DRY FARMING CONGRESS. 



89 



Dry Land Cereals. 



Experience has shown that when excessively large companies farm 

 great tracts of land, the tendenc}' is to exploit the land for the greatest 

 immediate profit at the expense of the permanent value of the soil. 

 Proper soil cultural methods are not observed; rotations for the pre- 

 servation of soil fertility are neglected; the great crop, wheat, is grown 

 continuousl}^ and the seed is allowed to degenerate through too careless 

 methods. There are undoulnedly exceptions to this rule. I do not 

 wish to intimate that rational dry farming is impossible when carried 

 on by large companies, but the general rule has been as stated here. 

 It is evident that the homesteader, having in mind the value of his 

 home and the welfare of his posterit}", is more likely to perpetuate the 

 value of his land. And right here, in this connection. I wish to endorse 

 the statement of the last speaker, that 160 acres of land is entirely too 

 small a tract to ask a man to moA"e onto. It is too small for the main- 

 tenance of a famaly. It is an injustice. (Applause.) 



Arid farming then, in its most comprehensive sense, should include 

 the production of such crops as will make home life in the arid section 

 profitable and attractive. It must be so conducted as to insure perma- 

 nent settlement by the homesteader. 



Diversity of Crops Necessary. 



In order to bring about these desirable conditions, it is necessar}' 

 to produce a variety- of crops. Forage plants, such as sorghtim. alfalfa 

 and other legumes must be grown to feed the domestic animals on the 

 homestead, and to take their proper places in a rational rotation. Drouth 

 resistant trees should be developed and grown so that the farmstead 

 will be a pleasant place to live. Doubtless we shall sooner or later 

 have orchard trees which will be successful in the arid sections. These 

 and many other crops all have their places, and aid in making the arid 

 farms habitable, but the fundamental crops in arid farming are. and 

 always will be, as at present, the production of the cereals. The cereals 

 which are grown under arid conditions are wheat, oats, rye, barley, spelt, 

 emmer, corn and the grain sorghums. We all recognize the value of oats 

 and barley as a feed for the farm horse, and we all know too that the}- 

 are usually salable at profitable prices. Corn is a very valuable stock 

 feed, and will some da}- be raised extensiveh' either for grain or forage 

 on arid lands. It is also a valuable crop in a rotation, since it is a culti- 

 vated crop and hence ma.y act as a substitute for the expensive practice 

 of summer fallowing. R3'e, spelt and emmer are excellent hog and cattle 

 feeds and can often be raised under conditions which do not permit the 

 growing of wheat, oats and barley. Oats and barle}- being at present 

 largeh^ spring varieties, their 3-ields are not so large and reliable as that 

 of wheat. Considerable work is now being done to develop hard}^ winter 

 types. Results already obtained indicate that this can be accomplished. 



