Protect Your Farm & Your Future Defend and fortify your crops, soil, pasture, and livestock against inadequate rainfall, and even chronic drought, with strategies from a sixth-generation Kansas farmer and agronomist that will restore soil productivity through grazing, soil microbiology, and cover crops. Dale Strickler shares the lessons he's learned while saving his own family farm from drying up, including installing rain-collection tanks, creating swales, and building retention dams. With Strickler's friendly advice and proven, innovative methods, you'll get more water into your soil, keep it in your soil, and help your plants and livestock access it.
This in-depth practical guide shows farmers, ranchers, and gardeners how to reduce the impact of less-than-optimal rainfall on crops and livestock with innovative, yet simple techniques for enhancing the water retention of soil and developing a drought management plan.
Chapter 1: Introduction: The Ugly History of Drought and the Potential for Drought ResiliencePart I: Creating a Moisture-Efficient Soil Chapter 2: Getting More Water into the Soil Chapter 3: Keeping Water in the Soil Longer Chapter 4: Helping Plants Get More Water Out of the SoilPart II: Providing for Livestock Chapter 5: Ensuring Livestock Water Supply Chapter 6: Creating Drought-Tolerant Pastures Chapter 7: Providing Emergency Forage in a Drought Chapter 8: Livestock Decisions during and after a DroughtPart III: Looking to the Future Chapter 9: Moisture-Efficient Agriculture for Semi-arid Regions Chapter 10: Conclusion: A Checklist of Actions to Take before and during the Next Drought Acknowledgments References and Further Reading Resources Recommended Reading and Films Metric Conversion Chart Glossary Index