DRY FARMING IN COLORADO 
By ALVIN KEZER 
SUMMARY 
In dry farming, a crop system adapted to the locality must 
be adopted. Success depends upon the observance of this rule. 
An understanding of the principles of moisture conservation, 
and of the proper methods of cultivation, is distinctly essential. 
Forage crops are best adapted to dry-land conditions. 
Cash crops should be raised, but they should be extra enter¬ 
prises, not the chief dependence. 
Rotation is necessary to keep up permanent production. 
The crop system should be planned so that the owner can 
handle the maximum number of acres without hiring help. The 
more acres the owner can care for unaided, the greater will be his 
income. 
Livestock provides the surest market for dry-land crops. 
Excess feed in good crop years should be saved, to tide the 
stock over lean years, which are sure to come. 
There should be a silo on every dry-land farm. It makes it 
possible to get a maximum of feed value from the crops. 
It is highly essential that a new settler have sufficient cash 
to furnish materials for his farming operations and to pay living 
expenses for the first year or two. Experience has demonstrated 
that a dry-land farm does not commence to produce steadily and 
in a dependable manner until it has been under cultivation a year 
or more. 
A well to furnish water for domestic purposes is an absolute 
necessity. 
A garden, a few chickens and pigs will help make more se¬ 
cure the living of the family. 
COLORADO HAS A LARGE AREA OF DRY LAND 
Colorado still has a very large acreage of unoccupied and un¬ 
developed lands. Much of these lands lie in regions where irri¬ 
gation is not feasible; consequently they must be farmed without 
irrigation, by so-called “dry farming” methods. In order to ans¬ 
wer many of the questions raised by settlers and prospective set¬ 
tlers on these lands, this publication has been prepared. It is well 
known that complete information cannot be given in so short a 
space, but it is hoped that the essentials of the problem can be 
handled in such a way that prospective settlers will understand 
