DRY-FARMING 
CHAPTER I 
INTRODUCTION 
DRY-FARMING DEFINED 
DRyY-FARMING, as at present understood, is the 
profitable production of useful crops, without irriga- 
tion, on lands that receive annually a rainfall of 
20 inches or less. In districts of torrential rains, 
high winds, unfavorable distribution of the rain- 
fall, or other water-dissipating factors, the term 
“‘dry-farming ” is also properly applied to farming 
without irrigation under an annual precipitation of 
25 or even 30 inches. There is no sharp de- 
markation between dry- and humid-farming. 
When the annual precipitation is under 20 
inches, the methods of dry-farming are usually 
indispensable. When it is over 30 inches, the 
methods of humid-farming are employed; in places 
where the annual precipitation is between 20 and 
30 inches, the methods to be used depend chiefly 
on local conditions affecting the conservation of 
soil moisture. Dry-farming, however, always im- 
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