dryland farming
Dryland farming is an agricultural technique for cultivating land which receives little rainfall. Dryland farming is used in the Great Plains, the Palouse plateau of Eastern Washington regions of North America, the Middle East and in other grain growing regions such as the steppes of Eurasia and Argentina. Dryland farming was introduced to the southern Russian Empire by Russian Mennonites under the influence of Johann Cornies, making the region the breadbasket of Russia.[1] Winter wheat is the typical crop although skilled dryland farmers sometimes grow corn, beans or even watermelons. Successful dryland farming is possible with as little as 15 inches of precipitation a year, but much more successful with 20 inches or more. It is also known that Native American tribes in the arid SouthWest subsisted for hundreds of years on dryland farming in areas with less than 10 inches of rain.
In marginal regions, a farmer should be financially able to survive occasional crop failures, perhaps of several years running. A soil which absorbs and holds moisture is helpful as is the practice of leaving stubble standing in the field to catch blowing snow.
Notes
- ^ Smith, C. Henry (1981). Smith's Story of the Mennonites. Newton, Kansas: Faith and Life Press, 263-265. ISBN 0-87303-069-9.
See also
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