American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1911-05-20
DRY FARMING TERM
As Much Misunderstood as Any
in English Language.
First Used In irrigated Country
Where Land Was Cultivated
Above bitches or Before Irri.
cation was Inaugurated.

English language. Many people seem
to think 1t is some hocus-pocus sys.
tenn whereby crops car be produced
IN arid or desert soil where no rain
falls. Nothing could be further from
the truth. Dry farming was the term
used in the irrigated country where
the land was cultivated above the
ditch or before the bitches were con.
structed to frrigate the land. Through
out the greater part Of the irrigated
belt from 10 to 20 inches OF ain fell
annually and many farmers having
only a small acreage under the irri-
eating ditch supplemented this by
farming more or less of the unirri.
gated land adjoining and to their sur
prise In many seasons it paid them
better than the irrigated land as It
was not nearly 80 expensive to work.
Thus originated the term dry farm
ing.
"Hellriegel showed by aceual ex-
pertinent that IL inches Of effective
rain during the growing season of
wheat starting with the soil moisture
in good condition should enable a
yield Of 40 bushels to be produced
and that rs bushels of wheat would
require rs inches of rain on the same
basis" In but very few parts of the
arid or semi-arid sections of this
country are there less than ten inches
OF rain per annum. The whole prob
lem of the dry farmer is to make as
large a proportion as possible of this
rainfall effective for his growing
crops.
Rainfall is lost to a greater or less
extent in two ways: First, by perco-
lating down into the deep strata of
soils beyond the reach of the roots of
the plants, and, second. by surface
evaporation. Over the first of these
ways of losing the annual rainfall the
farmer has no control except in Sc
Letting the farm. The dry farmer
should avoid all land containing a
sandy or g~ravelly subsoil or one con-
tanning layers of hard pan "a the
surface because II he selects the for
mer he will lose all the rainfall by
percolation and II he selects the latter
he will lose it by surface run OF or
drainage.
What kind OF land should the dry
farmer select? A loan surface soil
with a clay or clay-silt subsoil which
a be readily dug with a spade with
out the aid Of a pick although the
hard clay subsoils will do very we'll.
provided they are free from hard-pan
layers. 1t is as important for the dry
farmer to get a water holding subsoil
as 1t is for the irrigated farmer to get
a perpetual water right as the sub
soil Is the dry farmers reservoir in
which he stores the rainfall of n
season for his crops of the next. The
proper selection of the dry farm is
the all important thing in preventing
the loss of effective rain through per
collation.; the proper cultural methods
are the things to be considered in pre-
venting the loss Of effective rain
through surface evaporation.
These methods differ In different
parts of the country. In the northern
part of the United States and Canada
surface evaporation is very small dur
ing the winter eason In the south
ern part of the United States and
Mexico surface evaporation may &C
on quite rapidly throughout the entire
year so that 30 inches of rain may not
be as effective in Texas as Is inches
would be in Montana. Deep blowing
is usually advocated in the dry farm
ing region as such forms a good reser-
voir to catch the rains which are
generally very heavy while they last.
The call ~hD,,lI o1c1 hA rnunacfad
with a sub-surface packer or similar
tool Immediately after blowing so the
soil around all vegetation plowed I'M
der is firm and thus hastens decay.
C~ompacting the soil also destroys
large air spores and establishes capil-
larity between the soil and subsoil.
In order to prevent surface evapora-
ton the blowing should be dragged
Immediately after s~ubsurface packing
unless the soil is very fine and mel
low with a tendency to blow. The
land should be dragged after every
rain SO as to bottle up that water in
the subsoil and also prevent any loss
OF previous rains.
In regions of scanty rainfall Us
inches or less) It is generally advan-
tageous to summe till a half or at
least a third Of the land each season.
Such land should be plowed early in
the season before any weeds have tax
en- out any soil moisture and after
blowing it should be kept free from
weeds all summer and a dust mulch
should be kept on the field to prevent
all he evaporation possible. In re-
gions of over Is inches of rain the
same results can be obtained by a
well-kept cultivated crop. II this
Is not done we'll and at the
time all the seasons work will
be for naught.
The principles of dry farming Or i
moisture conservation are bound to
have a profound influence on both the