The Ordway new era., 1911-08-25
DANGERS OF DIsKING
Expert Tells of Practices to Be
Avoided.
Foundation Of Dry Farming 10 to
Farm for the Future-atoro Up
Moisture In Soil for the
Next Year.

We have been watching the effects
OF shallow plowing and disking for
nearly thirty years. and still We can
see no good In It. Every dry year
the same thing happens. In 1908 We
went over thousands of acres where
the crops had been disked In on stub
BILE. We saw oats burned out six
and eight inches high; spring wheat
completely fired Just beginning to
head: winter wheat that went only
five bushels to the acre: and fields of
corn on shallow.plowed sod that yield.
ed nothing but a handful OF fodder.
writes e. r. Parsons. dry farm ex.
pert. In an exchange.
The disking and shallow plowing
habits come from the humid states.
where 1t rains sometimes twice .
week. and small crops can always be
raised by simply cultivating enough
to keep the weeds out.
Farmers will sometimes say. I'VE
can raise more by disking than plow-
Ing" This is true. because q surface
farmer seldom plows more than three
inches. and he can do this equally
well and more quickly with the disk.
Or he may plow without narrowing.
let the ground dry out as he goes. and
plant In a poorly prepared seed bed.
An old friend Of ours used to raise
Indifferent crops by plowing once in
three years and disking In his seeds
the two Intervening years. The first
year his oats would be about two to
three feet high: the seond year. 1S
inches; and the third. about a foot:
but II a dry year happened. there was
nothing doing. He always would per.
sist that he could raise good crops
without plowing to carry his cattle
through the winter. ! happened to
meet him In 1909. WELL" | said.
how did you come out last year?"
"Oh." he said. II sold my cattle"
Thousands Of head OF cattle were
sold In the fall Of 1908 for the same
reason. This put the market down
adm the dry.farmers lost heavily.
Supposing we plant crop Of spring
wheat or oats on corn stubble. what
happens? Ninety per cent Of the
farmers put cattle on stubble during
the winter. The ground becomes hard
and overpacked: we disk this on the
surface and plant tho seed. For a
while 1t does splendidly. and II the
rains keep up will make a fair crop:
but II dry weather comes and a crust
forms on the surface or under the
mulch. the crop Is gone. for It Is solid
underneath. 1t has never been
plowed!
1t is the surface farmers who are
always wailing about this crust under
the mulch. but those who belong to
the deep-plowing school pay no atten.
tion to 1t. for they still have plenty
Of room for the roots of their crops
down below. and II the mulch above
the crust Is In proper shape there is
no more evaporation than there was
before.
A man wrote to me once and asked
what he should do for the crust under
the mulch. I wrote back and said: :
Next year plow deep" His answer
was: How did you find out that
didn't plow deep?"
The worst consequence Of disking
without plowing is the effect 1t has
on next years crop. The ground be-
ing hard. the water penetrates very
little: the available moisture is used
up by the crop. and the surplus evap-
crates or runs off. Nothing is saved
for next year.
In dry-farming. II we work only for
the present. we are living from hand
to mouth. The very foundation OF this
branch Of agriculture is to farm for
the future. Store up moisture In the
soil for next year and the year after.
keep track of 1t with the pick and
shovel or with ground auger, and
you will soon find out which style of
farming pays the best.