Dry Farming In Colorado 
15 
reduces the danger of soil blowing and can be carried out very 
much more cheaply. Some of the heavier lands, such as the clays 
and adobes, require more frequent plowing. On such lands the 
loss ordinarily caused by the summer fallow can largely be over¬ 
come by planting a cultivated crop and spacing rows double the 
usual distance. 
It must be remembered that the supply of water in all dry¬ 
farming sections is limited or likely to be limited; consequently, 
if more crop is planted on the land than the soil is capable of sup¬ 
plying with water, yields will be reduced. Thus the stands of 
crops, to produce best yields under dry farming, must be much 
thinner than is required in humid or irrigated regions. If too 
many plants are on the land, none will get enough water and all 
will fail. The best success is obtained with relatively thin stands. 
It is impossible to give the exact amount of seed which should be 
planted for dry-farming conditions, because the amount varies 
widely according to the severity of the climatic conditions, the 
type of soil and the total precipitation. 
The following list, however, can be taken as a general guide 
and is suggestive of the practice which should be followed, name¬ 
ly, to make the stand of grain proper for the conditions of soil 
moisture: 
AMOUNT OP SEED TO USE FOR THICKNESS OP STAND FOR DIF¬ 
FERENT CROPS UNDER DRY FARMING 
Wheat, 20 to 3 5 pounds. 
Oats, 40 to 60 pounds. 
Barley, 40 to 60 pounds. 
Rye, 30 to 40 pounds. * 
Corn, stand for ordinary cropping, rows 3 y 2 ft. apart, stand in the 
row, 20 to 24 inches, drilled. 
Corn to be used on land in place of summer fallow, rows 7 ft. apart, 
stand in row, 2 0 to 2 4 inches, drilled. 
Cane, for seed, broadcasted, 15 to 20 pounds. 
Cane, for seed, drilled, 6 to 15 pounds. 
Cane, for hay, broadcasted, 30 to 4 0 pounds. 
Kafir, for hay, in rows 3 % ft. apart, 2 to 4 inches in the row. 
Milo, for seed, in rows 3 y 2 ft. apart, 4 to 8 inches in the row. 
Kafir, for seed, in rows 3 y 2 ft. apart, 6 to 1 2 inches in the row. 
(Kafir and milo will require from 3 to 10 pounds of seed per acre, 
depending on the thickness of the planting.) 
Feterita, for seed, in rows 3 y 2 ft. apart, 8 to 1 2 inches in the row. 
Flax, 20 to 30 pounds per acre. 
Millet, 15 to 30 pounds per acre, depending on conditions. 
Alfalfa, broadcasted, 3 to 5 pounds per acre. In rows 3 to 3 y 2 ft. 
apart, 2 pounds per acre. If the seed is good and proper tools for drill¬ 
ing are available, half a pound of seed per acre will make the stand thick 
enough. 
Potatoes, in rows 3 y 2 ft. apart, 1 to 2 ft. in the row, 300 to 400 
pounds seed per acre. 
Pinto beans, in rows 3 to 3 y 2 ft. apart, 6 to 10 inches in the row, 
approximately 15 pounds of seed per acre. 
Field peas, preferably in rows and cultivated, 20 to 30 pounds per 
acre. 
