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Widtsoe, John Andreas, 1872-1952

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

This is of especial importance in the Great Plains region and
in any district where the precipitation comes in the spring and
winter months.
Likewise, after fall plowing, the land must be well stirred in the
early spring with the disk harrow or a similar implement, to enable
the spring rains to enter the soil easily and to prevent the
evaporation of the water already stored. Where the rainfall is quite
abundant and the plowed land has been beaten down by the frequent
rains, the land should be plowed again in the spring. Where such
conditions do not exist, the treatment of the soil with the disk and
harrow in the spring is usually sufficient.
In recent dry-farm experience it has been fairly completely
demonstrated that, providing the soil is well stored with water,
crops will mature even if no rain falls during the growing season.
Naturally, under most circumstances, any rains that may fall on a
well-prepared soil during the season of crop growth will tend to
increase the crop yield, but some profitable yield is assured, in
spite of the season, if the soil is well stored with water at seed
time.


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