available second foot Of
water has been appropriated agd APP
piled to land that will Justify the cost
of reclamation. and performs thereon
the highest possible duty, there will
remain millions of acres of land which,
under like conditions. would be as
productive as the lands reclaimed.
Such lands have heretofore been, and
are now. chiefly used for the grazing
Of live stock. This is not unimportant,
but the function thus performed Is not
a 1.-THE of that which may be per-
formed under different conditions.
Soil Becomes Reservoir
THE limit Of production will be
reached at no distant date II Culti-
walton is confined to lands watered by
irrigation or natural rainfall. The
thinking mind of man, spurred on no
doubt by anticipated necessity, has dis
covered a means whereby these grazing
lands may be made to produce in
greater quantities than under natural
conditions. Ii has been demonstrated
that the soil, when properly prepared
and cultivated, will absorb and hold
moisture. The preparation and cultiva-
ton of the soil SO that il will gather
and retain sufficient rainfall to pro-
duce crops. is dry farming, or more
properly designated. scientific farming.
In other words the soil is converted
into a storage reservoir for the moist
ure which supports plant life during
the season when precipitation is not
sufficient.
Dry farming is not a theory; 1T is
an accomplished fact. There is vast
area of arabic land which cannot be
reclaimed, and situated where the rain
fall is not sufficient to make productive.
Consider for a moment what the culti-
walton of the land will mean to future
production.
Permit me to give a few figures to
make more clear the idea | am trying
to convey. There are i'm Montana APP
proximately 93,000,000 acres of land.
One-third Of that acreage. or 30,0OO,OOO
acres, is arabic. When every acre of
arabic land possible of irrigation has
been reclaimed there will be at least
20. 900. 600 acres which if made produc-
tive must be cultivated by dry farming
methods.
Dry Farming Possible
4 t1I
cultivation carried on and observations
made i'm many sections of the state, it
is confidently believed that this area of
20 OOO. 900 acres can he successfully dry
farmed. If one-half Of that acreage
were cultivated each year to wheat and
produced twenty bushels an acre, an
aggregate of 200,0000O0 bushels would
be the result An estimate of twenty
bushels an acre seems conservative
when note Is taken of the fact that an
average of thirty bushels an acre has
been obtained from the lands heretofore
dry farmed.
'M0ntana possesses less than one
tenth Of the lands situated in the SEMI
arid west which can be cultivated sue
cessfully by dry farming methods. The
nine-tenths of the area situated III
other states will, on the average, pro
duce as abundantly as the one-tenth in
Montana.
''If all the arabic lands in the United
States were cultivated to wheat. there
would be a production of 1000 OOO.0OO
bushels annually I am confident that
when the demand requires it the larger
portion of the so-called dry land VIII
be made productive. There are extern
sive areas of dry lands in other coun-
tries that win produce under IKE cuI-
tiVation.
1T is said that there will be har-
vested this year a bumper wheat crop
estimated at 7O0,O00,000 bushels. Last
wear there was a foreign demand for
t20, 900 900 bushels, and home demand
for 600, 00O, 600 bushels, or "a total Of 40
600 900 bushels in excess of the esti-
mated production of this year Inc
figures last given demonstrate That the
production of wheat does not supply
the home and foreign demands. In
other words there is a present market
for more wheat than is produced.
Demand Increasing
TT is 3 well known fact that the
population is rapidly Increasing and
that both the home and foreign de-
mands become larger each year. The
time when the question of feeding the
multitude will be of serious moment
does not seem Ear away. At no distant
date the demand will be greater than
the production which can come from
the irrigated lands of the semi-arid
regions and the naturally watered
lands in the rain belt. If this demand
is supplied then the production to sup
ply it must come from the dry farmed
lands.
"Other crops Of value can be pro-
duced as successfully and proftably
as wheat. under like conditions. Dry
farming is therefore no unimportant