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Dryland farming is an agricultural technique for cultivating land which receives little rainfall. Dryland farming is used in the Great Plains
Great Plains

The Great Plains are the broad expanse of prairie and steppe which lie west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada....
, the Palouse
Palouse

The Palouse is a region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of eastern Washington, North Central Idaho and, in some definitions, extending south into northeast Oregon....
 plateau of Eastern Washington regions of North America, the Middle East and in other grain
Cereal

Cereals, or cereal grains, are mostly Poaceae cultivated for their edible brans or fruit seeds . Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more energy worldwide than any other type of crop; they are therefore staple foods....
 growing regions such as the steppe
Steppe

In physical geography, a steppe , pronounced , is a grassland plain without trees . The prairie can be considered a steppe. It may be semi-desert, or covered with Poaceae or shrubs or both, depending on the season and latitude....
s of Eurasia and Argentina
Argentina

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is a country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city....
. Dryland farming was introduced to the southern Russian Empire
Russian Empire

File:Russian Emperor Flag.jpgFile:Romanov Flag.svgThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917....
 by Russian Mennonites under the influence of Johann Cornies
Johann Cornies

Johann Cornies was a Mennonite History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union settler to the Russian Empire....
, making the region the breadbasket
Breadbasket

The Breadbasket or the Granary of a country is a region which, because of richness of soil and/or advantageous climate, produces an agricultural surplus which is often considered vital for the country as a whole....
 of Russia.






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Encyclopedia


Dryland farming is an agricultural technique for cultivating land which receives little rainfall. Dryland farming is used in the Great Plains
Great Plains

The Great Plains are the broad expanse of prairie and steppe which lie west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada....
, the Palouse
Palouse

The Palouse is a region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of eastern Washington, North Central Idaho and, in some definitions, extending south into northeast Oregon....
 plateau of Eastern Washington regions of North America, the Middle East and in other grain
Cereal

Cereals, or cereal grains, are mostly Poaceae cultivated for their edible brans or fruit seeds . Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more energy worldwide than any other type of crop; they are therefore staple foods....
 growing regions such as the steppe
Steppe

In physical geography, a steppe , pronounced , is a grassland plain without trees . The prairie can be considered a steppe. It may be semi-desert, or covered with Poaceae or shrubs or both, depending on the season and latitude....
s of Eurasia and Argentina
Argentina

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is a country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city....
. Dryland farming was introduced to the southern Russian Empire
Russian Empire

File:Russian Emperor Flag.jpgFile:Romanov Flag.svgThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917....
 by Russian Mennonites under the influence of Johann Cornies
Johann Cornies

Johann Cornies was a Mennonite History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union settler to the Russian Empire....
, making the region the breadbasket
Breadbasket

The Breadbasket or the Granary of a country is a region which, because of richness of soil and/or advantageous climate, produces an agricultural surplus which is often considered vital for the country as a whole....
 of Russia. Winter wheat
Winter wheat

Winter wheat is a cereal. In the Northern Hemisphere, winter wheats are planted in the autumn, from September through December. Winter wheat sprouts before freezing occurs, then becomes dormant until the soil warms up in the spring....
 is the typical crop although skilled dryland farmers sometimes grow corn, beans or even watermelons. Successful dryland farming is possible with as little as of precipitation a year, but much more successful with 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 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.

There are many techniques to dry farm. Some common techniques are to pull weeds that suck moisture, plant seeds deep in the ground to get maximum moisture and fallowing the land. Another technique is to plant crops in every other row. This way the odd rows' moisture will be built up for 2 years. This technique uses a lot of space since the farmer is only using half the land for profit.

See also

  • International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas
    International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas

    The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas is one of 15 centers supported by the CGIAR and it was established in 1975....
  • Xeriscaping
    Xeriscaping

    Xeriscaping and xerogardening refers to Landscape architecture and gardening in ways that reduce or eliminate the need for supplemental irrigation....