Dry-Farming : A System of Agriculture for Countries under a Low Rainfall

by John Andreas Widtsoe

The Colorado and Rio Grande River Basins include Arizona and the western part of New Mexico. The chief dry-farm crops of this dry district are wheat, corn, and beans. Other crops have also been grown in small quantities and with some success. The area suitable for dry-farming in this district has not yet been fully determined and, therefore, the Arizona and New Mexico stations are undertaking dry-farm surveys of their respective states. In spite of the fact that Arizona is generally looked upon as one of the driest states of the Union, dry-farming is making considerable headway there. In New Mexico, five sixths of all the homestead applications during the last year were for dry-farm lands; and, in fact, there are several prosperous communities in New Mexico which are subsisting almost wholly on dry-farming. It is only fair to say, however, that dry-farming is not yet well established in this district, but that the prospects are that the application of scientific principles will soon make it possible to produce profitable crops without irrigation in large parts of the Colorado and Rio Grande River Basins.

The mountain states

This district includes a part of Montana, nearly the whole of Wyoming and Colorado, and part of eastern Idaho. It is located along the backbone of the Rocky Mountains. The farms are located chiefly in valleys and on large rolling table-lands. The chief dry-farm crop is wheat, though the other crops which are grown elsewhere on dry-farms may be grown here also. In Montana there is a very large area of land which has been demonstrated to be well adapted for dry-farm purposes. In Wyoming, especially on the eastern as well as on the far western side, dry-farming has been shown to be successful, but the area covered at the present time is comparatively small. In Idaho, dry-farming is fairly well established. In Colorado, likewise, the practice is very well established and the area is tolerably large. All in all, throughout the mountain states dry-farming may be said to be well established, though there is a great opportunity for the extension of the practice. The sparse population of the western states naturally makes it impossible for more than a small fraction of the land to be properly cultivated.

The Great Plains Area

This area includes parts of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. It is the largest area of dry-farm land under approximately uniform conditions. Its drainage is into the Mississippi, and it covers an area of not less than four hundred thousand square miles. Dry-farm crops grow well over the whole area; in fact, dry-farming is well established in this district. In spite of the failures so widely advertised during the dry season of 1894, the farmers who remained on their farms and since that time have employed modern methods have secured wealth from their labors. The important question before the farmers of this district is that of methods for securing the best results. From the Dakotas to Texas the farmers bear the testimony that wherever the soil has been treated right, according to approved methods, there have been no crop failures.

Canada

Dry-farming has been pushed vigorously in the semiarid portions of Canada, and with great success. Dry-farming is now reclaiming large areas of formerly worthless land, especially in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and the adjoining provinces. Dry-farming is comparatively recent in Canada, yet here and there are semiarid localities where crops have been raised without irrigation for upwards of a quarter of a century. In Alberta and other places it has been now practiced successfully for eight or ten years, and it may be said that dry-farming is a well-established practice in the semiarid regions of the Dominion of Canada.

Mexico

In Mexico, likewise, dry-farming has been tried and found to be successful. The natives of Mexico have practiced farming without irrigation for centuries—and modern methods are now being applied in the zone midway between the extremely dry and the extremely humid portions. The irregular distribution of the precipitation, the late spring and early fall frosts, and the fierce winds combine to make the dry-farm problem somewhat difficult, yet the prospects are that, with government assistance, dry-farming in the near future will become an established practice in Mexico. In the opinion of the best students of Mexico it is the only method of agriculture that can be made to reclaim a very large portion of the country.

Brazil